Shopping Guide for Your Home Office Needs

Once you have your home office set up and you have the main items in order such as your desk, your ergonomically correct office chair and of course your computer system you may think that you are ready to go. But wait! What about all of the little details that keep your office running smoothly? You will need to hit the closest office supply store and load up on all of the necessary office supplies to keep your home office running.

Before you get carried away at your office supply store, sit down and make a list of the things that you need. A lot of home offices, particularly start ups, operate on a shoestring budget, so do not go crazy at the supply store. It is very easy to blow a couple of hundred dollars on unnecessary supplies. Sit down and look around your office. What do you need to function? What would be nice to have? And what is just frivolous? Make three lists, and take them all to the store with you.

On the first list, you will likely have things such as computer paper, pens, envelopes, a stapler and filing system. On the nice to have list you might have things like colored sticky notes, desk calculators etc. Of course it depends on what type of home business you have. Obviously if you have a book-keeping business you will need a desk top calculator. Everyone's lists will look different depending on each individual business so don't expect to have a "standard" shopping list of items.

When you go to the store be sure to take all of your lists with you because you never know when you will run into a sale and be able to get some items from your nice to have list at a discount.

Remember about some of the little things that you will need. You will want envelopes, and mailing labels to send off invoices and estimates and other correspondence. Be sure to get labels that will fit in your printer. Hi-lighters, erasers, a hole-punch and other small items will become invaluable in the future. You will also want to invest in a filing cabinet and a file system. Folders and hanging files will help keep you organized and more efficient. If you are the type of person that thrives on organization, using an in-out basket will also be a time saver for you.

Bigger items that you will need for your business is a good quality printer (inkjet or laser), a photocopier and a fax machine. You can save money and space by purchasing an all in one unit that offers all of these technologies in one machine. This will likely be your most valuable office supply because you will be able to do so much with it.

My favorite place to shoop for home office supplies is: Business-supply.com.

Use Common Sense When Setting Up a Home Office

Before you go out and buy new office furniture or office equipment, make a real effort to determine specifically what your needs will be. You would be surprised to find out how many folks go out and buy a traditional expensive wood office desk with matching credenza only to realize later that a more modern work area, designed especially for computer use with a slide out platform for the keyboard, built in locations for printers and scanners, and perhaps even a built in flat screen monitor stand, would have worked much better.

For that matter, it is important to determine whether a desk top computer is really better for your needs than a laptop that has the same capabilities. How frequently will you be traveling? How much more convenient would it be to have a computer that you could take with you? Will the demands of your job require both a laptop and a desk top computer? Only you can answer these questions. Be sure you think of all your office needs, even to the extent of drawing a simple floor plan, before jumping in and simply buying what looks good, or seems to be the best deal.

In terms of furniture let me add one final, but very important thought, probably the most important piece of furniture in your office is your desk chair. Make sure that the one you buy suits you and is comfortable. The chair is the last place to go for price over quality. Sure you want to get the best deal possible, but be certain that the price/value takes into account that you will be spending more time sitting there than anywhere else in the house.

Speaking of deals, once you have determined what your furniture and equipment requirements are, it is not a good idea to skimp on quality. It is always cheaper to buy quality the first time rather than having to either supplement or replace at a later date. This may be hard to do especially if you are starting on a shoestring, but in the long run it is much more efficient and cost effective to not only buy products that will serve your needs well, but that will last, and be guaranteed by the manufacturer.

Manufacturers generally offer service contracts for a limited period of time. Unless, as part of your expertise, you are a computer expert capable of applying for a job on the "Geek Squad" then it is a good idea to sign up for an extended service contract on your computer. Extended service contracts on printers, scanners, fax machines, and other less expensive items are probably not worthwhile. They all come with a limited warranty and generally if they survive the warranty period they will last a long time. If not, they are inexpensive to replace.

Shelving and storage units also require some thought. It is likely that you will need more shelving and filing space than you initially think. Computers have not eliminated paper as initially predicted. In fact, generally, the use of home copy machines, scanners, fax machines, and printers, has significantly increased the amount of need for paper storage. Ask yourself, which documents are you going to be willing to have stored in memory, or somewhere on the net, and which documents are you going to want to have in hard copy regardless of where else they may be stored? A two drawer filing cabinet may be cheaper initially, but how long will it be before you need a full size four drawer? Likewise, will a standard size file meet your needs, or would legal size be more suitable? Additionally, when thinking about shelving, remember that shelves are not only used for books. Shelving is also where three ring binders are placed for easy access, and often are used to store supplies such as copy paper, ink and toner cartridges, labels, envelopes, presentation folders etc. Consider adding some portable or built in cabinets for storage in addition to shelving units. The advantage of cabinets is that they have doors which conceal the contents, and add to the overall neat appearance of your office, helping to eliminate the bane of every home office occupant, clutter. In that regard, don't forget to purchase a shredder. In today's world, a waste basket simply is not a safe place to put documents with account numbers, social security numbers and other personally identifiable information.

Let common sense prevail when setting up your office. Determine to the best of your ability what furniture and equipment will best serve your home office needs, put together a floor plan, and then shop to meet those needs. By taking the time to plan you will find that you have created an efficient office without giving up convenience and comfort. You will have created a functional office environment that you will not only be proud of, but you will enjoy working in.