I have to clear the kitchen counter before cooking...wash any dirty dishes (dishwasher broken) because I have very little counter space. But my desk is a gathering place for to do lists, things to file, payments etc.
My dinner table is what my DH uses as a desk..mail, newspaper, his medicines and he uses the salt and pepper shakers as mail holders
. Every time he misplaces something he asks "where did you put this or did you throw it away..then I dig through the stuff and usually find it. We have just enough place for 2 placemats but I clean it up every week when I change the tablecloth.