When is the last time you thought about office supplies? Unless you’re the office manager, or someone who works for an office supply chain, we’re guessing you’d have a hard time pinpointing it. After all, in this era of tablets and digital everything, who needs paperclips and pens, right? Wrong! Online retailer OfficeZilla compiles an annual list of favorite office supplies to dispel just such illusions. Here, they say, are a few of the supplies even the most modern offices can’t do without.
1. Binders
Years ago, pundits eagerly predicted the eventual dawn of the paperless office. Here in the digital age, we can say with reasonable certainty that it’s never going to happen. While the amount of paper we use has been sharply reduced by email and scanning technology, we’re never going to escape paper entirely. Better get some binders to organize those sheets before they become stacks … and drift over your tablet, hiding it entirely.
2. Sharpies
There’s something so satisfying about writing with a Sharpie. Maybe it’s because of the bright clean colors, or the art-room smell. Or maybe it’s because they’re permanent. Which reminds us: Do not write on the whiteboard with your Sharpies.
3. Chairs
The official list says “Lorell Executive High Back Chair,” but in our experience, almost any classic executive chair will do. You can save a bundle, for example, if you skip the high-end retailers and buy your chairs from us.
4. Copy Paper
See previous re: we’re never getting to that paperless office. Although companies can manage with far less paper now than in days of yore — and should, for the sake of the planet — copy paper is one of those office supplies that will truly never go out of style. Even when people have completely digitized their TPS reports and ceased printing out emails and sneaky letters of recommendation for other jobs, they’ll still need to make signs identifying their lunches and exhorting their colleagues to wash out their mugs. Yes, copy paper is here to stay.
5. Caffeine
It doesn’t matter whether you prefer coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks — if you work in an office, you almost certainly guzzle caffeine. And if you don’t, believe us when we tell you that you still want to make sure that your coffee-addicted colleagues get their fixes in before the morning meeting.
