Looking for my desk

The junk and clutter on my desk has reached catastrophic proportions. I am resigned to the fact that it's not going to clean itself but alas, I must clean it myself. I have a large wastebasket parked right beside it and am ready (well, as ready as I'll ever be) to start chunking stuff and organizing the rest.

Here's my plan of action: Make stacks of things and then put them somewhere, anywhere but where they are right now. I'll need to make piles of:

* Active folders and notebooks that I have to keep right handy. There's about five folders and at least that many sprial notebooks. Hey, I'm a busy woman!
* Notes and clippings that need to be filed away. These go in cardboard boxes in a spare bedroom for now. At least the year is written in marker on the sides so I can find a box if/when I need it.
* Stuff that needs to go to the post office, like clippings of features and photos to return to their rightful owners.
* My kids' school papers. If I throw these away I'll want them for sure in 20 years, so I'm trying to hang on to some of them.
* Stuff I don't use all the time (catalogs, etc.) but that I do usually refer to on a regular basis.
* Miscellaneous pile of things like lipstick (I hardly wear any; why are two tubes on my desk?), a zipper bag of seashells my daughter took to school but that belong in my treasured seashell collection (can't you tell they are really treasured), my too-small but breathtakingly beautiful wedding rings I was showing my children (I've grown as have they!), hair barrettes, and stuff like that that doesn't belong on my desk.
* And lastly, a pile of things I don't know where to put or that doesn't really go anywhere. This stack will most likely end up on top of the printer/scanner, much to my husband's chagrin.

After everything is off of my desk, then I have to move the phone and other things around and wipe off the surface. I also have to move pictures and books around on the top shelf and dust. I like to use a homemade Very Vinegar Cleaner or Shaklee's Basic H Cleaner. Can't go wrong with either one of those two, and the surfaces are guaranteed to look clean for 24 hours or whenever I junk everything up again, whichever comes first.

The agony has been prolonged and drawn out long enough; now I must get the job done!

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