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Some offices keep all of their supplies in one small cabinet or closet. Others need an entire inventory room. Still other offices opt for a combined approach. Most of the supply inventory stays in the inventory room, but supplies workers go through quickly or need to have handy are kept in a hall closet along a major walkway. No matter where you decide to store your supplies, here are 5 mistakes to avoid when exploring office organization ideas.

1. Not keeping the most frequently accessed supplies around mid-level. There are supplies which aren’t needed that often, like spare hole punchers or toner cartridges, which are best kept on the very high or very low shelves. The mid-level shelves should house pens and pencils, paperclips, and other supplies which need to stay conveniently within reach. Organizing by need and not by type of supply makes more sense, even if it sometimes seems non-intuitive. For example, hole punchers and binders may seem like related supplies, but you need to keep the binders on a much lower shelf than the hole punchers.

2. Tempting employees to take supplies they do not need. Another common mistake is to put too many supplies in an accessible area when doing so is unnecessary. Not only does this create clutter, disrupting your office supply room organization, but it also tempts employees to take things and stow them for future use. If you have a dozen laser print cartridges on hand, employees may start making off with them unnecessarily. Before long, you will not know where they are, which ones are in use, and how many are really left. This makes it hard to assess your needs when it is time to place your next purchase order.

3. Another common office supply cabinet organization mistake is not purchasing the containers you need. So many people try to stack up their supplies in their original boxes in the cabinets! This is problematic for everyone, messy, and just an all-around bad system. Before long, you end up with dented and broken boxes, supplies with no home, and all manner of other inconveniences. Purchase plastic tip-out bins instead for your small bulk supplies, and everything will stay neater and more accessible.

4. Not labeling is another big mistake. Never assume that everyone in your office can immediately identify every supply. Sometimes you will have new hires who used to work in a different environment who may not be familiar with everything you have on hand. Labeling all the supplies saves you from having to answer a lot of questions, and helps these employees to perform their jobs.

Organizing an office inventory room or cabinet in a way that really makes sense and streamlines office efficiency takes some real thought, dedication, and hard work. The better your organizational system is, however, the easier it will be to get other employees onboard with your plan to keep the supply room nice and neat. I hope these office supply organization tips have helped you out!