OFFICE SUPPLIES

The next group of stuff I looked at was in my desk. My dad made our desks when we got our own rooms, so it being sentimental, I want to keep it for as long as possible.

Office Tools – Looking through the drawers of supplies, there are some that I used in school I could save for my kids for later so we don’t have to go out and buy it again. Like a protractor, my husband and my graphic calculators (with batteries out right now), 3-hole puncher, stapler, ruler, etc.

Pencils – I LOVE pencils because I am a pencil artist and a diary writer. I always make little mistakes and LOVE the erasers. But I noticed growing up, many pencils had erasers that were hard and smudged! I finally found the pencils with perfect erasers: Ticonderoga!

Pens – I don’t like using pens because I can’t erase. But I get why people love them. My husband loves them because pencil on paper make him feel weird. An artist friend I made in high school, she always used a clipboard of white paper and always drew with pens. I wish I had that confidence haha! I haven’t found the perfect pen for me, so I just use up what I have so I am not wasting them unnecessarily. My husband saw I was interested in zero-waste and vintage things, so he found re-fillable vintage-looking pens! They are amazing! But it takes time to use carefully because it can be messy! I would like to use them more and show my kids how to later.

Art Supplies – I have kept it under control. It’s easier for me because I mostly use paper, pencils, colored pencils, and outlining ink. So knowing the hobby and what I actually use, is great so I can keep what works.

Filing – My cabinet growing up was instructions to things, scrap paper, whatever else. Once I began getting important papers as I started working, I kept them in an accordion file folder labelled with “months.” Later it got really full and confusing! Then I learned what my dad did: files of categories like medical, bills, bank statements, receipts, etc. Then at the end of each year, he puts them all together in a big folder and tuck them away in another cabinet. They say to keep 7 years worth of papers just in case. So I began doing that and it is a lot easier on my brain! Now, many bills go “paperless” and through emails. I accidentally deleted them all, trying to clean out my email! But going forward, I may have to print the important ones, because I can only hold so much data on my computer!

Business Cards – For a while I had no idea how to store them and they were a pain to keep for “just in case.” Then I watched an episode of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and saw Mary Tyler Moore go into her desk and grabbed a box of business cards or whatever cards she needed for the scene. My jaw dropped. Duh! So I found a temporary little box that could hold the cards and put the box in a drawer and that was the end of it! Wow so simple!

USBs – I gathered all the USBs and put them together. I may get rid of the older ones because they can’t store as much as newer ones. But the USBs will be transferred into my safe in case of a fire or natural disaster.

Envelopes/Addresses/Stamps/Checkbook – I try to keep them all together as they need each other per se’.

Computers – We used to have the vintage large desktop computer monitor! Once I got a laptop from college, I didn’t need it anymore. So I emptied it and we got rid of it. I had a few laptops for a bit. Then when my husband wanted to put a gaming computer together, I too got a smaller computer box with a thin monitor. I didn’t realize that they took up space till now! My husband got me a Surface Pro laptop so I can draw on it directly, instead of a Wacom where I watch the screen and hope my hands draw the picture right. That was hard! And now my husband wants to get a gaming laptop to get rid of the big bulky computer he has since the parts are starting to go. So it is trial and error figuring out this technology and keeping it simple. We may keep my small one and use it as a family computer of sorts, since the laptops will be personalized to each of us.

Printers – Having our own printer was and is a godsend especially in school. Being shy, I did not want to go to a printer room and print. Right now I have a scanner kind of printer. It’s been a pain with ink because the inks I bought at Walmart didn’t last long and dried up for $50! I recently went on Amazon for a cheaper price for black and color, and wow it hasn’t dried up yet! I think it has been half a year now! I use HP Deskjet as of right now. I plan to always have a printer, so my kids can have that option if it is needed.

Maps/Globe – I received a globe as a gift. It would sit on my desk. I was going to get rid of it, but having kids, I want to show them the form our world is! We live on a planet! It’s really neat but still terrifying if you really think about it haha. I also received a map of the USA and of the world too! They would go on the wall, but that will be later when our kids start learning about geography. We used my USA map in high school when we were deciding where to travel as a family as we drove cross-country for a month! That was fun!

Wires – More recently I have gathered all the electrical wires, went through them, and boxed them. I have duplicates and would like to declutter them, but you never know if wires will break. I just kept the important ones.

Electrical Items – Like batteries, flashlights and lightbulbs; I have recently put those together as well. FYI my husband got a bunch of batteries one year on sale for Black Friday…we didn’t go through them fast enough and they all leaked! So never again! I will buy them when I need them.

Papers – These papers I categorize as blank papers yet to be used. I put them all together.

These are what I found related to office supplies that I use and plan to use. Looking at what I wrote, it’s good to categorize them all because that is a lot! But everyone is different and has different needs. These are mine.

Interesting Notes:

Bags/Purses/Wallets – In my apartment, I tried to make space for our stuff we take with us when we leave home like wallets, glasses, gum, you name it. But it cluttered the table often! Now, in our trailer, I began putting them on our desks! My bag is on my desk, and his bag and stuff is next to his! Who knew? It would be nice to have a designated space for that stuff as we come in, but our home is not big enough. We shall see when we move into a bigger house hopefully in a few years.

The Junk Drawer – I declared I didn’t want one. I wanted to keep my scissors, tape, some pens, some batteries, some gum, etc. all back in their respective “homes.” But for example, using scissors and tape often, it got annoying to running back and forth to the desk and opening up my taped-down-baby-proofed drawers! So I designated a box for that stuff on the counter since I have no extra drawer for that stuff haha. Next to it I have a box for charging things as well as phones! It works out great!