In charge of an office space and want to ensure everything is kept tidy? It makes sense - office organization is important for keeping employees productive. It’s also crucial for offices in the home, as keeping a home office organized ensures that you can access your office supplies with minimal effort.
From using free wall space to your advantage, to making use of filing cabinets, there are many strategies that can help. Let’s explore how to organize an office the right way and which supplies can make a difference.
How Should I Organize a Lot of Office Supplies?
If your office is full of office supplies, from small items like paperclips to large items like stacks of files, you can organize these items by optimizing the storage space and using the following strategies.
Use Desk Organizers or Desk Drawers
With an excessive amount of items on desks or surfaces in your office, knowing where to retrieve specific supplies can take time. Desk organizers, however, enable you to store the like items together, and you’ll automatically know where you have stored them.
Desk organizers in the office desk accessory category often feature trays and compartments that you can store office stationery inside. And if you want to make it even easier to retrieve your items, clear stackable cube organizers can work well, as you can see into the compartments easily.
You can alternatively use desk drawer organizers that feature multiple compartments. These slot right into a drawer, allowing you to place each type of stationery in its corresponding compartment.
Ideal for :
Hiding office stationery to free-up space on a desk.
Keeping office items in the correct place.
Grouping together similar items in the same place.
Store Files in Filing Cabinets or Box Files and Letters in Inboxes
Sometimes paperwork and files can stack up and take up room on a desk. But with portable box files available in the office file folders and portable storage box category , you can free up space on your desk and ensure each file is well organized.
Portable box files are an alternative to filing systems or cabinets since you can move them around more easily. They feature tabs on the front and sides to make it easier to identify what is inside, so you can take a quick glance at the labelled tabs to find the right file when needed.
If you have outgoing mail piling up, an interoffice inbox can help. You can install these on the office wall space so that the mail does not take up desk space.
Ideal for :
Having a system for mail and documents.
Keeping files organized, in the right space, and easy to retrieve.
Moving important files around.
Set Up Shelving Units and Use Vertical Space
If you have noticed that your office has accumulated a lot of desk clutter, this is where shelving units and vertical space can be crucial. With shelving units, each item can have its own space. When you install them, it’s best to place the frequently used items and stationery at eye level and then add the less frequently used items towards the back.
You could also combine the shelving with shelf dividers or clear bins to make it easier to spot where your items are.
Items such as business brochures or flyers can occupy space on desks, but solutions such as wall magazine racks available in the office furniture and literature racks category can facilitate the decluttering process.
Ideal for :
Clearing clutter from a desk.
Ensuring items are easy to find.
Displaying office brochures clearly.
What Are the Best Practices for Keeping an Office Organized?
We have a few bonus best practices for keeping an office organized. Check these tips to maintain an organized space.
Clean the Surface of the Desk Each Day
It takes time, but designating a few minutes at the end of your working day to clean the surface of your desk is worthwhile. It can mean your next morning at work will likely be more productive. To effectively clean the desk each day, a read, file, send, and sort approach can work well, ensuring you place the items in the required place.
For instance, if you have an item classified in the send category, you will know that this needs to be placed along with the other items you need to send, such as in an interdepartmental mailbox. Or if you have an item classified in the sort category, you may place this in a temporary storage location to be sorted in the near future.
Allow a Space for Difficult-to-Organize Items
If you still don’t have enough space or time to put something in the right spot, designate a stash spot. This could be a wire basket into which you add difficult-to-organize items, or items you haven’t got round to storing.
You can use the wire mesh basket as a temporary storage solution and, once you have time to put the items in the right place, simply gather them from the wire basket and organize them accordingly.
Create a Space for Your Personal Items
Near your office door, you can create a space for personal items to avoid accumulating coats and bags at your desk. It’s worth looking for coat hooks or shelving garment racks in the furniture / garment rack category , which can work well if you have a separate office and a door, or a communal office.
Garment racks often feature wire shelving where you can store your bags, while coat hooks have enough space for your own clothing to keep the back of your chair free from clutter.
Stay Organized: Sort Your Office Space with Supplies from BuyDirect
Even a large desk, let alone small spaces, can get cluttered. It can feel like there isn’t enough room to offer your items a designated space. But to handle this, and complete desk organization processes, office supplies are ideal. At BuyDirect, we have office supplies and other supplies designed to help you optimize your workplace in terms of organization and boost productivity.
Whether you need to purchase office supplies in bulk or save on restocking costs, you can do this when you shop with us. With wholesale prices and discounts for Mission customers, we make stocking up on items for office organization easier. Visit BuyDirect and navigate to the categories highlighted in this article to find the right products and start organizing your office space the easy way.
FAQs
Learn more about keeping an office space organized by checking the following FAQs.
How Can I Arrange a Small Office at Work?
If you want to arrange a small office at work, it makes sense to declutter the space first so you know what space you’re working with. Then, consider the vertical space in the office space and make use of shelves to maximize the square footage in your workspace.
It’s best to also consider space-saving furniture and prioritize a minimalist approach to avoid filling the workspace too much and keep everything manageable.
How Can I Declutter a Messy Office?
One of the easiest ways to declutter a messy office is to store the office supplies in containers or baskets. You can tuck the supplies out of sight in these solutions, which will give you the space needed to work effectively and stay productive.
As mentioned, it’s worth placing like items together in the same container, as this will help you retrieve stationery and office items quickly and ensure the office remains functional.
What is the Best Way to Plan an Office Layout?
It’s best to think about the workstations and seating arrangements to complete your office layout strategically. This means you need to think about the seating arrangements that work best for specific teams.
For instance, if you have a team that answers phone calls, the seating arrangement should acknowledge that the space needs to be quiet and private.