Empty the desk completely. Individually review all the items in the desk to determine what is necessary and what can be discarded. Sometimes kids cannot distinguish between important and unimportant documents, so they store everything. Dispose of old worksheets and assignments or save in another place, since there is little space in the student's desk.
Discard all trash and unnecessary items, such as food wrappers, broken pencils, staples and scraps. Recycle other miscellaneous items, such as paper clips or binder clips, by giving them to the teacher or placing in a public box for other students to access as needed.
Reduce the number of writing utensils, erasers and other accessories. Normally, students only need to have handy a few pencils and erasers at a time. Replacements can be kept elsewhere, such as in a backpack, cubby, locker or at home. Markers, highlighters and other writing instruments should be minimized also. If the student does not use them on a daily basis, they can be stored elsewhere.
Arrange pencils, erasers and other writing instruments in a small tray or plastic box so that they stay together and do not get lost among other items, such as folders or papers.
Organize paperwork into folders for categories that the student will be able to maintain. For instance, divide papers by subject area. Create folders for math, science, social studies, language arts and any other subjects as needed. Use different colored folders so that students can easily organize. If the student uses separate notebooks for each subject, coordinate these colors with the folders.