Other People's Detritus

I have spent a surprising amount of my professional career cleaning out other people's desks.  I would guess I've done this over 20, maybe 30 or more times.  In just this past year, probably 10 times (thanks economy!)I've been surprised, and sometimes saddened, by what people leave behind.

Here are some of the more unusual things people have left in their desks (either forgotten or didn't want):

• 2 drawers stuffed full of "penny" candy;
• Lottery tickets from at least two years;
• Prescription medication or medicated skin cream (ick);
• Copies of their resumes/job applications for other employment (nice);
• Pleadings for a lawsuit they were actively pursuing against a former employer;
• Framed high school and college diplomas;
• And the best? Little scraps of paper - at least 25 of them scattered throughout the desk, all listing restaurants or food items (e.g., "donuts") - Apparently, a former secretary of mine was driven to jot down any food-related name she heard during the day and squirrel it away.

As a result, personally, I have less than a 1/2 drawer of personal items and could fit all the pictures on my walls and stuff in my desk into one file box.

What's in your desk?