http://www.bin-store.com/blog

All too often the office supply room or cabinet is something which falls by the wayside with businesses. Day to day in the office, you are focused on getting proposals accepted, finalizing contracts, and marketing products and services. Unless you have a dedicated office manager who takes care of the supply cabinet, odds are that one day you will walk in there and realize that what you have on your hands is a total mess.

Messes can be prevented by setting up an office supply cabinet which is organized in the first place. The right office supply room organization system can prevent messes from forming in the first place. If you decide to look up office supply organization ideas and start all over from the ground up, here are the steps to follow to achieve optimum office supply cabinet organization!

1. Pull everything out of your inventory room or supply cabinet. Now is a great time to give all your shelves a wipe-down.

2. Do a full inventory. Figure out what you have and what you need.

3. Run a check of employee areas. Ask employees if they have been stashing away any supplies they are not using. Request these items be returned to you. Remind employees that work supplies are not meant for personal use, and that they do not need to stash items away for fear of them running out. They can simply ask that you order more. Ask if they need anything else ordered now.

4. Create a supply checklist you can use to routinely run inventory (once a month is good).

5. Have any items no one needs? Donate them.

6. Purchase office supply organization containers. Plastic tilt-out bins are a great choice since they make it easy to reach in and grab supplies. Stackable bins can be handy, as can larger plastic containers. Plastic cups are great for pens and pencils as well.

7. Come up with a logical system. Group similar or related items when doing so makes sense, but make sure the items that are most often accessed are in easy reach. Keep other items that are not needed as often on the highest and lower shelves.

8. Label all of your containers. This makes it easy to find and identify supplies at a glance.

9. Now, put back all of your supplies according to your system. Everything should be neat and organized when you are done.

10. Turn office supply management into a habit. Going through your inventory once a month or on another strict schedule is the best way to make sure you do not fall behind on the future. Leave out a clipboard so that employees can let you know if any supplies are running low in the meantime.

While it may sound like a big job to get your office supply area organized, it is one that will pay off in big ways once it is completed. You will probably actually find yourself doing less work in the long run to keep up with it instead of more. That means you can focus on your other daily duties at the office without worrying about running out of the supplies you need!