Make a Custom Desk Organizer!
Do you have desk drawers that are so scary, you can never find what you are looking for in the massive piles of supplies?
If everything in your desk drawer is loose and at first glance, you have push pins, pens, coins, gum, and paper clips all floating around aimlessly in the drawer, you need a quick and easy solution!
This DIY desk organizer idea is super easy to put together and will hold smaller items, desk decorations, duct tape, washi tape, or any other office supplies you don’t want rolling around in a wide open drawer space.

Want some more tips on how to utilize all the spaces around and inside your desk effectively?
Sign up for a free on-demand workshop: The Anatomy of a Teacher Desk.
It includes a FREE teacher desk checklist! Click HERE to register for free now.
DIY Organizer Tutorial:
You can organize that desk drawer so easy – AND make it match your own personal style and color scheme! Plus, it will cost you less than $10 to do it!
Items to gather:
- Craft or Artist’s Supply Box
- Scrapbook Paper in an assortment of colors
- Scissors or Paper Cutter
- Glue or Tape
Instructions:
Step 1: Start by taking the lid of the top of your box and removing the tabs included.

Step 2: Design your custom compartments by choosing where to place the dividers, thinking about what you already have sitting in your desk drawer. I have a variety of areas for different sized items. Feel free to create more or less depending on your needs.

Step 3: Decide which papers will go in which area. Starting with one, flip the paper upside down and place the tray over the top. Mark the area on your paper. (Using a ruler and paper cutter for these steps will make for a much more precise measurement, straight line, and cut. Mine were done freehand though, which is also fine.)

Step 4: Place your papers into the correct spots, using glue or tape to secure in place.

Step 5: Place your loose desk items into your new organizer, place back into the drawer, and be able to find everything again!

Other Tips/Suggestions:
You can customize the slots and the paper you use to match your own personal stye, or the style of someone else (maybe a great holiday gift?).
Need a way to make sure the organizer does not slide all over the drawer it is placed in? Pop some round velcro dots on the four corners of the bottom of the tray, and attached the matching piece to the drawer.
Stays in place no matter how times you open and shut your drawers!
More awesome workspace organizers:
Back to school is usually the time when we are thinking about setting up new systems and this desktop organizer is a breath of fresh air!

Prefer a true DIY project, complete with spray paint and a template? Stay organized with this cardboard jigsaw you put together yourself.

Stay organized on top of your desk with just a few clean cans, some hot glue, and scrapbook paper. You can leave as is on the side, or change the set up a little and use as pencil holders too.

Need a new homework station for students to pick up missing work after they were absent? Grab some cork board and have a cute area in 5 minutes flat.

Have a bunch of leftover cereal boxes at home? Create this desk organizer to upcycle that material.

I love the simplicity of this wooden box to hold your basic supplies.

Have a desk that backs up to a corner? I always find it challenging to figure out what to put in far back areas that aren’t always easily accessible.
This DIY desk organizer lazy susan makes my job so much easier as I just need to turn it and have multiple items being stored in that corner for maximum use of the space!

No scrapbook paper handy? Would you like a free template pack? Grab it below.

I would love to hear how you could use it in your classroom!
See you there,
~Charity
