Slot Desktop Shelf

As a high school student, I always have a stack of notebooks, folders, and loose papers on my desk. Whenever I look through that stack for a specific notebook or paper, I usually end up knocking something off of my desk, and it's always a hassle to clean up. I realized that I would benefit from a desktop bookshelf, but the ones that already exist are meant for reading books and little potted plants, not 8.5 by 11-inch notebooks. Because of this, I decided that I would make a desktop shelf that prioritizes functionality over aesthetics.

This Instructable will showcase how I designed a utilitarian desktop shelf.

Autodesk Fusion 360

There are quite a few desktop shelves on the market, but most of the compartments seem too small or shallow to fit full-sized notebooks or folders, making them practically useless for my needs.

I wanted the shelf to be durable but lightweight, so people could easily reposition it on their desks. I decided on aluminum because it has both of those properties. I've noticed that most keyboards, mice, and even edges of monitors are black, so I decided to make the shelf black as well. These desk setups I found online all have quite a bit of black.

This is my desk, and as you can see, I do not have much spare space. If I were to use a desktop shelf, it would have to be no bigger than the stack of notebooks and papers. Because of this, I decided to make the base of my shelf a 10-inch by 8-inch by 0.25-inch rectangular platform, which is just a little smaller than a sheet of printer paper. I made the shelf 6.25 inches tall for reasons I will explain later. The shelf is compact which is both good for the user and for shipping.

I wanted to integrate something into one of the shelf walls because it felt so easy and would add to the functionality of it. I realized a rectangular penholder would be a good replacement for what would have been the front shelf wall. I left the walls of the pen holder mostly open so that it would be easy to reach in and pull out something like a short pencil that could fall to the bottom and be a pain to retrieve otherwise. This also allows the pen holder to conveniently hold erasers, USBs, and more.

I wanted to have thin slots for individual notebooks or folders because I thought that would help a lot with organization. When looking for a specific folder or notebook, it would be very efficient to just pull it out of its designated slot. The slots would also prevent notebooks and folders from falling over since they cannot stand upright on their own like books. The shelf walls 6 inches tall because I found that I could lean a notebook on a 6-inch ruler without it falling over or bending (see the picture). This would leave space at the top so people could easily grab the notebook or folder in the slot. I also added a wider shelf section in the back for books or multi-subject notebooks.

Here are a few renders of the finished shelf on a desk at different angles.

Overall, I would say I succeeded in making a utilitarian desktop shelf, and I actually like the way it looks as well. I definitely designed this with students in mind, but I think it would be useful for anyone who uses a lot of folders and/or notebooks. If you have any questions or feedback, I would love to read your comments!