I just bought 2 really attractive wooden filing trays that are now on my desk side by side. There used to be papers scattered and lost, but now one is for homeschool papers and the other is for ebay stuff. My desk looks a lot better and it was so easy to do.

On the other side of my computer I have a tray that's 15" x 9" On that I have all the little things that make desks look messy - small sticky tape, tape measure, stapler, scissors, post it notes, nail clippers, nail polish, hand cream, hair ties, check book, blood pressure monitor etc.

Anyway, the point is, desks look so much neater when things are contained. There are the same amount of papers on my desk, but they are in two attractive filing trays now.

When work space looks good and feels good, you tend to be more productive.