I had the same problem and solved it with a lined basket I wordlessly placed on the dresser one day. It's about 12" x 14" and 7" tall. I dusted the dresser, put it there next to the radio, and deposited all his stuff. This is the important step: I threw nothing away. Apparently he liked it because that same evening he cleaned out about 80% of the clutter inside. Tonight, 4 weeks later, I see he added a small box where he keeps business cards he's collected. I'd much rather look at that basket than the teeming mess that used to live there. And a nice benefit is nothing falls behind the dresser. (Why not a good looking box? Surely that would be better than the pile of receipts, phone messages, golf scores, coins, book marks, small tools and such.)

Another vote for the box. I got a carved box and put it on top of DH's dresser. Also had him help pick out a decorative plate (small sized) for coins. Did not have as much luck as cross stitch, though. But when I want to clean off his dresser, I just put everything in the box, except for the coins, which go on the plate. He leaves his wallet, id card and keys on his dresser, and I don't touch that.

My dresser was like that. About 18 inches of sentimental junk, some important papers (birth certificates, car registrations) , itmes of jewelry, etc etc. One Sunday I decided to remove five items a day. I figured it would take a month to sort thru everything. After two days I had picked up steam and finished the whole darn thing by Tuesday. . It has stayed "nice" and organized for two years. And it stands to illustrate the saying "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Thanks all. Jannie: You did great if it lasted two years. I have tried that and my husband gets all the mess back up within days.
There is already a box up there which some things go into but where there is any room left on the top of the dresser to put something on, he finds it. Looks like I may have to put a large box that covers the entire top but I would not like how that would look. Oh well.

Update on the husband/messy dresser story. His new dreser was delivered today. Our SIL is a custom cabinet maker and he made him a beautiful alder dresser with self-closing drawers... the works. DH just filled it with his things. He tossed much of the top 'junk' drawer, found his medical insurance card and as a joke, told me he put lots of other stuff in my sewing room. Ha! The clock is ticking on how long his tidy dresser will last. (I noted that he put the basket back on top.)

I don't remember posting this idea before, only half joking really
When the problem is furniture tops getting cluttered, all the tops should be slanted, either like a podium with no ledge at the bottom or like a mini-roof. I bet a piece could be made in this shape and added to the dresser top. Then NOTHING could rest there. The top drawer could be shallow. It would become husband's junk drawer replacing the "junk dresser top."

Just an off-track ramble from me. My husband grew up with a mom, dad and two sisters. He never learned to clean up after himself-that's what females are for. He never learned to clean anything. When I met him he was living in a two family house. His "apartment" was filthy-dirty with dishes, pots and pans piled in the sink, toilet had disgusting crud. I felt bad for him. One day he called me to say "I have the flu". So Little Ole Me went over there to nurse him. He slept a lot, so I spent a lot of time cleaning up the place. All the dishes got washed and put away, I vaccuumed and scrubbed everything, including the filthy toilet. I took loads of laundry over to a laundromat. One of his sisters came over a few days later and praised the great work I'd done. Wouldn't you know, within a month the whole place looked just as bad as the day I walked in. I guess he's just one of those Stone Agers who thinks women are slaves for men. In spite of that, we've been married 31 years and I still do the cleaning. He loves me, does repairs around the house and takes care of the cars, so there are a few advantages. But I blame his Mother and Sisters for allowing him to get away with being a slob.