The Home Office Essential That Will Keep Your Desk Organized & Clutter-Free

Every home has the dreaded "junk drawer." It's a place where organization is overtaken by disarray and you likely find yourself rummaging around finding everything but the things you actually need. Chances are, you probably have more than one clutter-filled compartment in your home, and one of the most likely culprits is your office desk drawer. Likely full of stationery, mail, important documents, electronic accessories, keepsakes, and other incidental items, your office desk and drawers can be catch-all storage areas resistant to even the most seasoned organization techniques.

Home offices pose a unique challenge for even the most stylish and interior design-savvy minds because design needs to be balanced with utility and storage for items that even Marie Kondo would struggle with, such as device chargers, utility bills, and other paper clutter. While there are many items you can use to organize your desk like divided drawer trays, and stackable desktop organizers — many individuals dread buying items that take up space. One smart solution that frees up desk space and allows easy access to items that usually hide on or inside of your desk drawers is a pegboard. Simple and personalizable to your unique needs and style, pegboards are simple storage solutions that double as decor and help you declutter for good. 

Pegboards are useful for so much more than simply hanging tools and useful items. 2021 research published in the North American Journal of Psychology suggests that office clutter leads to procrastination and negatively impacts work behaviors, so decluttering with a pegboard is a way to improve organization and enhance your productivity while adding personalized style to your office. Listed as one of Martha Stewart's top organizational ideas to create a more functional space, a pegboard isn't just another item every organized home office needs, but it's a canvas for design, too. 

Pegboards come in many colors, materials, and shapes. For the minimalist, Ikea offers the white Skådis pegboard with clips, hooks, trays, and containers for storing stationery and displaying to-do lists, cards, and other decorative items. For those who appreciate natural, earthy materials, this wooden pegboard from Amazon features customizable shelves and sturdy hanging hooks, and once assembled, it can hold up to 20 pounds. Both options are under $40 at the time of writing, making a pegboard an affordable addition to your home office. But, if you're looking to declutter on a budget, handcrafting a personalized pegboard can be a fun and inexpensive DIY. 

If you're ready to tidy up your office desk, a DIY wooden pegboard requires only a few tools. You'll need a sheet of plywood, 4x4-inch boards, scrap wood, a circular saw, wood glue, a drill, a small drill bit, a 5/8-inch drill bit, a sander, and 5/8-inch dowels. First, grab your plywood sheet, mark your measurements, and cut the plywood to the desired size with your saw. Then, draw out a 3x3-inch grid onto the back side of your board. Use your smallest drill bit to drill tiny holes where the lines intersect, and flip your pegboard back over to the front. 

Use your 5/8-inch drill bit to drill holes through your tiny marker holes, which will be the holes for your pegs. After sanding the entire surface down, flip your pegboard to the back, and cut your 4x4 boards to create a frame around the inside edges of your board, with the lengthwise pieces going all the way across your pegboard, and the shorter pieces sitting inside the frame. Affix with wood glue and drills, and then cut your dowels to your desired peg size using your saw. Now you're ready to paint, and add shelves, baskets, and hooks to personalize as desired. When you're ready to mount your pegboard on the wall, attach it to a scrap wood or plywood base, securing it directly into the studs for maximum support. Happy de-cluttering!