If you had to clear your desk today...

[MavisEnderby74]

Would you be able to fit your personal belongings in a banker box a la Cummings?

I think I could probably manage it, but the role of wrapping paper that currently lies behind my filing cabinet would be sticking out.

What personal belongings do you have at work?

Mine:
Notebooks
Mugs (one used as a pen pot, but the pens would stay)
Decaf coffee
Coaster
Fake plant
Three tins of soup
Tin of tuna
Tin opener
Running shoes
Blanket/wrap thing
Running belt
Nail scissors
Tweezers
Pukka teabags (although they could probably stay)
Desktop Christmas tree (it's not up, but stays in the drawer year round)
Tinsel (see above)
Hot water bottle
Fingerless gloves
Hat

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can remember as I've been WFH since March.

My actual desk is ok, small pen pot, photo in a frame, a little box with aspirin, hairbands etc, scarf and fingerless gloves, tiny fake poinsettia for Christmas, water bottle.

However I have two shelves full of textbooks that would be far too heavy and bulky to move in a box.

I was curious about what was in the box. We hot desk and aren't allowed any personal items on desks.

I left some stuff at the office when I went to WFH at the start of lockdown (thinking we'd be back in a few weeks, because that's what they said). I'm pretty sure I'll never be going back now and I don't miss any of the stuff I left in my locker.

Sadly nothing. Working for the public purse, we've not had our own desk for years.

I do have a mug I put in the cupboard, as obviously mugs aren't provided.

How come so many people have so much "stuff" at work?

Scarby9 what on Earth do you do for a living??

Literally nothing personal on my desk here, we officially hot desk (though my team tend to all sit in the same places each day) but we have to leave them clear. No drawers, no lockers, no kitchen space, nada.

I would however have to take my laptop, second screen and office chair back in!

Did you see that photo project someone did chronicling the dead office plants of 2020...

A plastic ziplock with toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush and a packet of facial wipes.

A pair of 'acceptable for professional wear' pumps never worn

Two rescued orchids. Left to die in an office where the occupant decided to resign rather than come back, now looking quite happy with life.

And my 'Somebody Important is visiting, better try and look respectable' blazer that was still hanging over the back of my chair in August when I returned to work.

I would easily manage

Gosh- it would be a car boot full.
Teacher here -with 20 + years of resources/ books/ stuff.
Although I do move rooms at work each day- so keep a desk very tidy, and that wouldn't take long.
But so much stuff!!!

Another 20yr plus teacher here with so much stuff at work. A large walk in cupboard with wet weather clothes, plastic boxes with kids, toys my dd have grown out of, treats for table prizes, all manner of bits and bobs for science experiments, many, many books. Boxes of dress up stuff. A lot of stationery. And a 5 foot Christmas tree, a window Nadolig llawen sign and a large box of decorations.

Not as bad as a colleague who took 3 whole weeks to sort through her stuff when she retired.

Well, there are currently 5 rates and 4 bankers boxes sitting in the office of someone else waiting to me moved to my new office since we were all sent home on March - just coincidental but no movers working since then. And I brought home 3 bankers boxes and my chair. I am looking forward to actually moving them and dumping lots and settling back into an office.

When I went in to have my Civil Service job terminated due to ill health, I was presented with a carrier bag which contained my personal belongings, I took it home & other than a photograph of ds I dumped the lot in the bin.

I’ve not had a desk in an office for about 7years, always hot desk. My office at home, desk contents would not fit in box...

Couple of photo frames
Glass bowl of crystals
Candle
Couple of box files
Books
Notepads
Pens
Hand cream
Coaster
3 copies of good housekeeping
Some post
A packet of custard creams

Just off the top of my head...

I got made redundant last month and hadn’t been in the office since March. I gave our facilities guy a list of all my stuff. I expected this massive box to arrive but it was tiny. Nothing was missing either!

Nothing because I'm in a different place almost every time I go to work!

Two car loads when I left in April. Now a bag for life !

I remember once I was working and a lady was forced to resign. She had to come in and clear her desk and she looked so mortified. An all round uncomfortable experience. From that moment I decided I wouldn't ever 'move in' to an office like that and end up with loads of stuff. So I literally have nothing I'd have to clear our, at work! I like to keep it that way.

Don't have a desk but have a locker so would be-
Pen
Box cutter
Gloves
Mug
Sweets
Loose change
Book
Perfume
Hand cream
Hand sanitizer

It would definitely fit in a box! One pot plant. One pair of smart ballet flats, one black blazer. Spare black and navy tights in case of ladders and a pair of thick socks for factory visits. Handcream. Ibuprofen, paracetamol and antacids.

Why do people have so much personal stuff at work?

We have a lovely muddy SSSI right next door, where can go for walks & runs. Hence I have wellies, sandals, trainers.

Office shoes because I commute in cycling shoes

The office can be cold so I have a throw, hoody, spare socks.

Some shower gel, a towel, to clean up after runs.

Decaf & herbal tea: employer doesn't provide.

sunblock, plasters, painkillers

picture DS coloured in

charger for bike light batteries

Some electrical tape in case the bike lights fall apart

2 Mugs, water bottle (only items I don't strictly need)

I know there's more. It wouldn't all fit in one box

Here here to wtf with work stuff??!

Fuck me! How many pairs do you have in your actual home????

Well north of 100, I think

I have a bit of a shoe thing. None of them are designer or anything, I’ve just never met a pair of ankle boots I haven’t wanted to bring home. Funnily enough, since March, I’ve worked from home and have alternated between one pair of runners and one pair of slippers. I had to go to a funeral so wore a pair of black heeled boots for a few hours but that’s basically been it.

One of the things I’ll take from life during the past 8 months is that I need to stop buying shoes. Also due a significant clear-out and charity shop run.

I’ve worked in offices before where people were chucked out unceremoniously and all their random detritus was just left on their desks for ever like the Mary Celeste. Kind of unsettling because you don’t necessarily want to bin it but nobody knew quite what was the right thing to do (very hands off HR department so nobody swept in with a black bin bag).

Aero press, shoes, mug, tea bags, giant tumbler, assorted spoons and painkillers, toothpaste toothbrush and deodorant from a couple unexpected all-nighters two years ago. half a box full?

At least I assume it’s all still in my locker. I haven’t been into the office since the start of the first lockdown.