This Year’s Super Bowl More Green Than Ever

Posted on by Frankye

No office hosts any events as grand as the NFL’s Super Bowl. That’s why it’s so exciting that the organization is boarding the green business express! The NFL has its own Environmental program headed by Jack Groh, who says the organization is adopting a set of policies that will make this year’s big game the greenest in history! A couple of the new NFL green initiatives can be adapted to any workplace.  All the leftover food prepared for the event will be donated to community agencies. The NFL will also donate leftover office supplies, decorations, and building material after the Super Bowl. Consider adopting these policies for your next company banquet, meeting or training event.

Check out the other ways the Super Bowl is going green this year here. Oh, and GO COLTS!

I Love Office Supplies Too!

Posted on by Frankye

This blog is powered by research. We here at Smart Office are constantly on the lookout for career and office product information you can actually use. In the process of scouring the Internet for that info, I’ve come to a startling realization: there are a lot of people way into office supplies. I have seen countless odes to paper clips, mechanical pencils, sticky notes and markers in blogs from around the world! A Google search of the exclamation “I love office supplies” yields more than 26,000 hits. I work for a great office products supplier and all that office supply love seemed a little over the to to me, but it did get me thinking. There are definitely some office supplies that I find especially useful and some I just get a little kick out using. That realization presented me with an opportunity to indulge in the blogger’s favorite activity: list making! My favorite office products in no particular order:

Wrist rest: I’ve had my wrist rest for years, but I never even bothered to take it out of the package until I got this gig. After working from home for a few days, the numbness in my hands and shooting pains in my arms alerted me to the fact that my tiny desk was laid out fine for casual web surfing, but was murder as a workstation. That’s when I pulled out the keyboard wrist rest my least favorite aunt gave me a few Christmases ago. What a difference it makes! I thought I was going to have to buy a new desk, but now I work comfortably at all day. So, thanks Auntie! Maybe one day I’ll learn to love the ice scraper you got me this past Christmas as much as I love my wrist rest!
Multi-colored Post-it Notes: My Post-its are my everything — my message board, my note pad, my address book, my daily planner. I am so glad they are available in so many colors since my wall is covered in them. That way I can call it art instead of a mess!
Roller Ball Pen: For the most part, I only have to actually hand write notes and memos to myself, which is great because I have terrible hand writing. Plus, I get to use pink ink and not worry about looking unprofessional!
microSDHC Card: Ok, I’ll admit it. This isn’t so much an office supply, as a boost-the-song-storage-capacity- of-my-not-an-iPod-mp3-play supply. Still, I seriously couldn’t live without it!
Cable ties: I didn’t even know about this useful little product until I started at On Time Supplies. Again, now that I sit at my computer desk all day, I have a new appreciation of products designed to increase comfort and organization. These cheap ties work great to keep all my cords organized and neatly tucked a way.
Space Heater: You can’t just crank up the thermostat when you feel like it in most offices. I can here at home, but I also pay the heating bill. So yes, you still need a “work sweater” and a space heater when you work from home!
And there you have it — the office supplies I  pretty much can’t live without and the Smart Office Blog contribution to the “I love office supplies” meme!

How to Save Tons of Money When Replacing Your Ink Cartridges.

Posted on by Frankye

If you follow the Smart Office blog, you know that it is completely illegal for printer manufacturers to void your warranty for not using name brand inks. This is great if you use an inkjet printer, because those run through ink pretty quickly. I use an inkjet and it sometimes seems as if I am buying a new cartridge every other day! Since printer ink is a recurring expense, it’s a good idea to find ways to save money. You have three options when it comes to replacing ink cartridges: OEM cartridges, OEM-compatible cartridges and re-manufactured cartridges.

OEM means “original equipment manufacturer.” OEM ink cartridges are made or purchased by printer manufacturers and marketed under their brand name.  OEM ink cartridges are guaranteed to work reliably and produce great looking documents, but they also costs the most. The other safe bet is OEM-compatible ink cartridges. These ink cartridges are generics made to OEM specifications, so they generally perform reliably. They also cost significantly less than OEM ink cartridges. For example, if your office uses a Hewitt Packard Officejet K8600 Series printer, you’ll pay about $29 for the OEM cartridges at On Time Supplies. The OEM-compatible cartridges from Innovera are only $22.

Finally, there are remanufactured or recycled ink cartridges. These are used OEM cartridges that have been refurbished and refilled.  Re-manufactured cartridges are the cheapest option — some quick Googling turned up $26 5-packs for the HP Officejet printer. They are also the riskiest option — they may be filled with inferior inks that can clog your printer, produce poor quality documents, break down or otherwise fail to perform reliably. Use these at your own risk.

Fun Cold and Rainy Day Art Projects for Kids

Posted on by Frankye

As I watch the news in the morning, I take [cold] comfort in the weather forecasts of other cities. Sure, it’s cold enough to want to die here in Chicago, but hey, it’s not much better in New York or Kansas City, and it’s always worse in Alaska. Misery loves company, it’s true. I also enjoy fantasizing about living some place warmer. It is a cruel 15 degrees outside in Chicago today, and the wind is blowing so cold and so hard that every resident of the city has to wonder, why not California? Or Florida? Or, while we’re dreaming, Acapulco?

Beach fantasies aside, most of us aren’t going to pack up and move, so we have to come up with coping strategies. This can be extra challenging for parents. Some days, it’s just too cold for your kids to wear themselves out outside. When it’s too cold for your kid to go out and play, take a page out of her teacher’s book and hit up the websites of art and craft suppliers for fun indoor projects!

Crayola offers projects using everything from crayons to clay. This finger-painted greeting card project is my favorite because though it’s designed for kids, the results are more attractive than some of the stuff you see for sale on Etsy! In addition to all the art and craft projects, the Crayola site also features enough free coloring pages to occupy your kids on every winter and rainy day of their childhood!

Pacon also offers projects in a range of mediums. I love their construction paper Mola textile project! The mess is easily taken care of with a broom or vacuum cleaner, and it’s a great way to start a conversation about other cultures!

The Prismacolor site has a lot on offer for older kids. If your teen is a budding artist, she’ll love tips and techniques from professional artists on getting the most from her art pencils and markers. The Prismacolor site also features a gallery guaranteed to inspire!

It’s probably too much to much to hope your kids will put down the TV remote and video game controllers forever. Still art projects offer one more great way of keeping your kids occupied during the long winter months, and fostering your kids creativity is not a bad bonus!

OnTimeSupplies.com Debuts New Site!

Posted on by Frankye

I told you it was coming, now here it is! After a long process that ended with a very  long night of link-checking, the new OnTimeSupplies.com is open and ready for visitors! As promised, the new site is more attractive and easier to navigate — finding all your essential office supplies is a cinch with the new click-able category tabs, improved search engine and toner finder. And you don’t need a degree in interior design or DVR HGTV anymore to furnish your office right either. With the new furniture collections, you can have a stylish, comfortable office, conference room or reception area with just a mouse click.  Most impressive are On Time Supplies’ new community pages. In a section dubbed the “Knowledge Base” are a ton of how-to guides with expert advice on everything from how to choose a laminator to going green.

Another great new feature of the site is the Deal of the Day. On Time Supplies now offers deep discounts on the office supplies you need the most. The selection changes every 24 hours, so check out OnTimeSupplies.com daily to see what’s on offer.

In spite of the fancy new site, the things you love most about On Time Supplies haven’t changed — great discounts for bulk orders, fast shipping, and of course, a friendly, knowledgeable and easy to reach staff ready to answer any questions!

How to Boost Productivity and Still Have a Life When You Work from Home

Posted on by Frankye

Do you work from home? I work from home. In fact, all of us here at Smart Office make this magic happen from the comfort of our own homes, because Web 2.0 is super awesome. Yes, being a stay-at-home worker definitely has its advantages–I am so glad that I don’t have to navigate the Chicago public transit system in the middle winter or get dolled up for the office every day, though it’s rare that I actually work in my pajamas. It’s hard to keep your mind on business when you’re wearing a bath robe.

Keeping your mind on business is the biggest struggle of working from home, and the biggest obstacle to productivity is the blurring of lines between your home life and your work life. Nothing helps squash that problem more then a well laid-out, organized home work space –I say work space instead of office because you really don’t necessarily need a whole room, just enough space to work comfortably. No matter how much space you have, you need your work area to be a professional space to help you stay task oriented. You have to keep your personal life out of your office. The folks over at Suite 101 pulled together a few tips on how to do just that.  I was pleased to see that I am already ahead of the game, having already incorporated one of their suggestions on my own: develop an organization system and stick with it. For example, I find I need visual reminders of important dates and tasks, so I just naturally began jotting notes and reminders to myself down on Post-It notes and slapping them on the wall above my computer monitor. Hey, it’s cheaper than a bulletin board, though it doesn’t look anywhere near as nice. That system probably won’t work for everybody, so Suite 101 offers some other solutions, including labeled bins and wall files.

Though I work from home for an office supply company, I still picked up a few ideas on how to better organize my work area for greater productivity.

Keep a separate set office supplies that no one uses but you, and you only use at work.

As Suite 101 points out, nothing provides a handier excuse to procrastinate than not having the tools and supplies you need right at hand. That’s why you need to equip your home work area just as completely as an on-site work space. Invest in office supply basics such as scissors, pens and pencils, a stapler, paper clips, envelopes and printer paper. Funnily enough, you can get all of that quickly and for a great price at OnTimeSupplies.com! Ahem. Anyway, once you’ve got them, don’t steal your own office supplies! Don’t loan your pencil to your kid, don’t use your scissors to wrap gifts, don’t use any of your office supplies to complete household tasks. If you can swing it, reserve a printer and other office technology for your own work use, separate from what your family uses.

Clean up the place from time to time.

A messy work area is demoralizing and distracting, so clear away clutter regularly. That’s one reason I love my Post-It note system. After each little memo has done its job I can just toss them. Use your office supplies and personal organization systems–enter phone numbers and email address jotted on scrap paper and envelopes into your address book so you can throw that trash away and file your documents to get them off your desk. Also, remember that there’s no maintenance crew swinging by your office after hours, so go ahead and break out the dust cloth, empty your waste basket and clear away the coffee mug. You will be amazed by how much more focused you’ll feel and how much more work you’ll get done!

Manage your time so you don’t neglect your work or your family.

If you aren’t careful,  you can fall into one of two traps when you work from home–working all the time, or never getting any work done at all. The best way to avoid either pitfall is to set a schedule, and stick to it! While you are working, don’t allow yourself to get sucked into non-emergency family matters. Maintain the integrity you had when you worked at an on-site location–don’t carry out personal conversations on the phone or through email while your are supposed to be working. At the same time, it’s important to preserve your personal and family time. After you’ve put in an honest day’s work stop working! When project deadlines loom over your head and you have to put in extra hours, make your family aware of the situation, schedule time with them after your work life is less hectic, and set aside time for yourself.

Cleaning tips from Eureka that go easy on your wallet and the environment!

Posted on by Frankye

Move over, Heloise. Our friends over at Eureka offer some great tips on re-purposing household items into cleansers and dust busters. Who knows how to clean better than a vacuum manufacturer? Every one’s trying to save a few bucks these days, so it’s nice of Eureka to show us how to tackle household tasks without making a trip to the store. Even better, recycle and reuse are the green manta, so if you follow these tips, you’ll be doing your bit to save the planet!

Eureka compiled this list from its customers, so all the tips and tricks have been tested in homes all across America. My favorite comes from Erin of Makanda, IL. “Hot vinegar has been my cleaning secret. It cleans soap scum, windows, extra dirty/soiled laundry, and even our toilet. One thing to be wary of is vinegar that does not say it is made from grain, because it could be made from petroleum products.”