#HTE

Desktop Valets/Organizers, Yea or Nay?

Whether you refer to it as an “Everyday Carry” or not, most of us have things we consistently keep on our person as we leave the house. For some, if not for your correspondent, it makes sense to marshal all of these things onto a dedicated object at the end of each day. Here are some examples of what these objects look like:

Etsy shop SkyWoodStudio

Etsy shop EcoWalnut

Etsy shop ImproveResults

Etsy shop PineConeHome

Etsy shop PineConeHome

Etsy shop AmbientWood

We can assume those who use these a) Prefer to see everything in one place and b) Can be assured they will not leave the house without the items they need.

Functionally these organizers never appealed to me, and even if I found one aesthetically pleasing I’d never use it. The objects I need to bring outside of the home are scattered about inside the home, a function of my idiosyncrasies.

Here’s what I carry at all times outside, and where they live inside:

Keys. These live in my pants pocket. As I wear the same pants for weeks at a stretch, the main set of keys stay within them each night. As I never leave the house without pants on, I never forget my keys. I have additional keys related to side jobs that occasionally need to be swapped in and out, and these live on hooks by the door.

Cash. Like the keys, these live in my pants. On laundry days I switch the keys and cash from the old pants to the new pants.

Wallet. I’m still carrying this thing, and have not found a better replacement. My wallet lives in a semi-concealed spot near the front door, convenient enough that I automatically reach for it when leaving, but concealed enough that only a determined burglar would find it.

Phone. Generally sits on a horizontal surface close at hand (desk, kitchen counter, shop table). Because it’s always nearby, I never forget to grab it when leaving the house.

Vape Pen. Lives in one of four drilled-out wooden blocks scattered around my house (desk, kitchen, shop, sewing machine repair bench). I forget to bring this frequently but am okay with that as I oughtn’t be using the damn thing in the first place.

Eyeglasses. I don’t like bringing glasses outside the house because I don’t always need them and really hate the design of eyeglass cases (too bulky given the contents). But I always bring these if I’m going to be driving a car, going to a large big-box store (something about the lighting in there makes it extra hard for me to read product labels), wielding tools, or to any environment where I will be using a computer. These live on my desk or on my face.

What do you all carry, and how do you organize it inside your house? Do you think desktop valets like the above have merit? And if you’ve designed one yourself, please post a photo and description in the comments.