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Organize Your Office Supply Cabinet

Wed, Oct 17, 2007

Get Organized Now!

Office Shelf Before Does she mean this one?

OK, now that I’ve posted the picture, I need to use Maria’s article to clean it up!

I CAN tell you the number one strategy of my own that I will be using is going to be to get rid of a ton of stuff – namely old magazines, there are piles of them in them there hills.

This really is not strictly a supplies closet, there are lots of other things too, as you can probably tell.

It’s Wednesday, I am going to challenge myself to work on it over the weekend and post another picture on Monday. I can rebuild it!

My reward, I will certainly need one, will be to give myself permission to mercilessly hound my husband to put the sliding doors on it that I’ve been asking for for about 4 years now!

ORGANIZE YOUR OFFICE SUPPLY CABINET – by Maria Gracia

Are you tired of that overflowing, overstuffed Office Supply Cabinet?

You know, the tall, 3-shelf one that you’re literally scared to open.

It’s bulging with pens, labels, disks, binders, post-it notes, paper pads, paper clips and more. It’s so full that you don’t even know what’s in there. You can’t find what you need when you need it, which causes your blood to boil in frustration. Plus, you’re constantly running out of supplies because there’s no system to let you know when you’re running low.

Get it organized and eliminate the stress. Here’s a simple, 7 step system

  1. TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE POT. The first thing I’d suggest is that 1 person be in charge of the supplies, whether taking supplies out, or putting supplies back in. This person is either going to be you, or someone you delegate this responsibility to.
  2. DIVIDE AND CONQUER. One of the reasons that it’s so difficult to find things is because everything is just stacked, one item on top of another and one item in front of another. Try dividing supplies, especially the smaller ones, into labeled organizing containers.Covered, plastic Rubbermaid containers work well here, especially the ones you could see through. They stack nicely on top of each other, without toppling. Make sure each container is labeled; not on top — in front so you can immediately identify the contents.
  3. EMPTY IT OUT. In order to truly organize that cabinet, it’s going to have to be emptied out completely.
  4. PLAN AND DESIGNATE. If you have an even mix of supplies, you might consider designating each shelf a different category:
    • Shelf A: Computer Supplies (disks, disk holders)
    • Shelf B: Desk Supplies (paper clips, pens, labels)
    • Shelf C: Large Pads of Paper, 3 Ring Binders and Larger Items
  5. TAKE AN INVENTORY. As you’re putting the supplies back into the cabinet, make a running list of everything inside (do this on your computer, alphabetically within each section A, B, and C.) Also list how many of each item you currently have while you’re at it. For instance:
    • Shelf A
      Disks (3.5 HD) – 10
      Disk Mailers – 50
      Toner Cartridges – 4
    • Shelf B
      Pens – 20 boxes
      Pencils – 25 boxes
      Paper Clips – 15 boxes
      Scotch Tape – 18 rolls
    • Shelf C
      Binders (1 inch) – 12
      Binders (1 1/2 inch) -14
      Binders (2 inch) – 9

    When you’re done making your list, you should have a pretty good idea of what’s inside and where.

  6. GIVING OUT SUPPLIES. When somebody needs supplies, they should ask you for them. You can give them what they need, while adjusting how many are now left on the list. (Example: If there were 12 – 1 inch binders and someone just took 5, then there are 7 left.) Indicate this on your list. (By the way, if you’re using the computer for this list, it will be easier to update.)
  7. KEEPING TRACK. Once you notice that a particular office supply is running low, you can simply re-order, without having to take a physical inventory of the cabinet.

by Maria Gracia – Get Organized Now!
Want to get organized? Get your FREE Get Organized Now! Idea-Pak, filled with tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the Get Organized Now! Web site
http://www.getorganizednow.com

21 Responses to “Organize Your Office Supply Cabinet”

  1. I read an article earlier which discussed some new evidence to show that younger employees had no qualms about taking office supplies home for their personal use! Having someone in charge and recording what gets taken and by whom would help control this situation. Good post!

  2. June says:

    As the old saying goes, a tidy office is a clean mind…if an office is more organised, stationary is easier to find and the filling can be colated correctly.

  3. I have bookmarked this article. I always appreciate another good set of tips. Have a wonderful day and happy blogging.

  4. YoungerOne says:

    Great article, but Jossi Campbell:

    As a “younger” employee, I’ve found that constantly feeling like you’re being accused of theft is both disempowering and morale-debilitating. I understand that some employee will (and do) take certain liberties, but I don’t think you can necessarily make generational divisions like that.

  5. queenofkaos says:

    Hi Younger One, I agree that people of any age can be guilty. I once worked in a restaurant where a mother and son where working as cooks. The mother was fired for stealing a huge amount of food from the inventory.

    My son recently was hassled as a customer by an employee at a large chain store when he was shopping for a woofer for his radio in his truck.

    The guy accused him of not having any money (even said, ok if you do, show me – can you imagine?) because, I’m assuming, he was in with a few of his friends. He doesn’t look like a bum, there is no reason other than his age. My son has a job and was legitimately looking, he’s been on ebay for ages scoping out pricing etc, if thier price was better, he would have bought. If I had been there, I would have gone to the manager for that one.

    And you can bet it never would have happened to an adult.

    My daughter also was hassled by a store clerk for lingering in the make up department. She was waiting for me and of course, being about 13 at the time, was interested in that section. While I know it is targeting for shoplifting, the attitude was not necessary. She refused to go in a store alone for a long time after that.

    And I could go on, I’ve witnessed ‘attitude’ against kids at schools for no other reason than that the adult’s in charge can get away with it. It is a topic that really gets my goat. (not to say that there aren’t some amazing teachers, btw. I thank god for them!)

    As you have mentioned, nothing will kill a young spirit faster than being accused on the basis of age only, and does nothing but foster the very attitude that may not have existed before.

    I do agree that having someone in charge may reduce theft by anyone on staff.

    As for the study, I can’t say if it’s accurate or not, my view on most studies is that you can always find one to discount the first if you try.

    I think the best policy is to always use your own judgement.

    There’s a lot of good stuff inside of the young people of today, and a lot more if it is encouraged without letting a few bad apples spoil the bunch.

  6. I think, from past experience, keeping them under lock and key is the best policy as a previous poster suggested. A lot of office supplies will go walk-about if you leave them open to all… you need to make sure that one person is in charge – correct.

  7. Cy says:

    Nice post and thanks for the pic. It made me feel better about my own mess and the waiting for 4 yrs. for doors! LOL

  8. A clutter-free room allows us to think right and clearly. It is always great to be organized..keep things in order and in its right place. Clutter equals headache.^ ^

  9. queenofkaos says:

    @Cy – now I feel better about my ‘no doors’! It isn’t for lack of trying! We have mirrored sliding doors on our other closets, I’m trying for those but so far no luck.

    I had some fun organizing and buying a few baskets etc so it does look better. I will post an update (after I tidy it up a bit :0))

    It actually has stayed amazingly clear, but I think I’d like to do another round of tossing things that have sat there since the last clean out.

    @Taylor Cabinets – I agree, clutter does = headache, I’ve grown to despise clutter, maybe that’s why it likes me so much :0)

    @Office Supplies – go walk-about, that’s a great name for it! I suddenly have a funny picture in my head!

  10. Our office normally looks like this until we have a clean out, it lasts for around 3 months then clean out again.

    We should have some serious issues with possible fires – we should do something to prevent our office storage state.

  11. Pretty solid tips that are simple but useful. I have a habit of not keeping things organized until things are really bad. I think it all comes down a a basic system, and just have consistency to do a little at a time to maintain it accordingly! Thanks again. =)

  12. I’d have to agree with the very first point that 1 person be in charge of the office supplies.

    I have found out from past experience that if you leave the cupboard open, free for all to take as and when it becomes absolute chaos, with everyone taking stuff they don’t need and hiding them away in their drawers.

    A lockable cupboard is definitely the way forward – I’ve learnt from my mistake and i think you will find this will save you some money in the long run

  13. Having an open policy on office supplies is just asking them to walk off. We have a single person who is responsible for keeping track of all the office supplies that are used within the company. Instead of an open supply cabinet, you have to fill out a form asking what you want and what you were supplied with. Although it’s an extra step to fill out the paperwork, we’ve been able to reduce our overall office supply spending by 12% annually. It’s not a whole lot, but, in this economy, every little bit helps.

  14. These are some wonderful tips on organizing office supplies, I will definitely use some of these tips. My strengths are in organizing closets not office supplies (LOL) an area that I could definitely use some help on. Thanks again for the very informative post.

  15. An organised cabinet is an organised system.

  16. god… trying to organize my office is already impossible. But I like the way you put step by step, what you should have, and how to get yourself around it. cheers.

  17. Organising an office is essential to that you can find paperwork easily, however all said the image just looks like my sotrage office.

  18. Do a office-makeover and you will be able to work better, it’s the same as when you working with a computer, if you have it organized in folders it will be easier to remember. I think people realize this but are just a little bit lazy, but in the long run you will gain much time and aggravation.

  19. Hey cool advice about organizing, but where is the post about getting the free time, and the effort to actually do it all.

    Ill stay tuned 🙂

  20. I really should take some of this advice , my office area is a mess sometimes i find it hard to find thing’s.I do at times (maybe once every 4-6 month tidy up a bit but damn if i can keep it that way !


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