The best place to order office supplies should be obvious, right? You might be surprised to discover that the supplies you need most cost less from discount stores than from bulk ordering companies or a business equipment store.
Bulk Ordering Companies
Although bulk companies have low prices, savings depend on the size and frequency or your orders. Add shipping costs and any discount fades rapidly. Additionally, if you need something immediately, you’ll pay a premium for rapid delivery options.
A Business Equipment Store
It makes sense to buy paper and ink from the same company that sold you your copy machine and printers. They will always carry the correct product numbers, making ordering simple. It also makes upgrading equipment easier, since you visit often.
A Local Furniture Store Versus Discount Stores
An office furniture store can carry paper, staplers, sticky notes, wall fastener kits and stamp pads. Many will deliver large, frequent orders. However, they may not carry a full range of ink cartridges, paper types and colors, and what they do carry costs less at a discount store. Often overlooked, discount stores carry desk organizers, date books, calenders, colored signature tabs, dry-erase markers, small whiteboards, binder clips and thumbtacks.
Have you ever watched the home improvement channels and thought to yourself, “I wish I could get that organized. The secret is: you can. What the professionals don’t want you to know is that getting organized is easy and doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Here’s how you can re-purpose your office supplies into helpful organization accessories.
Make a planner – If you have a spare 3 ring binder, or even just some small binder rings and some paper, you can make a handy-dandy planner to organize your social calendar. If you have a spiral bound graph paper notebook, you can even section off squares and make a monthly or weekly calendar. Having a planner is a great way to make sure that you don’t lose track of the events in your life, which can improve your memory and make you more punctual.
Make a storage system – If you’re the kind of person who gets a cluttered desk, consider making your own storage. You can use cheap bubble mailers to keep your important papers sorted and separate. A few cheap jars and some laser printer labels can be a quick way to sort and discern all your office supplies, like pens, wires, paperclips, small binder rings, etc.
Make a new routine – When your desk starts to get messy again, remind yourself that it won’t get messy if you keep it regularly organized and tidy. If you see a mess start to form, clean it up! These habits will help you to form a better, more organized life.
And if all else fails, you can always rely on your trusty trapper-keepers to keep everything nice and safe for you.
