Who even bothers with organizing office supplies? However, if you knew the amount of time that proper organization could save you, and how it can improve office productivity, you would reconsider. Moving or rearranging piles of paper and boxes of office stationery once in a while doesn’t count. Nor does clearing your desk and swiping the mess into a trash can. Not to mention, if you are working from a home office, you probably won’t have an office manager who keeps a stocked and organized supply closet for you. Plus, if your living space is on the small side, things can get cluttered relatively quickly, resulting in productivity going down the drain in an instant. After all, your boss wants to see his business flying.
That said, organizing your office supplies, be it inside a home or a corporate building, doesn’t require days of hard labor. You can also do it little by little. In fact, it will be a more engaging and effective process if you treat it like an ongoing project instead of doing it in one go. So, if you have what it takes, get ready to start today and organize your office supplies for increased productivity. Listed below are a few organizational tips that will help you transform your workplace into a more productive one.
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Go for a suitable desk
The office supply organization process starts with selecting the right desk. You would want to choose a desk that will fit your working space and easily store all your essential office supplies. If you’re working from a home office, choose a desk that does more for less. First, ensure the desk has ample storage for all your essential stationery. It doesn’t mean you go for one that is as big as a filing cabinet. However, it should have enough space to accommodate your storage needs and personal computer.
Secondly, you would want the desk to look the part. Consider existing furniture present inside your office space and the furniture you plan to purchase in the future.
Get rid of unused items
De-clutter, shred, and throw away everything that you no longer need. Look around your office. Think about items or office supplies you haven’t used and probably won’t use again ever. Go through every machine and device one at a time. If something you need doesn’t work, send it out for repair. If you think the heavy items have served their purpose, contact commercial junk removal to get rid of them safely. Also, don’t forget about any natural or artificial decoration you might have lying around the office, making your workplace look shabby. If it’s of no use, it has to go!
Invest in a good labeler
Purchase a label maker that easy to use. Take out time to label each and everything from baskets to bins to shelves to drawers. Not only will you be able to remember where to put things when you’re done using them. But it will also allow others to easily find, use, and place anything back to its rightful place.
Trust us, it gets really annoying when you need a particular office supply for an important task and you are running around like a headless chicken, wasting time trying to find it instead of focusing on the task at hand.
Utilize drawer organizers
Once you’ve thrown away everything you don’t need anymore, it is time to invest in some drawer organizers. These will help you keep all your office supplies neat and organized. You can find these drawers organizers for as little as a dollar per piece. Furthermore, as mentioned before, label everything from your filing cabinet to paperwork and categorize them accordingly, for example, by utilities, warranties, instruction material, etc.
Utilize storage containers for your supply closet or shelves
If your supply closet looks like a battlefield, it will only worsen if you don’t take measures to clean it up. Craft supplies, old mail, extra wires, you name it, and they’ll be there inside your supply closet.
If your closest doesn’t contain any shelves, it would be best to install some. You can use plastic containers to store similar items in one place, for instance, stationery in one container and paperwork in another. Moreover, label every container with a marker or with a piece of double-sided tape.
Invest in dividers
Irrespective of the fact that your desk has drawers or not, dividers will be your best friend when looking to organize office supplies. You can use drawers, wall dividers, or any other type of divider if you want to limit the clutter to a minimum and keep things organized and in one place. Just remember to keep them someplace separate, and don’t forget to label them.
Set up a charging station
Ask yourself this ‘where do you charge all your electronics?’ Without the presence of a charging station, you will end up charging your devices at the most random of places. More so if you’re working from a home office. Try to think creatively and come up with ideas to avoid clutter created by charging wires.
For instance, if you have extra space on top of your filing cabinet or desk, create a safe space where you can charge all your electronics, be it your laptop or mobile phone. When everything has a place of its own, it looks the part and stays organized.
Use your desk for vital office supplies only
Our work desk tends to become a dumping ground for everything from cups to water bottles to food wrappers to broken pencils/pens. Whether it is unread mail or a picture of your family, you will end up placing it on your desk.
Instead, it would do wonders for your productivity if you keep your desk to items that allow you to do your work effectively. Anything else that doesn’t serve a purpose or hinders your ability to do your job correctly should go.
Conclusion
The hardest part of organizing your office supplies is getting up and pushing yourself to do it. Instead of doing everything in one go, tackle every drawer, filing cabinet, or shelf one by one. Also, set a timer for 30 minutes and see how much you can accomplish in that time. With the help of the tips mentioned above and small goals in mind, you eventually get there and be working more productively than ever before.
Moreover, if you have a business of your own, here are 6 Strategic Entrepreneurship Commandments for a Successful Entrepreneur.
