Organized and Functional Office Supply Drawers

Remember when I revealed my office makeover a few months ago? (If not, you can find it HERE.) Well, I was stoked with the room but all those hidden places? Umm… not so much. It was a dash to the finish so I made the executive decision that the closet, drawers, cabinets (basically anything you couldn’t see without snooping) would just have to wait. I’ll be honest, the closet is still crammed with boxes for the basement but in the midst of my organization marathon, I finally tackled the built-ins. The cabinets are nothing special *yet* but, I finally have organized and functional office supply drawers!

Here’s the thing. As much as I would love to only have to worry about keeping stock of pretties that fit on my desk, my regular job requires lots of supplies and equipment. So, while I still keep my quick-access, “special” supplies displayed, I need the extra storage of a full built-in cabinet. I just wasn’t using it as it was designed until now 😉

Is anyone else convinced they hold the Guinness World Record for owning the most pens? Not just from your dentist, insurance agent, and other local businesses you frequent, but from other businesses, states away. How does that even happen?! And, let’s be honest. Unless one goes missing, I use the same two pens that sit on my desk. So, the first thing I did was take all the pens. There were a TON. Probably enough to fill this drawer on their own. I tested them all on scratch paper and if I didn’t love how they wrote, I tossed them. I was brutal. I did the same for sharpies, markers, and highlighters.

A plastic organizer (from the Container StoreI had from my previous Elfa system worked perfectly for the depth. I then ordered a few organizers off of Amazon Prime to section off each bit.  THESE long organizers come in a package of six; THIS three compartment organizer comes by itself. Like magic (ok, and a little measuring), all the pieces fit almost perfectly.

Something that saved a lot of room was that all of my extra supplies was still packaged in boxes. I took everything out of the packaging and tossed the cardboard. The staples paperclips, tape rolls, and binder clips occupied several drawers of a chest in the closet.

Instead of overloading the drawers, I did preserve some space to add additional supplies as needed.

For the drawer on the other side of the window, honestly, I didn’t have a plan. I took inventory of other items needing a home- photography equipment, spare supplies… I didn’t have any drawer organizers on hand so I headed to my closet where I keep hard boxes that are just “too good to toss” but don’t really serve a purpose- a tip I learned from my mom. I had two long organizers left over from the other drawer and used my Kendra Scott boxes to round out the compartments. The large space is allocated to my camera and photography accessories I was using while snapping this picture 😉

Previously, I had everything stashed in my camera bag and on shelves in the closet or on random tables throughout the house. Gathering everything together was huge.

The last drawers which haven’t been sorted since the November purge are my file drawers under the window seat. I still need to go through them but not having to keep an ugly metal filing cabinet in here has been one of my favorite room improvements.

While I probably should have planned them at the same time, my next project will be tackling the stationery desk (aka random junk drawers) in the kitchen. They are filled to the gills and I plan to tackle them with the same ruthless mindset 😉

*All details and sources from my office can be found in the reveal HERE.*

If you’ve missed any of my other recent organization posts, you can check those out by clicking on the images below.

*post contains affiliate links*

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25 Comments

  1. 1.28.17
    Jenny said:

    Those organisers look like a fab way to organise all the bits and bobs in drawers x

  2. 1.30.17
    Bree said:

    Love it, Kel!! You’ve been so on top of this this year and you’re keeping me inspired to get & stay organized! I finally reorganized my kitchen over the weekend and can’t wait to share it soon! Keep it coming!! Xo

    • 1.30.17

      Bree, I can’t WAIT to see it all!! I have done only one drawer in my kitchen so far! haha

  3. 8.7.17
    Heather said:

    I can’t stand it when my office supplies are disorganized and I can’t find anything that I need within a few seconds. This will really help that problem, thanks for sharing!

    • 8.7.17

      Heather, I’m so glad! Thank you for visiting!

  4. 1.11.18

    Baskets are too cute Kelley.

  5. 3.28.18
    Albany Buttrey said:

    Where is your cabinetry from? I need file drawers exactly like that!