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Use this essential office supplies list to guide you in determining what you need. When you have what you need, you’ll be productive at work even when you’re at home.
Working remotely from home is becoming a trend these days. Thanks to the Internet and other technologies, it is possible for us now to do our work from home!
No more commuting to work, no more annoying office mates to deal with, and plus to good health – especially at this time when we are still dealing with a pandemic.
Most importantly, if you’re a Mom, you get to stay with your kids 24/7! How awesome is that?!
Well, anyway, if you have been working from home already, you know how essential your home office is.
For some, it can mean a separate room in the home. For others with less space, it could be that place under the stairs, or a little nook in the bedroom or living room.
Wherever that which you consider your home office is, this is a place that should be devoid of clutter and distraction.
Your home office should help you get focused on your tasks.
Just because you’re home, it does not mean you can be more relaxed, although, I might say, it does really feel more relaxed compared to the outside office. Don’t you agree?
What I’m trying to say is, you still need to maintain an aura of seriousness when it comes to your work, so that you can really focus. You shouldn’t procrastinate just because you’re at home.
You still need the right equipment to be productive. And of course, you need to have your office supplies available. This makes you prepared for anything your job demands, even if you’re at home.
That’s my goal in this article – to help you set up your home office with the most important supplies, or what I call essential office supplies list, so you can be productive even when you’re at home.
I bet you can even be more productive at home than when you were in an office!
Take note though that this is a general list. There might be more essential office supplies needed for a particular job. So while going through this, keep your job in mind, and determine whether it’s really something you need for that or not.
Okay, let’s have it!
Essential Office Supplies List: Desk, Planner, & Paper Supplies
1. Pens and notepads
Yes, everything can be done digitally these days but nothing beats a pen and paper when you have an idea that you need to jot down immediately.
Besides, writing things like your to-do list, appointments, and notes makes it also easier to retain them in your memory, without having the pressure to remember them.
Get a pen holder for your desk so that you do not have to go through your drawers to look for a pen.
2. Copy paper/printer paper
It’s a must to have a stock of copy paper or printer paper especially if you are printing out a lot of documents and printables.
You don’t wanna get out of focus because you run out of paper!
Shop for copy paper/printer paper at Amazon.
3. Planner
A planner can be very versatile and will keep your desk looking neat. Instead of having sticky notes all over the side of your computer screen and your desk, you can put all those notes in a planner!
There are many options for planners. You can buy a ready-made planner, or buy a downloadable planner and just print it, then put it together in a binder.
There are dated and undated planners. You also have dotted journals now – the bullet journals – you can make a planner out of that.
So when it comes to planner options, the sky’s the limit! You can have any planner that suits your planning needs.
4. Sticky notes
Sticky notes can look like a total mess when you have notes all over your computer and desk.
However, it is still a useful too. You can use sticky notes as markers for a book that you’re reading. You can use it to leave notes on your office door reminding everyone not to disturb you at the moment because you have a conference call.
So it’s still a great tool to use. Just keep it neat!
Shop for sticky notes at Amazon.
5. Pencil
When you are making notes on documents, working with a pencil means you can easily erase any mistakes.
If you’re using a bullet journal, doing your own layouts and doodles, again, you can never go wrong with a pencil!
Plus, if you have kids, you can share them some of your pencils!
6. Pencil sharpener
Of course when you have pencils in the office, you need to have a pencil sharpener. I believe I don’t have to tell you why. (smile)
Additionally, writing with a sharpened pencil is way much better than a blunt one.
Shop for pencil sharpeners at Amazon.
7. Eraser and white out
You and I are not perfect, especially when doing layouts or writing. We do need something to cover up our mistakes – an eraser and white out will do!
8. Highlighter
We often highlight important texts and numbers to add emphasis, or to make words or statements stand out. A highlighter does that job.
This is a great addition to your office if you deal with a lot of documents, or you’re reading a lot of printed materials.
You can also use highlighters on emphasizing urgent entries in your planner or calendar.
Shop for highlighters at Amazon.
9. Permanent markers
A permanent marker is really useful when you need to label things. So keep one or two in your office.
Shop for permanent markers at Amazon.
10. Desk organizer
Use a desk organizer to keep some office supplies within reach. Get one that can hold pens, pencils, notepad, eraser, a white out, and other supplies that you constantly need.
Shop for desk organizer at Amazon.
11. Rubbing alcohol
Of course, you have to make sure that your hands are clean. It helps to keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol in your home office.
You can also use it to disinfect your table.
Shop for rubbing alcohol at Amazon.
Essential Office Supplies List: Filing Supplies
1. Stapler and staples
Stapling documents together ensures that no page is lost in your print outs.
How small or big your stapler is depends on how much document you often have to put together. Keep that in mind when choosing a stapler. And of course, keep enough supply of staples in your drawer.
2. Paper clips
Paper clips help to keep documents together temporarily, like when you’re still finalizing and sorting out your papers. So do keep a handful on your desk.
Shop for paper clips at Amazon.
3. Binder clips
Just like paper clips, binder clips are great for keeping documents together temporarily. However, these are more reliable compared to paper clips.
A large paper clip can hold a thick collection of papers. And this can even substitute staples especially when you’re going to regularly review the document at hand.
Shop for binder clips at Amazon.
4. Scissors
A pair of scissors is very useful in the home office. It cuts papers, crafts and many other things. Keep it handy in your desk.
5. Tape and tape dispenser
You should also have tapes and a tape dispenser. It’s very useful when you seal things, wrap and send out packages and keep a torn page together.
Shop for a tape dispenser at Amazon.
6. Binders and puncher
Binders are great organizers. It keeps your papers in one place in a neat and organized manner.
The three-ring binders are the most common binders you will see in the store. However, you can choose other sizes as well.
It also helps to have the right puncher so all you have to do is punch some holes and then insert the documents in the binder.
7. Accordion file organizers
Another great way to keep paperwork stored in one place is to put these in accordion file organizers.
You can use one organizer for your kid’s paper works, a smaller one to keep bills and receipts, and another for coupons.
These come in different sizes. Choose one with enough slots to arrange everything alphabetically or however you want to classify your files.
Shop for accordion file holders at Amazon.
8. Manila file folder
These folders are important when you handle a lot of documents and paper works needed to be categorized and filed. You can easily put a label in this folder too!
Shop for manila file folders at Amazon.
9. Envelopes
It helps to have a few envelopes of different sizes at your disposal. You never know when you have to mail documents.
Envelopes are useful for organization too. You can store coupons and receipts in them. You can even use some to budget your money!
10. In and out filing tray
Having an in and out filing tray helps you track your incoming and outgoing paper works easily. This saves you the time looking for a document.
It also makes you aware of which papers still need your attention, and which ones are already for filing.
Shop for in and out filing tray at Amazon.
Essential Office Supplies List: Small Equipment & Furniture
1. Computer
A laptop is considered more ideal these days for a home office because there’s less wiring needed and it doesn’t occupy a huge space. Your desk need not be too big either when you’re working on just a laptop.
However, if your job requires your computer to do some heavy work, you need a desktop computer. It’s more reliable for high-performance jobs.
Shop for a desktop computer at Amazon.
2. Wireless router
An important part of working remotely is being online. You need a good signal to send, receive and download files, communicate with your colleagues, hold online conferences, use online apps, and similar tasks.
So choose a reliable router along with a good Internet service provider to ensure a strong connection to connect to, whether you’re using a computer or other gadgets.
Shop for a wireless router at Amazon.
3. External hard drive
Having an external hard drive is useful if your laptop has less storage space than you need. This is mostly the case in notebooks and other smaller laptops.
It is also the best way to back up your files if you do not want to use the cloud. So if something happens to your computer and you have to reformat it, you still have your files in your external hard drive.
Make it a habit to back up your important files once a week.
Apart from that, it’s also an appropriate storage place for files that you don’t frequently use.
Shop for an external hard drive at Amazon.
4. Flash drive
There are times when you need to give a huge file personally, or you need to have things printed but your computer got busted.
Having a flash drive available allows you to easily transfer your files and have them with you when you need to be on the go.
Shop for a flash drive at Amazon.
5. Printer & Scanner
Invest in a printer model that also has a scanner. It will be worth the price.
A printer is a must-have in a home office. Aside from the occasional printing of documents for your work, you can use it to print other things like printables, your kids’ homework and activity pages, bills that you receive online, online coupons that need to be printed out, and many others.
A scanner is also important to have digital copies of your documents. You can scan your receipts and this will be helpful when you have to deal with your taxes later on.
You can also use it to scan pictures so that you do not have to worry about them fading or getting ruined.
Shop for a printer scanner at Amazon.
6. Cable organizer
If you deal with a lot of gadgets for work, wires get entangled and it can be a total mess. It helps to get as many wireless gadgets as you can and use a cable organizer for the rest.
For example, invest in wireless keyboards and mouse instead of getting ones that need to be connected with a cable.
Shop for a cable organizer at Amazon.
7. Desk
Of course, every home office needs a desk to work on. I suggest getting a desk that has drawers instead of a plain table.
Having drawers allows you to store your supplies in the drawers so your desk looks neat. You get to concentrate more on the tasks at hand.
I also suggest getting drawer organizer trays for your drawer to compartmentalize your office supplies. Doing so keeps what’s inside your drawers organized.
8. Filing cabinet
Whether your job requires you to deal with printed documents or not, a filing cabinet is a must-have for your home office.
You can use it not only for work but also to store important household documents such as personal files, bills, receipts, coupons, school documents of your kids, and others like it.
However, bulky metal filing cabinets are not really necessary. There are smaller versions of filing cabinets and they look more attractive too.
You can also use a book shelf instead of a filing cabinet. then, you can have some cool decors in it!
Shop for a filing cabinet at Amazon.
9. Shredder
If you deal with confidential documents, having a paper shredder in your home office is a must. It can also be used when you have to dispose of old bills or paperwork that have your personal information.
Remember, identity theft is becoming more rampant these days. Anyone who gets a copy of any document that has your personal information can easily steal your identity. This can lead to great problems especially when they can access your bank accounts.
Having a paper shredder means you get to dispose of the document in a way that they can never be used again.
Shop for a shredder at Amazon.
10. Trash can
To keep your office free from clutter, it helps to have a trash can beside your desk, or anywhere in the home office. Easily throw what you need to throw!
Just don’t use the trash can for something that would smell. It can be really distracting.
Shop for a trash can at Amazon.
Buy only what you need.
There’s no doubt that when your home has the essential office supplies above, you will be able to work productively and efficiently.
But when you are shopping for these supplies, resist the tendency to hoard. Because while it’s true that this is an essential home office supplies list, how much you need is entirely up to you.
Stocking up one extra item or set is enough for your “just in case” moments. So buy only what you need. You don’t want to accumulate supplies that will only end up as clutter!
Related article: How to Organize Pens, Pencils and Markers
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