I took a look in the top drawer of my desk at work the other day. I’m not talking about the glance you give when you throw something in that you might need “someday”. I actually looked at what was in there. It was kind of scary what I had let accumulate. Here is a partial list of what I found:
- Box of pushpins
- Obsolete Autodesk, ESRI, and Trimble trial software and drivers from 3 years ago.
- Short, flathead screwdriver
- A Spaceghost Christmas ornament
- Organic white tea bags (about 6 of them)
- 12 inch ruler (I actually use this from time to time to measure margins, boxes, icons and other elements on printed maps)
- 2009 statistical abstract of the United States
- Four USB cables from unknown hardware purchases
- Engineering ruler
- Box of plastic forks
- Bottle of instant Krazy Glue
- More than eleven pens from geospatial conference vendors
- Scissors
- 12 volt power supply to something I probably threw away in 2010
- Crossword puzzle book
- Seven lip balm containers (Six were empty)
- PS/2 to USB adapter
- Sunscreen
- Some flashy button thing from a conference
- Various sizes of sticky note pad
This was just the top drawer. I’m kind of afraid to get into the bottom two. It looks like I am going to have to do some winter cleaning pretty soon.
I am sure there are plenty of more interesting desk drawer content lists out there so leave a comment and let me know what’s in yours.
I’ve got a plastic ID badge clip, a deck of cards, a dozen or so pens from various conferences and agricultural or conservation organizations, $0.32, a small box of paper clips (which I never use), a stapler, a set of earbuds with a microphone, a large white button, a small ice scraper (yes, for a car) and an A/C adapter, which I presume belonged to someone’s USB/wall phone charger in the past.
That is exactly one of the reasons why I prefer not to have built-in drawers in my office desks because I know one day it will be filled unconsciously by me with things I no longer need but forgot to throw. Right now, at home, my desk, where my computing devices sit in, doesn’t have drawers in it. It’s a lot simpler and less crowded.
Christine
Office Furniture in Miami
Good point Christine. If you don’t have that “catch-all” drawer then it can’t fill up with junk. Knowing me, however, the junk might just end up on top of the desk. Of course, then I would be more inclined to clean it up more often. Thanks for the comment. – Ryan