Working in a cubicle or at a small desk for that matter can sometimes be less than pleasant. With so many little things to squeeze in there and so little space you can hardly manage to concentrate and to feel comfortable. The lack of space is not necessarily the main problem. There’s also the issue of how cubicle décor tends to be impersonal and cold. But if you take the time to organize your space in a suitable fashion and to give it a little bit of your charm, the transformation would be quite impressive.

Drawers are always the messiest part of, well, any space that has drawers. Keeping everything organized in there is often a task we are not equipped for. There are, of course, solutions designed to help with that. A simple idea, for example, can be to repurpose a bunch of empty cereal boxes and to use them as dividers inside the drawer. We found this suggestion on Iheartorganizing.

If part of your job is to sometimes work with the old pen and paper, you’re probably struggling to keep your desk clean and tidy. You know what would help with that? A pencil cup like the one featured on Tinyprints. Its chic geometric design makes it perfect for modern work spaces, whether yours is a cubicle or a huge room.

All work and no fun is hardly ever the key to success. A work space needs a little bit of personal charm, something to remind you of home, friends and beautiful moments. That thing can be a cute little photo which, according to the tutorial on Ohthelovelythings, you can display in a geometric photo holder made of wooden cubes. Paint each cube, let the paint dry, decorate them if you want and put them together. Then glue a clothes pin at the back.

Even if you don’t have a job that requires you to work with pen and paper, there are still things that end up of your desk, cluttering it and making it look messy. A pencil holder with various compartments of different sizes could be just what your desk needs. You can pretty much find one of these things at your local store but you can also make it yourself out of some random containers and a wood board. Spray paint them all gold either before or after you glue them to the board. {found on viewfromthefridge}.

Pens and scissors aren’t the only things that clutter a desk. This particular project is especially suitable for cubicles because it allows them to look and feel cozy and comfortable. Check out Abubblylife to find out how to make this mud cloth inspired organizer. You’ll need a wooden circle (perhaps a cutting board), some paint, rope, elastic cord, a staple gun and scissors.

A calendar is something often found in offices and work environments. Sure, we all have calendars on our smart phones and computers these days but a paper calendar placed on the desk is something quire different. Its role is also decorative and you can choose to customize it as you wish using the indications found offered by Brit.

When there’s simply not enough space on your desk for all the things you want to keep there, turn to the walls for storage. The wall pockets featured on Thejungalow offer an interesting design solution. Each of them is made using a round cork mat and a scrap piece of leather. You could also do it with fabric. Use the pockets to store anything you don’t want to see on your desk.

In case a simple pencil holder is not enough to hold all the knick-knacks on your desk, perhaps a wall organizer such as the one we found on Designsponge would be more helpful. You have two options in this case: to buy an organizer or to make it yourself using canvas drop cloth, felt sheets, fabric glue and a needle and thread. There’s plenty of room for customization here so you can make the organizer suit your exact needs.

Are documents and papers usually crowding your work space? Surely that’s the last thing you need when you’re working in a cubicle. So get to work and clean up your desk. Put everything in a stationery organizer and don’t hesitate to make it look special. On Damasklove you can find an inspiring tutorial for such a project.

Documents and papers can also be organized using magazine holders. Sure, it would be enough just to buy one and use it as it is but you could also choose to decorate it and change its look in order to cheer up your work space. Use craft paint, spray paint and vinyl letters to give the magazine holder a makeover similar to the one on Viewfromthefridge.

There’s also the option to devote a special area in your work space devoted entirely to incoming paper. You could have everything sorted out into several categories so you always know where to look for the thing you need. You can organize everything in boxes, baskets or in a cabinet. Abowlfulloflemons can offer you more details on this whole process.

Perhaps there are things like notes, photos and small objects that you’d like to keep close-by when you’re working but that you’d rather not keep on the desk. A cork board could definitely come in handy in such a case. You can have it attached to a wall to free up space on your desk. The idea is perfect for cubicles. {found on designsponge}

This diamond pin board featured on Crafthunter is quite similar to a cork board. The difference is, of course, its design. You can get this chic look using a polyester pin board, acrylic paint, some tape and ribbon and a hot glue gun. Feel free to use any colors you want and even to give the pin board a different shape.

The limited space inside a cubicle and the lack of abundant natural light don’t really allow potted plants to grow happily or to fit in there. But this doesn’t mean you can’t have nice, green things on your desk. If your work space includes a metal cabinet or anything you could attach a magnet to, then you’ll be able to decorate it with this cute little succulent planter we found on Etsy. You can either buy it or make it yourself.

Aren’t paper clips the worst? You always end up finding them spread around on your desk and they never seem to stay where you put them. Perhaps if you were to have a magnetic container for them things would be different. Check out Earnesthomeco for instructions on how to make such an accessory for your desk.

Isn’t it annoying to have a printer on your desk? It’s bulky and quite heavy and you hardly ever feel like moving it when you need that space for something or when you need to clean under it. It would be a lot easier and more practical if the printer were to stay on a mobile tray. You can make such a tray by following the instructions on Idlehandsawake.

One way to make the most of your cubicle walls is to use them for storage. Put up some rails on which to hang storage boxes, baskets and lots of other things. You can use this opportunity to give your work space an industrial touch. You can use copper pipes and fittings. Paint them any color you want. You can find out more about this idea on Mountainmodernlife.

Ever thought you could turn shopping bags into organizers for your work space? Well, Lezoemusing shows you how to do this. You’ll need a few small bags which you can hang with push pins on a memo board. You can label the bags and give each one a special purpose. One can hold your pens, another can be for papers, one for your personal accessories and so on.

Speaking of memo boards, let’s see how you could make one yourself. Check out Brit for useful tips and instructions regarding this type of project. The supplies needed for it include stainless steel cookie sheets, white spray paint, painter’s tape, round magnets, gold animal toys and glue.

A peg board can be just as useful in a work environment. It would allow you to organize and store a lot of things that usually clutter the desk and the drawers. But a plain pegboard wouldn’t really make your cubicle look cozy and chic so consider decorating it. If you like the project featured on Abubblylife, you can recreate it using a pegboard, a few hooks, spray paint, painter’s tape, cardstock paper, a roller brush and scissors.

Books – now that’s something you don’t see on people’s desks anymore. But there are exceptions and you may be one of them. And if you have books on your desk, you’ll also need bookends to keep them organized. If you want your bookends to be decorative, check out Lovelyindeed for some DIY inspiration.

If, on the other hand, you’d prefer your bookends to double as something else, perhaps a pencil holder for example, that can allow you to save space on the desk and to keep it tidy and organized. The design featured on ispydiy is actually more interesting than that. These bookends also have tiny built-in succulent planters, giving your desk a fresh green touch.