The Shelves are Full of Highlighters

Companies buy in bulk quantities boxes and boxes of pens, highlighters, paper, rulers…all to save a few bucks. The reality is many of those supplies will sit in that supplies closet for years, without even being plucked from the original packaging.

Since most of those writing implements are designated on the books as consumables, and ink does tend to dry up, populating your home office with some of these cubicle goodies is in a way…helping. No need to fill the trash bins with dried up glue sticks or post-it notes that just don’t stick to anything.

How about that label maker? The reality is you probably just need it for a weekend to label everything in your closets and garage. There’s no sense in actually purchasing one. Borrow, use, and return…for the more expensive items anyways.

With a little digging, and depending on how long your company has been around, you might unearth a treasure or two. Maybe a clipboard designed to only hold two-hole paper, or an adding machine still with a half used roll of paper attached. I bet with a little luck, you might even find an abacus. These items have been sitting around for ages, and now one will miss them come inventory time.

So don’t bother spending the money yourself. When your printer runs low, just stash a ream of paper under your arm on your way home. You save the time required to make that extra trip to the office supplies store, and a few dollars too. Think of it as a mini-bonus.

Maybe there’s a little used laptop or monitor that could use a more deserving home. You might want to ask first about one of those machines.

Chris

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