In honor of Thursday Thirteen, I thought I’d take a few minutes to share the items I consider most necessary to make my day run smoothly in my (home) office. Here’s what is on my desk (or really close at hand):
- Vicks Early Defense foaming hand sanitizer: I used to be a Purell addict, but I recently found this stuff on sale. It’s got a lovely cucumber mint scent that reminds me of one of my favorite shower gel scents. Much nicer than the overwhelming alcohol/medicinal scent of most other hand sanitizers I’ve tried.
- A large water bottle: Okay, technically it used to be my husband’s. But he’s got his own favorite water bottle and this one actually fits in my (much smaller) hand – and holds about 19 ounces of water. I can easily meet my water drinking goals with some mental “just one more bottle” games each day. That’s sure helped get those last few post-partum pounds off!
- Kodak digital camera and docking station: Handy for printing photos right away or uploading them to the laptop – especially for blogging!
- Bulletin board: My corkboard has receipts for Frugal Friday and Super Savings Saturday posts, coupons and free admission tickets for various items/places, articles I plan to blog about, contracts for upcoming article deadlines, refunds I am working on to mail out, a list of websites to visit in my spare (ha ha ha) time, and more. Having it right at the back of my desk means the most vital information is literally right in front of my eyes without piling up on my desk.
- Pen/pencil cup: I hate being without a writing utensil when I need it most. I also keep a pen or pencil handy closer at hand, along with a
- Pad of Post-It notes: Handy for jotting down websites to revisit, blog carnivals to go back to, login codes on sites I’ve just registered at, and other little things that will ultimately be written more permanently elsewhere.
- Cell phone: I gave up on a landline years ago, so my cell is always nearby. Now that I have a camera phone I use it to snap quick shots for blog posts and email them to myself – much faster than the Kodak, even.
- Calendar: And it was free from our insurance company. Y’all know how I love good customer service and freebies – with USAA we get both. *chuckle*
- Storage box: I have an attractive box covered in an
Americana - Art from my daughter: What can I say? Everybody needs to have a little beauty on their desk to inspire creativity. She’s definitely the “crafty” one in the family. Right now I’ve got a cornucopia made of a shell (full of leaves and rocks) and a “wind chime” made from paper with outlines of plastic spoons. Gotta love six-year-olds, eh?
- “Proud Army Wife” plaque: This was a gift from my parents and has a special spot over my bulletin board. It reminds me that being a writer is not my most important job in life.
- Address book: This one’s pretty self-explanatory. I keep my address book and stationary in a drawer close at hand, and stamps on the bulletin board. (Handy also, because I can tell at a glance if I need to buy stamps on my next errand day!)
- Scissors: Technically these are in my pen cup; they get used a lot each day between couponing and dozens of other tasks. Especially important when I spend time printing online coupons or articles – I can clip them right out and put them in their proper storage spots.
So what are the most vital tools and “things” on your desk?
I especially like my Kodak Printer Dock. This is handy on the computer desk at home, but we take it with us when we travel. We have traveled with my elderly parents and it is a good way to "lock in" memories from each day. We get back to the motel, put the camera on the dock, and while is it charging we can also print some of the photos we took that day!
It is also handy when traveling because I scrapbook. I can sit in the motel at night and work on my hobby!
Posted by: Cheryl Hart | November 30, 2007 9:03 PM | Permalink to Comment