Step by step: paper tray cardboard creation

January: the month for new year’s resolutions, sorting out your home after the festivities, and generally preparing yourself for the year ahead.

Whether it be your home office or your work desk, this nifty, easy-to-create paper tray provides the perfect solution to organise all those loose bits and bobs on your desk. You could even get your kids to help you decorate it, bringing a little bit of your family into your work space.

Step 1 - What you will need:
• A cardboard box (medium size)
• A pencil
• A ruler
• A scalpel/Stanley knife (these are preferable over scissors as precision is needed with cutting)
• Glue if necessary
NB: Parental supervision required when using cutting tools

Step 2
To begin with, you’re making the two sides of the tray, which hold the structure together. See the below image for the measurements you’ll need to carve out. The left shows the measurements, and the piece on the right shows how it should look once it’s cut out.

You’ll need to create this design on two separate pieces of cardboard.

Step 3 
Next are the square/rectangular pieces of cardboard that slot into the two side pieces, creating the shelves of the tray. Each of the shelves are different lengths; the top one being the shortest and the bottom being the longest. Also measure and cut out the piece for the backboard as shown in the image below.

Step 4
Finally, you just need to slot it all together - you may need a touch of glue here and there just to make it’s as sturdy as possible – and ta da! You’ve created an efficient solution for all that loose paper cluttering your desk