Half the battle of any workplace organization or home office organization is organizing the office supplies closet. Otherwise, things get chaotic and disorganized quickly.
A clean, organized, and stocked workplace area can make a huge difference in how you feel about your day, whether at home or in an official setting. Plus, maintaining an orderly office space may help you do more daily. In fact, those who maintain tidy work areas are more likely to advance in the company. This might be because having mess around increases work tension and hinder job performance.
No matter how small, every workplace benefits from having an organized office supply closet to store office necessities and clear desks of clutter.
When it comes to the office closet, everything must be clearly labeled, well-stocked, and laid up to allow you to locate what you need fast.
Start By Taking Inventory
First, remove all existing contents of the supply closet and determine which items belong in this space. Get rid of whatever you don't need.
Make a record of everything that gets to stay in the supply closet. Use Google Sheets or Google Docs to keep track of your most needed or used items. With this approach, you can estimate both your initial stockpile size and the time it will take to run out. What this implies is that you should periodically take stock of your supplies.
Until new supplies come, you should have enough on hand to replace what you've used up. For instance, when you load new printer paper into the office printer, you may want to consider placing a fresh order for more reams. This guarantees that you will never be short. The worst thing is finding yourself short on supplies at a moment when you really need them.
Look for a reliable supplier of office supplies. When supplies are low, they should be able to provide critical supplies to you quickly. Find out whether the office supply shop offers business or corporate discounts.
Get Adequate Shelving
It's essential to use every inch of vertical space available when organizing a supply room at the workplace. Try to get heavy-duty shelves with a height of roughly a foot less than the closet's ceiling. One closet organization idea is to install shelves along every available wall.
If you need to relocate a lot of files from the supply closet, you may be creative with shelving by making use of door organizers or rolling cabinets to keep everything in its place.
You may use a mobile cart to transport and house larger office equipment like a printer as an alternative to a stationary pedestal. A rolling cart is an excellent investment to move your workplace supplies around quickly.
Get Containers, Organizers, And Dividers
It’s best to clear the shelves as much as possible. Organization calls for a variety of containers. Drawer organizers are also a must.
It's more suitable to store large items ordered in bulk, such as cleaning supplies, in containers. See-through containers and lids are a great office storage idea for storing items that must be inspected regularly. If you can see the contents and the quantity of office supplies inside, it will be much simpler to decide what you need to replenish stock. Nothing will ever go to waste!
You may store documents and papers in drawer dividers, while you can keep small items or loose objects like fasteners in organizers. Separators should not be overlooked. It would help if you didn't mix various kinds of stationery or pens of different colors in the same container.
Lastly, securely anchor shelves to the wall of an office supply closet to prevent them from falling over.
Organize In Functional Groups
Keep the items you use most within easy reach and eye level, and put similar items together. Organize your supplies that have similar purposes so you can find them quickly.
Sticky notes, push pins, binder clips, rubber bands, paper clips, staplers, and staples, should all be stored in the same place. It's vital to keep cleaning materials together as well. Kitchen supplies may need their own separate shelf. People will be able to locate things more efficiently as a result.
Position High-Use Items Close To The Door
Place the most frequently used items near the closet door. It'll be less of a hassle for others to look for, and you'll have more room to store less-used goods on the floor.
Imagine you're at a supermarket. Keep the most popular items at eye level and store the largest and heaviest objects low. Make room on the top shelf for light, seldom-used things. It's important to make sure anything stored on a high shelf is safe since a careless move might result in a lid dropping and a pile of documents tumbling to the floor.
Label Everything
Employees will have a simpler time finding supplies and returning them if they are labeled. You may delegate inventory management duties to staff members and spend less time fielding "where is X?" questions.
Labels are essential for organizing office supplies if you're not using see-through containers, such as storage bins or storage boxes. You may quickly and easily print labels with a label maker, then affix them to your desired storage.
Make A System
Cabinet organization tip: you may eliminate the need for paper, file cabinets, and precious closet real estate by switching to a paperless and electronic office system. It's a win-win: cutting down on paper consumption helps the environment while saving you time and money at the office supply store.
As long as there are employees at a workplace, the office supplies will inevitably get disorderly. Every week, you should spend a few minutes checking the supply closet for any items that may be running low, and when fresh supplies come, put them where they belong. Once a month, you should take stock of what is no longer needed and decide if it should be discarded or relocated to a more permanent storage solution, such as off-site storage. Finally, keep a supply closet inventory checklist in the closet.
Next on your to-do should be stocking your breakroom using this complete supplies checklist.
