“If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?” (-Dr Lawrence J Peter)

I actually have several desks—one I use for sewing projects, one for writing letters and paying bills, and one with all my work on it since I work from home when I'm not on the road. None of them is ever remotely free of clutter.

I can always leave my sewing in the midst of a project and close the door on it, so I don’t have to remember what a mess I’ve made on that desk. It will sit with yards of fabric stacked around, needles and pins in opened tins, notes on paper with yardage calculations and fabric swatches. I can come back to it and dig right back into the project I currently have going and never mind it at all.

My work desk has baskets and files, stacks of folders that often need filing, and a printer/scanner on one end. There are usually notepads with “To Do’s” and tons of brochures and packets for work stacked up on it.

My favorite desk is just a little desk that tucks into a small corner. It’s nestled by a window where I can look out and see the bluebird house, one of our flower beds, and a pond that sits closeby. It gets nice morning light and makes a comfortable spot for a cup of tea. It also tends to have good shadows come evening, so it’s a comfortable place to relax.

I have photos of my son and his wife on that desk, books that I like to keep close at hand, and cards and letters I can’t part with in its single drawer. I don't mind this clutter at all.

“Happiness is a very small desk and a very big wastebasket.” (-Robert Orben)