Everyday office solutions

Workspace Problems Solved
Below you’ll find new organizing uses for common household items to help you round up desktop supplies, corral your chargers and cords and stash loose papers in budget-friendly ways.

1. Problem Area: Disorganized Office SuppliesOrganized Solution: Lazy Susan
   A circular, rotating tray or platform, the lazy Susan is usually found on a tabletop for serving food or inside kitchen cabinets for organizing dishware and spices. Use this household basic in a new way to round up essentials like pens and pencils, a stapler, tape, scissors and more, right on your desktop. Gather your supplies, set them out on your lazy Susan, and just spin it around to easily grab what you need!
   • Instead of using typical office supply organizers or buying something pricey, simply look around your home for items you can use to group your supplies on top of the lazy Susan. Try small decorative dishes to hold paperclips, pushpins or rubber bands and a pretty glass for pens and scissors. You can also add a small basket to collect larger items like papers, sticky notes or a small notebook.
   • If you have a lot of supplies to organize, try a tiered lazy Susan. Designate each tier for a different supply and label the tiers so everything stays where it belongs.
   • A lazy Susan can make a great organizing companion in other areas of the home as well. Try one on top of your dresser or on a bathroom counter to organize hair accessories and jewelry or products like lotion, hairspray and perfume.

Organized Ideas: Most lazy Susans are made of wood or plastic and are round and completely flat. The styles that are often used inside cabinets may have a slight lip around the edge or even several tiers. Whatever type or style you plan to use, try a few of these additional organization ideas to help keep your desk supplies where you need them.

2. Problem Area: Tangled Cords and Chargers

   Organized Solution: Photo Box Charging Station
   Cut holes along the back of a decorative photo box with a lid as a clever way to hide and contain your cords. Follow these simple instructions for assembling your charging station.

   1. Choose which side of the photo box you’d like to be the back. Using your box cutter, carefully cut a small hole in the back of the box, large enough for the cord of your power strip to fit through. Add one or more additional holes for computer or printer cords. You can optionally attach metal label holders around the holes to give the outside of the box a more polished appearance.
   2. Measure your piece of cardboard so it’s the same width as your photo box and 1” longer on each side, and then cut out using the box cutter.
   3. Fold the extra 1” down on each side of the cardboard so it stands up like a little shelf. You can optionally cover the top of the cardboard in decorative paper to give it a nice look or match the colors of the photo box.
   4. To assemble your charging station/cord keeper, place the power strip in the bottom of the box and thread the cord through the hole you created. Plug your computer and printer into the power strip and thread the cords through the extra holes you created in the back. Use additional outlets on the power strip to plug in your chargers.
   5. Place the cardboard shelf over the power strip inside the box to cover the cords, and pull the ends of the chargers up so they stick out over the top of the shelf. This creates a convenient area where you can plug in phones and other items, and leave them while they charge. Simply place the lid on the box, and your cords and chargers are organized and out of sight.

MATERIALS
Medium to large photo box with lid
Box cutter
Ruler or tape measure
Cardboard scrap
Power strip
Metal label holders (optional)
Decorative paper (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

3. Problem Area: Loose or Disorganized Papers

   Organizing Solution: Notebook Pockets
   Try supplementing your existing filing system by adding handy pockets to the back of your most-used notebooks and journals. It’s a great way to keep related paperwork with your notes, lists and ideas for your home. Instead of spending money on fancy organizers and folders, simply print our
   pocket template and follow the easy instructions.

   Organized Ideas: Once you add the pockets, use these ideas to put notebooks to use.

   • Think about separating your notebooks or journals out by use, for example, small notebooks or journals are perfect for grocery lists and current coupons can be stashed in the pocket! A larger notebook or journal could be used for organizing your tax-time to-do lists and the pocket can be used to collect forms or receipts.
   • Keep a small notebook or journal with a pocket in your purse. It’s perfect for keeping to-do lists and loose papers organized while you’re out running errands.

Whenever you need a quick fix for keeping office clutter under control or workspace basics organized, just look around your home. Chances are with a little creativity, and an eye for repurposing, you can create your own cost-conscious solution.