A Guide to Organizing Your Office Supply Closet

MARCH 3, 2023

If you're reading this, you likely have a penchant for stationery and organization. You probably find yourself getting lost in wonder and awe at the stationary section of your local craft store, unable to stop yourself from purchasing the latest supplies. You're also probably quite busy with a lot going on in your personal and professional life.

That's likely why your office has been looking a little worse for wear and requires a considerable upheaval. While such a task is exciting, it can also be stressful as you might not know where to start. Thankfully, we have provided this go-to guide you can follow to organize your office supply closet with ease.

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The Importance of Organization

You probably heard the famous quote, "A place for everything, and everything in its place." When reading this the first time, it may come off as a confusing statement to understand. But as we move into adulthood and take on the challenges that come with it, this saying becomes more comprehensible.

There's nothing more frustrating than searching for that file or product that you know you just saw. It's somewhere around here, but without a proper organization system, that somewhere quickly becomes anywhere. Organization is the foundation of success, consistency, and discipline.

You could waste hours looking for that thing when you didn't have to. If you'd have had a designated place for that very thing, you could have located your item in no time and have quickly gotten back into a flow. As such, everything in your office supply closet should have a place it belongs, as this enhances your efficiency and productivity.

Getting Started

With the importance of organization at the forefront of our minds, we can start tackling the gift that keeps on giving: our office supply closet. It can feel overwhelming, but when you use our guide, you'll find it much easier than you ever could have imagined.

Assess the Space

It's a good idea to get a better sense of the space you are working with. Sure, you may enter this closet once or several times a day but have you ever really looked at it? Look around and try to notice if there are areas for improvement. For example, you might find that you could use your shelving more optimally.

Moreover, you could also notice that any system you had is completely gone. Your sticky notes are everywhere, your printing paper looks ransacked, and your file boxes look as indecipherable as hieroglyphics. These are crucial aspects you must note in the beginning, as they will become the crux of maintaining your organizational system. The areas that are the most disorganized are the ones that require the most assistance.

Separate Into Zones

There's nothing more frustrating than trying to find something in an office supply closet that is completely out of order. For example, your pens, pencils, and highlighters are nowhere near each other. That's why it's crucial that you set up zones in your closet and stick with them. Your zones should contain similar supplies and items that go together.

Your paper supplies like envelopes, copy paper, note pads, and folders should all be together in the same place. That way, when someone enters the closet and needs one of these products, they know exactly where to go rather than meandering about. As you organize your office supply closet, remember that like goes with like. As such, keep your staples and staple remover together. Keep binders and binder dividers together. So on and so forth.

Label Everything

We can all thank the handy label maker for making our lives much easier. You might think that a label maker is unnecessary for your office supply closet as the items should be obvious. However, labels make all your supplies easily identifiable, preventing you from contorting into small areas to read the label on your products to ensure you have the correct item. It's similar to those of us who like to utilize subtitles when watching TV; words make identification much easier.

Moreover, labels will be necessary for your smaller items that may reside in hard-to-see bins. These items include rubber bands, pins, tape, and paper clips. As such, a label maker is a genius investment for your office supply closet.

Always Color Code

In addition to label makers, color coding your office supply closet is the way to go. But how is this done? There are so many ways to use colorful adhesive tapes in your office. For example, you can use them to mark boxes containing files pertaining to a project. When you allocate one color for something, employees associate that color with a project or files and keep those items together.

Moreover, adhesive tape is an excellent option for organizing cords and wires. Allocate a color to a particular wire, making it much easier for employees to find it rather than sorting through a jumble of cables. Are you looking for colored paper tape? At ChromaLabel, we have countless types of color coding tapes in a variety of sizes to fit your every organizational need.

Utilize Organizational Bins

Keep Everyone Accountable

You can have the best organizational system in the world, but it could be for naught if everyone isn't working to maintain it. That's why it's essential to hold everyone accountable for maintaining the tidiness of the office supply closet. Encourage little things like closing drawers, lining supplies back up, and placing something out of place right back where it belongs.