Woman in Real Life

Remember that feeling of going back to school wearing a new outfit and carrying a backpack full of fresh, new school supplies? Of course you do. There's nothing quite like it.

That's why I like to recreate that feeling each fall by stocking up on new office supplies. Maybe it's a female thing, but I've had several of my friends tell me how much they love office supplies such as pens, Post-it notes and paper.


I did my last big home office overhaul in January when I wanted to create a fresh, new start for a new year. With fall approaching, it was time to tidy up and beautify the home office again. I turned to Staples for inspiration, because we all know that Staples has all of the office supplies you could ever need.


I discovered that Staples carries a whole line of Martha Stewart Home Office products. When looking for organizing inspiration, you can't do better than Martha Stewart. That woman knows how to do things right. All of the Staples Martha Stewart office supplies are colour-coordinated, from file folders and labels to storage boxes, binders and accordion files.


I was particularly drawn to the wall manager system. It seemed like an attractive option for getting some of that "stuff" off my desk and up onto the wall. Each piece of the wall manager system is sold separately so you can piece together the right system for you. While I'm using mine for my home office, the wall manager would be great in a child's bedroom or in the kitchen.

Martha suggests that each family member customize their own board. With all of the activities that kids are involved in nowadays, the wall manager would no doubt be an efficient way of keeping track of the whole family.


The system is easy and quick to install. Even I could do it, and I have little tolerance for this type of thing. Each board comes with a plastic wall mount to which the front panel easily slides on and clicks into place.


I chose a magnetic dry erase board, which works with dry-erase and wet-erase markers. I'll use it to write notes and reminders, knowing full well that my daughter will erase them to write something herself. You can also magnetically attach cards and photos. I also chose a cork board to display anything from recipes to kids' artwork to photos to reminders. I added a shelf beneath the dry erase board to hold markers and Post-it notes.


I have to say my favourite accessory is the inbox, which I have used to hold some Martha Stewart file folders in a lovely blue-green hue. I like to buy office supplies in nice colours to add some fun to my work day.


I also added two hooks and two clips to hold random items as needed. All in all, I'm pleased with this new addition to my office and I'm hoping it helps me to keep my desktop clean.

What about you? Do you love to buy office supplies like so many of my friends?


*I was provided with products for review purposes. All opinions are my own.