Almost every single time I put up an Instagram Q&A, this question inevitably comes up.. how do I keep my desk space so minimal and clutter free without obvious storage space? You all know by now I don’t like clutter and I have touched on my desk space specifically in this post, but I thought I would elaborate more.

The reason I don’t have a filing cabinet or bulky organizers on my desk is because just about everything I need is digital. I can hear my dad’s voice in my head as I type this, saying “what if your computer crashes?” It has. Yet I still choose digital files over mounds of paper work. I work with three methods to ensure my files are as safe as can be. I have very organized folders on my computer by year. I have folders for my business, the blog and personal projects. I then back all of these up on an external hard drive and on a cloud drive (I prefer Dropbox business)

If there are certain pieces of paper I have to keep for work, or something like my tax vouchers I prefer to keep them in labeled binders again by year. I go through them often to make sure I am not hoarding some random water bill from two years ago and make sure they are only important papers I would need. I also choose to scan a lot (I LOVE the TurboScan app) because I am more likely to lose a piece of a paper than an image on my phone or computer. Having a digital copy labeled neatly is always easier for me to find. With odd mail or bills that I am holding on to, I like having a little basket on my desk. This one is so cute and isn’t big enough to be filled to the brim with paper, so it contains everything nicely.

For client work, it is the same thing. I don’t really do anything by hand much anymore. I rely heavily on AutoCad for drafting floor plans and Photoshop for putting design boards together. I do have a set of these drawers in our media cabinet (and some in our hall closet) that hold everything from paint fan decks to post its and extra pens. I also keep my printer, ink and my notebooks in our media cabinet because it is so close to my desk. I find it is so much easier to work without a ton of stuff around me and because my desk is in the living room I truly don’t have the room to add much more!

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photos by Torrey Fox