Basic office supplies

Okay, you're ready to set up your home office and have been trying to make sure that you have everything you will need on hand to start making money. But what exactly is it that you need and how can you be sure you're not missing something important?



Relax. The first thing I figured out when I started configuring work at home spaces, back when I had a pet Stegosaurus, was that there is never an item so important that it is worth panicking when you realize you forgot it. Nearly anything can be worked around in a home office. Forgot to buy a good writing pen? Write with a pencil or Sharpie until you can get a better pen on the next trip to town. Forgot ink for the printer? Determine what things you really have to print and spool them for printing when you get the print cartridge.



A basic list of things that I like to have on hand when I sit down to work are:

• A computer
• A printer (with ink and paper)
• Labels that can be used in a printer
• A good writing pen
• A notebook
• Loose leaf college ruled paper
• A binder for the loose leaf paper
• No. 2 pencils and a sharpener
• Highlighters (yellow, orange, pink, green and blue)
• Dry erase board and marker(s)
• CDs for backing up information
• Thumb drive
• Clip boards - one standard size and one small
• Legal pads - standard size and small
• Envelopes (letter size and manila)
• Digital camera (optional)
• Date book or calendar
• CD player and easy to listen to music
• Paperclips, binder clips, stapler staples
• 3x5 and 5x8 index cards
• Dictionary and a local phone book
  
  

There are other things that generally fall into the realm of project oriented needs, but I think that most of the things I find a need for are covered in the above list.



Take a moment, and a sheet of paper or three, and make a list of things you can think of that you will need for your office. Include things as extravagant as surround sound stereo systems if you have to have them to things as mundane as pencil cups and trash bins.



You could even, and probably should, create more than one list. Things you need before you can start, things to buy after the business makes some money, and things to set up a savings account to get from the business expense account (like a new computer).