How to Organise Your Office Stationery One Hack at a Time

Let’s be honest, stationery is one of those things that starts off neat and innocent, then somehow morphs into a chaotic avalanche of pens, paper clips, and mystery cables. One minute you’ve got everything under control, and the next your drawer is a jumble of dried-out highlighters and old Post-it notes that don’t even stick anymore.

Sound familiar? The good news is, you don’t need to spend a fortune or clear an entire weekend to get it sorted. You just need a few clever hacks and a bit of consistency.

Group Like with Like

It might seem obvious, but so many people overlook this one. Before you can get tidy, you need to know what you actually have. Start by gathering all your stationery supplies in one place.

Now sort. Pens with pens, paper with paper, tape with tape. It’s basic, but makes a big difference. Grouping things makes it easier to store and even easier to find.

Give Everything a Home

Now that you know what you’re working with, make sure every item has a designated spot. That doesn’t mean buying fancy organisers or spending hours labelling jars (unless you want to, of course). It just means assigning places for the essentials.

Use drawer organisers, boxes, or even old mugs to corral similar items. Pens and pencils? In the top drawer. Spare notebooks? In a basket on the shelf. Loose paper clips? Pop them in a jam jar or a little tin. When everything has a place, you’re way more likely to keep it all in check.

Keep the Daily Essentials Front and Centre

Let’s not pretend you use everything in your drawer every day. You’ve got your go-to favourites, your favourite pen, the good scissors, the highlighters you always reach for.

Keep your daily tools right where you can see and grab them. A desktop caddy or small tray works wonders here. Don’t bury your favourites under five types of envelopes and novelty erasers you haven’t touched since last year.

Rotate and Refresh Your Supplies

You wouldn’t eat food that expired six months ago (hopefully), so don’t hang onto dried-out pens or battered old notebooks either. Do a regular check-through, once every couple of months is plenty, and bin anything that’s past its prime.

Got perfectly good supplies you just don’t use? Pass them on. A colleague might need a stapler. Your kids might appreciate those unused ring binders. Don’t let decent stationery go to waste just because it’s not part of your workflow anymore.

Hide the Clutter, Show the Style

No one’s inspired by tangled wires or boxes of thumbtacks on display. Keep the messy stuff out of sight. Use boxes, drawer units, or storage bins to tuck it all away, especially if it’s visual noise that distracts you.

But also, don’t be afraid to add a little flair to your storage setup. A pretty pencil pot, a bold magazine file, or even a pop of colour with your folders can make your space feel more inviting.

Go Vertical

Running out of room on your desk? Walls are your secret weapon. Floating shelves, pegboards, clipboards, or wall-mounted organisers give you storage without sacrificing desk space.

Use vertical space for things you need often but not constantly, folders, reference books, sticky notes. You’ll free up your desk and create a workspace that actually breathes.

Label What You Can’t See

Ever spend five minutes opening every drawer and box trying to find that one thing? Save yourself the time and label what’s not instantly obvious. You don’t need to go label-mad, just enough to avoid guesswork.

A small sticky label, a tag, or even a scribble with a permanent marker will do the job. Especially useful for shared offices or if you’ve got multiple people dipping into the same supplies.

Create a ‘One In, One Out’ Rule

It’s tempting to stockpile pens, sticky notes, or that multipack of Sharpies just because they’re on offer. But clutter creeps in quietly, and before you know it, your drawer’s bursting again.

Try this: for every new item you bring in, one old or unused item goes out. It keeps your collection manageable and forces you to think about what you actually use.

Use Tech to Reduce Stationery Dependence

No, we’re not suggesting you ditch all your stationery, but digital tools can cut down on paper clutter massively. Use apps for notes, calendars, and reminders. Store receipts and documents digitally whenever possible.

The less paper floating around your desk, the easier it is to keep things under control. And your favourite notebook or pen becomes something special again, not something you have a dozen versions of.

Build a Five-Minute Reset into Your Day

Here’s the real magic trick: at the end of each workday, take five minutes to reset. Chuck your pens back in their pot, file that stray document, but any notebooks back in your desk draw.

It might sound simple, but it’s the easiest way to stay on top of things without letting clutter pile up.

Organised Doesn’t Mean Perfect

Let’s be clear: you don’t need less on your desk to feel organised. You just need a system that makes sense for you and that’s easy to stick to. One hack at a time. One drawer at a time. One less mess to deal with tomorrow.

So start where you are, use what you’ve got, and trust that small changes really do add up. Because a well-organised space isn’t about control, it’s about giving yourself the freedom to focus and, most of all, work better.