RA Was Here

I took it upon myself to reorganize the supply closet at work because things had gotten out of hand. I might have simply lost patience in the alley of chaos, but you can read it however you like. Not only were the actual supplies in disarray, but the lack of floor space due to random junk resulted in an uncomfortably cramped situation for any more than one person. Upon closer examination, I realized that in addition to strewn-about office supplies, the closet was storing oddities like broken computer elements, forsaken messenger bags, and wall paint that hadn’t been used in three years. What the heck? Who just threw this stuff in here? It didn’t make any sense.

In a short time, I collected no less than 7 leather computer bags from random companies that had sent us free stuff, and it was clear that no one in the office was using them. I piled them up on a table with the witty couplet, “If you don’t take ’em, RA will donate ’em!” I recycled or shredded outdated supplies and marketing materials and cleared the floor space of should-have-been-trash items like a completely used Post-it easel pad. Why on earth did someone not throw it out?

The closet only had a metal-wire shelving unit, which worked fine for things like folders and envelopes; however, things like pens just slipped through the spaces, which resulted in the most-needed supplies being scattered around the closet. And so, I ordered a remedy from our supplier about which I was unnaturally giddy: stackable storage containers! Plus, an excuse to use the communal label-maker! (I bet JG is glad we don’t have one at home, because I would label everything in sight.) I spent a happy hour to sorting out, containing, and gleefully labeling away.

I readily admit that my love for the label-maker is a bit extreme, but I assure you that this overhaul was needed! In addition to my discovery of a bounty of bags (anyone in need of one?), I also uncovered a surplus of almost useless supplies that we will never need to reorder. Keep in mind that there are only nine people in my office, and five of them only come in once a week…

• 24 bottles of Wite-Out
• 60 old-school, wooden pencils
• 600 push pins
• 9 100-count boxes of paper clips
• 6 5,000-count boxes of staples (that’s 30,000 staples, people)

The result of my labor is a slimmed-down, functional, walk-around-able supply closet, and when someone exclaims, “What happened to this closet?” I’m proud to shout, “I happened!”