Monday, January 10, 2011

Office supply junkie

Is there a writer out there who doesn't love office supplies? I mean looooove office supplies. Please, tell me that I'm not alone! I'm not talking about anything electronic. No plug ins (well, except a really rockin' pencil sharpener) or battery powered gadgets. I'm talking about the basics.

Remember the good ol' four color Bic pen? The one that has red, blue, black and green all in one...just click down on the color of your choice? I had one of those back in my school days and thought it was the coolest pen ever. Still do! I came across it the other day and couldn't resist buying one for each of my kids, plus one for my office.

Back in the 1980's when The Container Store was a huge fad (everyone at school bought plastic containers and used paint pens to label them with bubble letters and flowers...ignore the age implications), I was in heaven. I still have a thing for drawer organizers except that I now love anything in metal mesh. I have a mesh drawer organizer, mesh pencil holder, mesh trash can. You get the idea.

Other office supplies I love include:

Clear rulers
Staplers that actually work well
Good titanium sissors
Paper clips or clips of any kind
Sharpies...fine, medium or fat...Sharpies rock! I can't live without them!
Post It notes in cool colors
Dry erase magnet board
Calendars...the old-fashioned, write-on-it calendars (not Blackberry style). I like to be able to see my whole month at once. It's an OCD thing.
Note books, notepads...same idea as calendars.
4X6 note cards...I use these for manuscript notes, outlines, GMC etc...love 'em!
Pentel's Hi-polymer white erasers. They're the best.
Hanging files
My good ol' egg timer (okay...it's typically a kitchen supply but we writers have imagination ;)

I can spend a very long time browsing the aisles in an office supply store or even the office supply section somewhere like Target. While some women browse shoes, I browse pens.

What about you? Any favorite office supplies? Any must-have suggestions? All I need is one good excuse to go shopping ;).

9 comments:

  1. Hi Rula,

    I'm always standing in the office supply aisle buying even things I don't really need.

    Little post it notes, (all colors) and big posters of Heros and Heroines to stick the notes on with plot lines!

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  2. I love office supply stores also! I could spend a lot of money in them. Like purses, I'm always looking for the perfect notebook and pen.

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  3. I love office supplies. I've also worked in an office for more years than I care to mention. I love it when the new thick catelogues come in the mail. I stop what I am doing just so I can thumb through it and try and justify a reason why something should be purchased. Can you really have too many post-it notes or flags? I also use stenobooks at home because they are just the right size for most of my purses. As for pens, I love the roller ball, V5, and have had them in red, black, blue, green, purple and pink. I better stop now because I could go on and on.

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  4. ha ha the last thing we need is another addiction to office supplies.
    i have a tradition of not buying pens for my everyday life - my hands steal them, but for my writing I only buy the reynolds kind and i only like to write in weird ink like orange, purple, brown... you get the idea

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  5. Hey Nas! Post Its for plotlines are great ;)

    Hi Ann! The best part is that notebooks and pens are considerably cheaper than shoes!

    Welcome Jane! "...justify a reason why something should be purchased." LOL! You have me pegged right there :) I mean, come on...all this stuff is so useful! Right?

    Hey Joanna! There's something about different colored inks that makes the task at hand so much more fun. It's like all the different colored highlighters we used to use in school :).

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  6. I do LOVE walking through Staples. My fav is the organizer folders. I'm always thinking if I'm somehow better organized it will be easier to write. LOL

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  7. Hmmm Jennifer. Now there's a thought. I'm starting to think that office supply obsessions are a form of procrastination ;). Oh, but such a fun one LOL.

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  8. I think it IS a writer thing. I LOVE office supplies and love an excuse to go to one of those Office Max super stores. I always find something that I never knew existed. Always. For some reason I love those light cardboard folders and they come in unbelievable styles these days. I bought a packet last I was there in a brown/black grunge pattern. Adorable. They're...ah...still in their box :). I love looking at anything you can put something in :).

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  9. Hey Kaily! I agree with you and Jennifer on folders. They keep things nice, neat and organized. Of course, you don't want to forget what's inside what...Oh my! Look at all the cool labels down this aisle. I NEED some of these labels...and these over here are color coded...oh yeah! LOL!

    Funny thing is I think the addiction is contagious. My boys asked for tons of office supplies as stocking stuffers this past Christmas ;).

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