Office Storage

Steve popped into my office out of the blue a couple of weeks ago on his way home from a meeting.  It was the first time he had been able to come and see me in my new office (I've been in my new role for about 5 months now) and it's the first time I have ever had a private office.

After having a good rummage around he turned to me and very seriously said 'Your office is such a girls office'.  This left me a bit perplexed to be honest.  He then went on to explain that it was all to do with the fact that my drawers was neat and tidy, I had lots of brightly coloured stationary, photos and pictures up.  It also had something to do with the makeup, moisturiser, body spray, nail files, perfume and other girly paraphernalia I had lurking in various nooks and crannies.

There is a bit of a trend at the moment for bedroom storage (I did mine here) so I thought it might be nice to go into office storage as well.

ADDITION - Looking back this post is a little cringe-worthy (it was one of the first posts I ever did and I was / am still learning.  I'm not going to take it down though - it's all part of my blogger education!

I have a curved desk with a number of storage areas and have extended it with two sets of drawers.  I like having a lot of space to work on!  Everything is within swizzle distance of my chair to make it easier to get hold of something.  I love cherry blossom and use it for my desktop background.

I use a drawer divider in my main drawer to keep everything nice and tidy.  I like to have everything in its own compartment.  Going clockwise from top you have:  treasury tags and elastic bands, sticky dividers, glue stick and correction fluid, a set of marker pens, a fan sharpener combo, various make-up items, perfume, hand sanitizer, nail files, painkillers, compact mirror, staples and blue-tac, rubber (erasure for non-Brits), ink cartridges, sharpeners, paper clips and my fountain pen in its blue box.

Right by my computer I keep my pen pots with my Biro's, pencils, highlighters, coloured felt tips and my frog bookmark.  I have no idea where he came from and I never use him but he makes me smile.  Just behind you can see my Hollister body spray in Ventura (vanilla overtones) which I don't think you can get anymore (other scents here) and my Soap and Glory Hand Food which is like putting liquid marshmallows on your hands.  I cannot describe how good this stuff smells.

I like having bright posters and photographs around.  The two posters I picked up at a poster sale - one has vintage tea cups and cupcakes in it, the other brightly coloured ducks.  I love them both.  The photo frame was a gift that I wasn't too sure about at first but it works really well with the colours in the two pictures from our wedding day.  The pine organiser has files, spare pads and plastic covers in it.

I have an emergency stash in my drawer.  If I have an unexpected meeting, get caught in the rain or forget my make-up bag for after the gym this means I will never go short.  I have a small box of Corn Silk translucent face powder.  This stuff isn't great but it works in a pinch to reduce shine.  I then have a twin set of Benefit Ultra Shines Lip glosses in 'Back to the Fuchsia' and '24K' and Rimmell 1000 Kisses in Carry on Cherry (600).  My two lipsticks are No 17 Lasting Fix in Showcase and The Body Shop Colourglide in Coral Splash (66).  I also have a Lyspyl lip moisturiser that smells like strawberries.  Yum!

I always keep a small perfume in my desk.  At the moment it is Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling. You only need a little of this scent with top notes of vanilla and patchouli and a dry down of white musk.  Vanilla scents are my absolute favourite -most of my perfumes have warm overtones to them.  This particular one is becoming progressively harder to get hold of. 

I have a small addiction to Benefit.  I am a complete sucker for their marketing and I love their products.  These three little cases are ideal for the office.  Realness of Concealness has miniatures of Bo-oing, High Beam, Lemon Aid, Lip Plump and Ooh La Lift and is great for touch ups to your base throughout the day.  I don't think you can get Justine Case direct from Benefit anymore but it is another useful little box to have in your bag or at the office.  It includes miniatures of California Kissin', Eyecon, Benetint and Some Kind-A Gorgeous.  My final case is for the eyes.  Big Beautiful Eyes is just fab and includes miniatures of Bo-oing, three eye shadows (a base, a contour and a liner) and two mini brushes that aren't that bad.

With this little lot in my drawers I will always be presentable at the office.

Finally I have some other bits and bobs  - some are useful, some less so!  Here you can see the Hollister Spray and Hand Food again.  Just in front is a compact mirror, handy for any girl and I really like the picture on this one.  Shoes always speak to me!  The red thing in the centre with the Egyptian head on it is actually a spinning hand drum.  Steve bought it back for me from Cairo from one of his work trips and I have had it in the office ever since.  Occasionally people will walk in, ask to bang it (you twiddle it and the small balls hanging on thread hit the centre making a hollow drum noise) and then walk out again.  It appears to be a good stress reliever!  You can see my two nail files under it.  At the front is my enamel magnifying glass with a butterfly handle.  This was a stocking filler a few years ago.  I have never used it but it is pretty so I keep it in my office.

Finally every office needs a stash of snack and drink options.  I have a never-ending supply of fruit and herbal teas, coffees, dried fruit, nuts and seeds to stop me hitting the chocolate at 3pm.

So that is my office storage.  How do you manage yours?