Furnishing and equipping an office is often expensive, with high-quality office furniture and computer equipment coming at a premium. Fortunately, not everything that adds value to your office has to be expensive. Consider these fun and creative hacks to help keep your office neat and organised.
Cassette tape stands
Do you have a few old cassette tapes lying around in a dusty storage box? If so, don’t be tempted to bin them.
The cover of an old audio cassette is a useful office tool. You can fold it back and use it as a business card or letter holder, or even an upright stand for your cell phone.
TAPE YOUR KEYBOARD CLEAN
Do you have a grimy, dusty keyboard? Old keyboards are havens for grit, grime, germs and dust.
Fortunately the solution to cleaning your keyboard is simple. Turn it over and give it a good shake over a refuse bin. Then use single-sided tape to lift dirt off the keyboard.
You can even try duct tape for heavy-duty dirt relief.
HARVEST YOUR LAPTOP
Laptops are notorious for their short working life. After just a couple of years of everyday use, many are ready for retirement.
Fortunately, your laptop is packed with useful tech you can salvage. Your hard drive can be pulled out and fitted into a portable enclosure, providing you with a cheap portable hard drive.
You can also take your DVD drive and put it in an enclosure, giving you access to a handy portal DVD drive. RAM cards are easy to remove and you can then re-install them on a new machine. You can even turn your laptop’s monitor into a free-standing second monitor, following these instructions.
SAVE YOUR LAPTOP
Simply putting your laptop on a flat surface and using it for long periods can quickly cause it to overheat, causing irreversible damage to its components.
A simple solution is to prop your laptop on a large egg box. This will diffuse heat more effectively and give your machine a longer lifespan.
ORGANIZE YOUR CORDS
Offices tend to get overrun with all kinds of cords, from kettle cords to USB cords, cell phone chargers and phone cords. These typically accumulate in a knotted mass in a corner, making it difficult to find the right cord quickly when you really need it.
To solve this problem, save your used toilet rolls. Wind up a cord, stuff it inside a roll and label the outside with a black marker.
GO WIRELESS
There’s no longer any excuse to have excess wires dangling off your desk. A wide variety of computer peripherals are available in wireless Bluetooth models.
With a wireless keyboard and mouse, you’ll automatically have a less cluttered, more comfortable workspace.
Fix your keyboard stands
The first things to go on most keyboards are the keyboard feet, which are used to angle the keyboard for your comfort. While the frequent disappearance of these plastic feet is something of a mystery, the solution to their absence is not.
Simply take a plastic and metal binder, pull out the metal arms and you’ll find that they fit perfectly in the slots that previously housed the keyboard feet. You’ll need to replace both feet to keep your keyboard level.
GET YOUR PRINTER OUT THE WAY
Desktop printers have a knack for getting in the way. To keep this bulky office artefact from obstructing you when it’s not in use, get yourself a rolling tray, place your printer on it and slide it under your desk for retrieval only when you need it.
If you’re not using the bottom drawer of your desk, this can be removed to make space for your retrievable printer.
RAISE YOUR MONITOR
Placing your desktop monitor at eye level is an important step in creating an ergonomic workspace.
You could go out and purchase an expensive monitor stand, but an easier option is to take a plastic file rack, turn it on its side and place your monitor on top of it. This will also give you additional storage space beneath the monitor.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this selection of popular and useful office hacks.
We’re experts in office management, office moves and furniture installations.
