How to Organize Office Supplies

The pandemic has been hard on all of us. Least of all because of the work from home that we all have had to do. Working from the comfort of my bed seemed like a fun thing to do initially, but as time went on, I realized that I needed a proper workstation. Otherwise, my back would kill me.

I also noticed that I could never get the hang of my pens, pencils, staplers, and markers when I needed them. And when a couple of Zoom meetings literally “zoomed” by without me having my trusty pen to take important notes, I realized I had to do something.

Therefore, I decided to make some changes and get my office supplies organized. Here are the fruits of my labor on how to organize office supplies. Hopefully, it will help you get organized too!

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How To Organize Office Supplies: Getting The Right Work Desk

One of the most important secrets in organizing your office is to get the right work desk. Because I live in a small home, my desk is situated at a small corner in the room, where I also store an extra bed for guests. This means that I have minimal space to fit in things. But I am one of those people who needs to have all her office supplies within handy reach, so drawers were a good option for me. Below are a few aspects that I looked at before getting the perfect work desk for myself.

Dimensions

It goes without saying, but the size has to fit in the space that you have. Secondly, watch out for the height of the desk. You have to make sure that your arms are perpendicular to the desk while typing while your feet are touching the ground with your legs at a 90-degree angle. So, depending on your work chair, there is a perfect height range in which your desk has to fit.

Space

As I said, I need a lot of space where I can keep my markers, pens, pencils, stapler, and all my other office supplies close by. So I needed a table that had a large drawer or shelf space in it.

Ambiance

I know it doesn’t matter to many people, but it does to me. Every piece of furniture blends in with an overall theme of chocolate brown and light brown in my home, and my work desk was no different.

Portability

While my workspace was limited, it was enough for me to get a non-folding desk. If you have very limited space, I suggest you try a folding desk.

Office Supply Organization: Dividers

Since I opted for a corner desk with only shelves, I decided I had to organize that shelf space into smaller units. Therefore, I chose to purchase some multi-purpose kitchen drawer dividers I could place in bigger and stackable storage boxes. This helped me to make separate compartments for each item of use.

I decided to divide the space into two sections. The first one had four large vertical units – for my pens, pencils, markers, and staplers. The second one also had four smaller squarish units for my pins, paper clips, erasers, and staples.

If you don’t have the luxury of drawer space, I suggest getting wall organizers, which can do the same job for you on your nearby wall.

Office Supply Organization: Labels

Now that I had the shelf space neatly divided into units of different shapes and sizes, it was time to bring out my trusty label maker. I am a bit of a label enthusiast, and I keep trying to put labels throughout the house on everything I own.

My work desk, of course, was no different. Keeping things labeled helps you see your supplies, and especially when one section clears out, it helps you remember what is missing when you go out the next time for supplies.

Organizing A Small Desk

Lack of space does not have to mean that you can’t keep office supplies handy.

Prioritize

There might be many items, such as your pending bills or older reports you only need once a month. Get a separate space to store these items (such as a box), and just bring the box to your desk when you need it.

Throw Away Junk

That pen you got at the renaissance fair five years ago? Ya, maybe it’s time to throw it out. Make sure that you keep only the most important things that you need within your reach. Discard everything apart from your top two or three pens. Similarly, if you don’t need it, keep everything except two-color markers in a separate location.

Remove Non-Work Items

You know what I mean – the food containers, empty cans of diet soda, bottle caps, and everything that has nothing to do with work. All of it has to go. Throw it all out, or if you only sometimes need it, store it someplace else.

Managing Electronics

You will need a charging station for your laptop, mobile, tablet, and everything else that you need while you are working. My work desk was in full sight of the hallway, therefore I searched for a beautiful wooden charging station that would look nice as well.

Related article: How To Declutter Electronics in 10 Steps Another good thing that I did was to get these cable ties. They helped me organize and bind together all the wires out of view to prevent my work desk from looking cluttered.

What If You Don’t Have a Desk?

First of all, let me tell you from personal experience if you are working from your bed or a chair or something else, get a desk. You might be causing irreparable damage to your spinal cord.

Working long hours in an ergonomically sub-optimal position can cause many problems in the back and neck. That said, I do understand the pleasures of working from your bed or your favorite recliner. If you are planning to do so, it would be best to have your favorite office supplies next to you. Here are some ways you can do this:

Bookshelves: If you have a bookshelf that’s not filled to the brim, you can use the partially utilized space to organize and store office supplies.
Bins: Small containers or bins used in the kitchen are also great for organizing office supplies. You can get them in many shapes and sizes to suit your needs.
Kitchen drawer: You can always use a nice empty kitchen drawer to create a makeshift office supplies depot.

How To Organize Office Supplies – Wrap Up

Organizing your office supplies at home can be easy if you apply a little bit of creativity and imagination. Just use some of the ideas I have shared above. Do let me know of your experiments in the comments section below.