Monthly Archives: July 2014

Reasons to Recycle Used Ink Cartridges

[fusion_text]Chances are you go through a lot of ink cartridges at home or at your office. If you multiply this at the national level, it’s astounding to think about the number of empty ink and toner cartridges that end up in landfills every year. Recycling your used ink cartridges is a great way to save money on future ink cartridge purchases, but it also has many environmental benefits. Here are the top 5 reasons to recycle your used ink cartridges.

1. Recycling ink cartridges helps save money, both for you and for the manufacturer. Manufacturers don’t have to spend extra money making new cartridges when they can recycle plastic from old ones. When manufacturers don’t spend as much money making new ink cartridges, the price of ink cartridges doesn’t get more expensive. Additionally, customers often receive used ink cartridges at a discounted price.

2. Recycling your used ink cartridges is easy. You can recycle your cartridges right from your home, office or you can go to your local office supply store. Most stores offer you the ability to recycle your old ink cartridges in exchange for a discount on a future purchase.

3. Ink cartridges that aren’t recycled end up in local landfills. Empty ink and toner cartridges take thousands of years to break down and often release toxic chemicals into the environment. Recycling used ink cartridges is environmentally friendly and reduces air and water pollution associated with landfills.

4. Although the impact may seem small, recycling your used ink cartridges results in less pollution being generated, since less ink cartridges are being made. Recycling used ink cartridges helps reduce a manufacturer’s environmental impact.

5. Save money on future office purchases when you recycle your used ink cartridges. Office Depot offers cash back when you recycle your used ink cartridges. Instead of tossing your old ink cartridges in the trash, save them and save money on your next purchase of office supplies.

Reasons to Implement a Mobile Point-of-Sale System

If you’ve walked into any of the major tech retail stores, you probably know what it’s like to have a unique customer experience. There are no checkout counters and store representatives conduct transactions on the floor using a mobile device. They scan a barcode, you pay with your credit card and then you walk out with your purchase in hand. And you never even had to stand in line.

Although many larger retailers are adopting this trend, a mobile point-of-sale (POS) system can be utilized in all types of businesses, to small boutiques to nationwide chains. Here are four reasons to implement a mobile POS system in your store:

Reduce a customer’s time in line

A mobile POS system has the power to create a unique customer experience in your store. It also creates a system where there are no lines to wait in. Customers have the ability to walk up to any associate and pay for their purchase quickly and efficiently. Customers will likely be much more satisfied if they don’t have to wait in line, and you’ll be able to serve more customers each day.

Email receipts while collecting email information

More and more retailers are offering email receipts and customers are becoming more likely to take advantage of this option. As a retailer, email receipts are a great way to collect customer information while providing a service that’s highly requested. With a mobile POS system, you can easily collect email addresses while providing paperless receipts. Once you have a customer’s email address, you have the ability to send them emails about your company, including news and coupons. If you have a customer loyalty system, you can tie this into your mobile POS system as well. This allows you to store a customer’s purchase history and preferences, making returns and exchanges even easier.

Free up floor space

If you have a small retail space to work with, implementing a mobile POS system can help you take back the floor space that is currently being used by cash registers. This allows you to keep more inventory on the floor, reducing the amount of time you spend going back and forth between the storage room and store. Since mobile sales can happen anywhere, you could also use that space to create a small customer service counter for returns or questions.

Better understand your return on investment (ROI)

What is your best selling product? Which one of your locations is most successful? Who is your top salesperson? You can generate sales reports using your POS system that will let you know the effectiveness of any campaigns that you’re running. You’ll be able to find which products have the highest profit margins, who’s the best sales person on your team and which marketing promotions are the most successful. This allows you to optimize your sales processes, ordering and marketing to help improve your profit margins.

7 Items You Didn’t Know You Can Buy With your Office Supplies

When was the last time you bought a yoga mat with your office supplies order? What about a cake stand? How about a crock pot? Chances are, the answer to all three is “never.” While office supply companies are most well-known for their pens, copy paper and sticky notes, there’s so much more that you can buy than just office supplies. Here are seven items you probably didn’t know you could order with your office supplies:

Yoga Tote and Mat
Whether you’re looking for a yoga mat for the office or for your employees to use after hours, you have the ability to buy a yoga tote and mat with your office supplies. The tote features adjustable straps that hold a rolled yoga mat, making it easy to carry and transport from one place to another. The bag has plenty of room for you to carry a change of clothes and a water bottle, while the thick rubber mat provides the ideal amount of cushioning for exercising.

Cargo Truck Organizer
If you have a company car or truck that gets used on a day-to-day basis, it’s probably a good idea to invest in an organizer. This cargo truck organizer features three pockets with a center insulated cooler with a zip-top lid. The cooler is perfect for storing cold drinks for your employees when they’re on the go. It’s also perfect for storing cleaning supplies, small towels, car chargers and more.

Iron
Shirts wrinkle and skirts crease. It’s an inevitable part of wearing business clothes. If you’re looking for an iron to keep in the office for days when you need employees to look their best, you can buy one when you purchase your office supplies. This iron is small and portable, making it easy to get to those tight spots such as collars and cuffs without having to rotate the iron. It even features an adjustable steam button that allows you to select the perfect amount of steam for the job.

Gym Duffel Bag
For people who enjoy going to the gym before or after work, you can buy a gym duffel bag with a water bottle when you purchase your office supplies. The duffel bag is the perfect size for storing all of your gym essentials – clothes, sneakers, water bottle, towel and more.

Lunch Crock Pot
A lunch crock pot is the perfect way to warm up your favorite meals on the go. This lunch crock pot easily warms up your favorite leftovers, soup, oatmeal and more at the convenience of your desk. It’s small design makes it easy to transport food from home to work, and the outside stays cool to the touch for safety. The inside vessel is dishwasher-safe, making clean up easy and mess-free.

Cake Stand
This cake stand is the perfect for keeping your cakes, pies and other baked goods fresh during an event at your office or during a special lunch for your employees. The cake stand is multifunctional and the top portion easily converts for use as a punch bowl or salad serving bowl. The base can even be used as a pie tray, vegetable trap or hors d’oeuvres plate.

Fountain
If you’re looking for a fountain for the entry area of your office, you can buy one with your office supplies. This waterdrop indoor table fountain is designed to be perched on top of a table in your office or waiting area, and the sound of falling water, paired with the design, brings tranquility to any location.

5 Ways to Attract and Keep the Best Talent

If you look at your team of employees, can you identify how each member is contributing to your business goals? If not, it’s time to figure out why. It’s important to align your employees with your goals because that’s how everyone will succeed.

A good talent management solution means you’ll be able to add new employees, keep your existing ones and align your employees with your goals. Talent management is included in many payroll and HR software. This special human resource process helps businesses keep its most valuable asset – its employees. Here are five benefits of talent management for your business:

Finding the right person for the job

As an employer, it’s easy to hire someone who isn’t perfect for the position with the idea that you can fire them later. Although this can be easier for employers than spending months trying to find the right person, it can also have negative consequences on your business. Your business will benefit from hiring the right person for the right job since there is a better alignment between a person’s interest and the job profile. This leads to higher employee satisfaction and retention.

Retaining top talent

Retaining top talent is important to leadership and growth within an organization. Companies that fail to retain their top talent are at risk of losing out to their competition. It’s important to develop employee retention programs and strategies to recruit, develop and engage quality people into your company. Employees want to know that there is room for growth within the company and that their hard work is being rewarded. Talent management can help with this and provide an opportunity for you to track this information.

Better hiring processes

The quality of a company is related to the quality of its employees. The best way to have talent at the top is to recruit great talent at the bottom. Talent management programs, and training and hiring assessments, have become an important aspect of the HR process. Talent management makes the hiring process easier and more streamlined for employers.

Understanding your employees

Employee assessments provide employers with deep insights into employee satisfaction and performance. Knowing their needs, career goals, strengths, weaknesses and abilities helps you better understand your employees. This will also help you understand what motivates them and what you, as an employer, can do to improve and make their lives better.

Professional development

Using talent management also helps with professional development. When a company understands the abilities of its employees, it can then work to expand on those abilities. Professional development requires you to invest in learning, training and development of an individual for growth, succession planning and performance management. Although this can be a huge time investment, it shows your employees that you care about their success within the business and that they are important to the growth of your company.

Benefits of Using Freight Shipping for your Trade Show Exhibit

When you’re getting ready for a trade show and you’re responsible for shipping everything for your exhibit, such as sales collateral and giveaways, it can be a challenge to know how all of it will make it there. Many freight shipping companies offer services that will ship your trade show exhibits to your destination. Here are the benefits of using freight shipping for your trade show:

Reliability

Freight shipping companies have the experience of moving trade show exhibits. Companies offer guaranteed delivery for the day you need it. Freight shipping companies have strong relationships with local unions and contractors to ensure that your trade show exhibit gets set up and taken down in a timely manner.

Flexibility

Freight shipping companies have experience moving a wide range of shipments, from less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload (FTL) to air and ocean freight. They’re experienced in handling unexpected situations and know how to meet deadlines. Additionally, they offer flexible options that allow you to ship your trade show exhibit anywhere in the world. Freight shipping companies have coordinated inbound and outbound procedures that make pickup easy for you and offer you the ability to schedule freight pickups on days, nights or weekends.

On-Site Support

Many companies offer on-site exhibit managers that will monitor your inbound shipments. This ensures that your trade show exhibit gets to its destination on time and gets set up quickly and efficiently. Freight shipping companies have experienced trade show specialists that are there to help you with set-up and breakdown.

Tracking

A reputable trade show shipping company will offer updated tracking information for your exhibit. This will allow you to check the progress of your trade show exhibit so you can be rest assured that your exhibit makes it to its destination on time. Many companies offer a variety of ways to track your package, including online, on the phone or through a live chat.

Peace of Mind

Getting ready for a trade show can be exhausting because there are so many things to consider – who from your staff will be attending, which marketing materials to bring, how to get your exhibit to the trade show and more. When you use a freight shipping company, you’ll have one less thing to worry about. They’ll make sure your exhibit gets to the trade show on time and without being damaged. The shipping company will take care of the logistics of getting your exhibit to its destination so you can focus on everything else.

Essential Office Supplies to Keep Employees Happy

When shopping for office supplies, it’s easy to remember to buy pens, notepads and staplers. But one thing people sometimes forget to buy is supplies for their employees. The most successful businesses know how important it is to keep their employees happy. Providing a fully stocked breakroom or kitchen in your office is one way to do that.

Office supply stores offer more than just your typical office supplies. They also offer must-have employee items. Here are 5 suggestions:

Coffee maker

Whether you opt for a traditional coffee maker or a single serve brewing system, having a coffee maker is an essential item. When employees come to work early or have a tiring day at the office, they’ll turn to coffee to help get them through the day. Having a coffee maker on hand makes it easy for your employees to get their caffeine fix.

Plates and Cutlery

When your employees bring their lunch to work, they usually don’t bring their own plates and cutlery because it’s something they expect for their bosses to have in stock. Having these will come in handy for your employees.

Cups

Just like plates and cutlery, employees don’t usually bring cups to work every day, but it’s something they’ll use often for soda, coffee and water. Have plenty of cups on hand for your employees since it’s something they’ll probably use often. Also, if clients frequently visit your office, you’ll want extra cups on hand so you can offer them something to drink.

Food and Drinks

You’re going to need something to put in your coffee maker, so keep plenty of coffee and tea on hand. Also, have a water cooler filled for employees who don’t like coffee. Also, keep snacks on hand for your employees in case they get hungry throughout the work day. You can also buy large containers of pretzels and trail mix, which will give your employees a healthier alternative to candy.

Refrigerator and Microwave

Even if eating out at lunch is a big deal at your company, you’re likely to still have employees who prefer to bring their lunch to work. Having a refrigerator and freezer gives them a place to store their lunches, drinks and snacks throughout the day. Also, have a microwave so your employees have a place to heat up food.

Although your break room or kitchen may feel like just another room, it’s one of the most important and valuable rooms for your employees. Keeping it fully stocked will keep your employees happy and give them a place to unwind when they need a break from their workload.

Mistakes to Avoid When Calculating Overtime

Overtime: one of the biggest annoyances for nearly every payroll manager. However, it’s a necessary part of operating a profitable business. The correct tracking, calculation and payment of overtime is something that needs to happen, in order to avoid breaking a number of employment laws. Accurately paying employees overtime, fosters goodwill with employees who have sacrificed their personal time in order to help your company meet important project deadlines.

We’re all human and sometimes payroll managers make mistakes when calculating overtime. Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when calculating overtime on payroll:

Poor record keeping

When calculating payroll, it’s important to keep up-to-date on payroll recording methods. Using unreliable sources of record keeping, such as paper or punch card payroll, have a tendency to fail when not backed up with a computer-based payroll system. Overtime hours can be easily missed or not documented, making it impossible for the payroll manager to know about overtime hours until it’s too late.

Classifying all employees as exempt status

While you may think that all of your employees are exempt from overtime payment because they’re salaried, this isn’t always necessarily true. The Fair Labor Standards Act has strict guidelines when it comes to determining employee classification, including overtime pay. Check these guidelines before assuming that all of your salaried employees are exempt from overtime payment.

Granting comp time instead of paying overtime

As an employer, it can be tempting to cut corners by offering extra paid time off to employees who have worked overtime instead of paying. However, most states don’t approve of comp time in lieu of paying overtime to eligible employees. If you see that some of your employees are consistently working overtime, check with management to see if there is a shortage of employees and if it’s possible to hire more team members.

Asking employees to volunteer to work overtime

Similar to above, asking employees to work overtime hours that are off the clock is a mistake you want to avoid making. Not only is it illegal under FLSA provisions, but it’s also unethical and can get you in trouble if an employee reports it or gets injured while working.

Missed overtime for off-the-clock work

Sometimes, employees need to take work home or stay later than their scheduled time in order to meet project deadlines. Often times, employees don’t record this time and work hours that are off the clock. This can lead to incorrect payroll calculations. As an employer, if you ask your employees to work more than 40 hours a week, you are responsible for paying overtime.

Many of these overtime payroll mistakes can be avoided by outsourcing your payroll service and by being properly educated on payroll laws. By avoiding these common overtime payroll mistakes, your organization can better control employee costs and have the resources to improve the workplace.

5 Ways to Make Online Payment Processing Easy for Your Customers

A growing number of people are turning to the Internet to do their shopping. Making it as easy as possible for customers to pay is essential for increasing conversions and sales. This is why your checkout page is so important. It’s the final stop for people shopping on your website and the place where they hand over their credit card information. The checkout page is where people become paying customers. Making it easy for customers to checkout on your website means they’re more likely to return. Here are five ways that will help make online payment processing easy for your customers:

Provide a Variety of Payment Methods

This may seem obvious, but there are many websites that only offer one payment method. Now that people are using online shopping more frequently, they expect websites to have a variety of payment options available on the checkout page. It’s not necessary to offer every payment option available. However, it’s important to look at your target audience to see what payment methods they use most often. If you notice that they mostly use credit cards but rarely use PayPal, it would make sense to allow direct bank transfers and payments from all major credit cards.

Allow Payments without Requiring an Account

E-commerce shoppers have enough usernames and passwords to remember, and unless it’s necessary, don’t require them to remember another one. As a business, the last thing you want to do is put up a wall preventing people from paying. Additionally, many customers don’t understand why they need to sign up to buy a product online when they aren’t required to do so in store. To make it easier for potential customers to buy from you online, allow them to check out as a guest.

Make Errors Easy to Fix

It’s a given that people make mistakes during the checkout process. Sometimes people incorrectly type their credit card number or forget to put the “@” in their email addresses. When people do make a mistake, it’s your job to point out the error and make sure it gets fixed. Some checkout pages display an error message at the top of the pages while others make the user scroll down to the field that was incorrect. Ideally, you want an error message to appear in the field in which it occurred. Another helpful tip is to save the information they’ve already submitted so they don’t need to re-enter their information again.

Provide Reassurance that your Site is Secure

Whenever personal information is involved, always go out of your way to let people know about the security measures you have in place. Delivering a seamless design and not redirecting people to a third-party site are important steps in building trust among your potential customers. However, you still need to do more to reassure people that their information is safe from hackers. Having a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate on your website will help give you extra protection while encrypting credit card data.

Create Clear Calls to Action

Don’t leave people guessing what to do next. Provide them with clear directions on where to click and what happens next. Make it specific by using phrases like “continue to check out” or “continue shopping” rather than ambiguous phrases such as “continue” or “apply”.

6 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Office Furniture

Ordering new furniture for your office can be both fun and overwhelming. Ordering office furniture is often trickier than buying office supplies because of how many factors there are to consider. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re giving your office a makeover, deciding what pieces of furniture to buy isn’t an easy task. Here are six common mistakes that people make when buying office furniture:

Choosing looks over comfort

There are plenty of chairs that look nice, but if they’re not comfortable, it won’t mean anything. Keep the comfort of your employees, clients and yourself in mind when choosing furniture for your office. Aesthetics are important, but it’s not what 100% of your decision should be based on. Think about how chairs are going to feel after sitting in them for a few hours. Go to the store and test out furniture before buying it. It may seem like an extra step, but it will pay off in the long run.

Not keeping employees in mind

Everyone is different, and what may be comfortable for one person may be uncomfortable for another. A desk that works for someone who is tall may be uncomfortable for someone who is shorter or vice versa. A chair with armrests may not be suitable for a larger employee. Additionally, some employees may require collaborative workstations while others may need individual desks. Keep your employees in mind when you buy a new piece of furniture. Ultimately, your employees are going to be using the furniture every day, so it’s important that what you buy works for them, too.

Buying without a plan

Like any big investment, buying impulsively could lead to you regretting your decision later. Consider how often the item will be used and whether an item will be good for long term use. If you’re moving to a bigger office, consider what the new office will need. Also, look at the furniture that you already have. Find out what your employees don’t like about your old set up and what they’d like to see in the new one. Most importantly, think long term. Don’t get too caught up in design trends that will leave your office looking outdated in the near future.

Choosing price over quality

A lower priced item may be appealing to your wallet and budget, but the quality may not be as good as a more expensive product. For example, while two chairs may look similar, the more expensive of the two may last two to three times longer. In this case, you’d get more for your money with the more expensive product.

Mismatched colors

Different manufacturers may have the same name for a color, but the colors may not actually match up. Try to order accessory pieces from the same manufacturer to avoid mismatches. If you want to order from different manufacturers, look at the items in the store before purchasing. This will allow you to look at the colors side by side to see if they match or compliment each other.

Not testing out furniture

The saying “try before you buy” holds true for office furniture. Go to the store, sit in different chairs and look at different desks. See if the chairs that you like can fit under the desks that you like. See how your conference room chairs look with the table you want. Testing out office furniture doesn’t take a lot of time, and it can save you a lot of wasted money in buying the wrong item.

5 Advantages of Using a Time Clock and Attendance Software

Managing employee time and attendance can be a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be. Time clock and attendance software eliminates the frustrations of a manual process and automates your entire system. Most businesses are already using an automated payroll service, and many of those businesses also use an automated time clock and attendance software. But why are organizations so eager to make the switch and leave manual time and attendance processes behind? Here are five advantages of switching to time clock and attendance software:

Increased Accuracy

Manual timekeeping requires employees to report their hours worked per pay period after each work day. Unfortunately, this can lead to inaccurate time tracking. Manual processes can lead to a number of additional issues, such as the inability to read handwriting or even fraud. Using automated software can reduce the number of inaccuracies and opportunities for time theft. With time clock and attendance software, employees can easily track their time online, through a mobile device or even from an electronic or biometric time clock. The data collected is transferred to the software in real-time.

Increased Productivity

When it’s time to process payroll at the end of a pay period, a manual process requires you to collect time cards and re-enter the data into your payroll solution. The time necessary to do this for an entire organization can be extremely tedious. If the responsibilities are on one person, this can take several hours to do. Using time clock and attendance software drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to process your payroll. You can go from spending hours processing payroll to a matter of minutes when you make the switch.

Automating time collection through time clock and attendance software ensures that everything is in one place. This allows for your data to be automatically sent to your payroll solution for processing and eliminates the need for data to be re-entered manually. The result is accurate processing that can take as little as 20 minutes per pay period. Reducing the time it takes to run payroll, while increasing the accuracy of your data, can lead to an increase in productivity.

Increased Employee Satisfaction

Time clock and attendance software makes employees happier because the software guarantees timely and accurate pay. The software eliminates human error when manually entering time sheets. Also, it gives employees secure access to their personal data through an employee self-service portal. This makes it easier for employees to access information without having to go through the human resources department. Employees feel empowered when they have access to their own information, and that level of empowerment can lead to increased satisfaction.

Easy Management of Flexible Working Arrangements

In today’s business environment, it’s not uncommon to have employees working at the office, at home or at another remote location. Time and attendance software allows businesses to easily track time using a variety of clocking options. This makes it easy and convenient for all employees to track time, regardless of whether they’re in the office or not.

Hassle Free Schedule and Shift Management

With time clock and attendance software, it’s easy to develop and manage entire schedules, assign hours to specific tasks, add clients to tasks and easily keep track of shift swaps. The software also allows you to easily and efficiently determine workloads, resources and even budgets by department.

3 Reasons Your Company Should Offer Mobile Payments with Smart Phones

Mobile payments used to be seen as a trendy and quick way to pay for coffee, but now, this trend reflects a real shift in consumer behavior. As smart phones become more prevalent and consumers become accustomed to different ways of paying at a store, business leaders are recognizing that it’s important to consider this form of payment. Here are three reasons why your company should offer mobile payments to customers:

New customers

Today, an increasing number of people are using their mobile devices to make payments. Even more people are using their smartphones to look for coupons, deals and discounts that they can use at checkout. The habit of using a smartphone or tablet to make payments is already second nature to people, especially among younger consumers. If your target market is a primarily younger consumer, offering mobile payments or mobile coupons and deals can be beneficial for your business. Giving these customers the ability to pay however they want means that you won’t lose their business as mobile payments continue to make up more and more transactions.

If you offer a coupon or discount for first-time customers, listing it online or through a mobile app can help you get additional exposure for your business.

Convenience

A study by Visa shows that Americans are twice as likely to carry a phone as opposed to cash. For many younger customers, paying through an app on their phone is the preferred method simply because they don’t need to carry anything else. Larger retailers already offer mobile payments and many small business owners are following suit.

Accepting mobile payments have additional benefits, such as speeding up checkout lines and the ability for employees to focus on customer service rather than staffing the register. For small business owners, mobile payments can set up location-based reminders using geo-fencing that can alert a customer that the store is having a sale or notifying them that the store has a new arrival.

Marketing data

When customers pay using their smartphone, businesses have the ability to capture more than just a credit card number. Businesses have the ability to track purchase history, item preferences, email addresses, returns and more. This information can be used to help build a customer profile that can help in future marketing efforts. This can help turn a one-time sale into a repeat customer through targeted marketing efforts.

A customer database is a great place to store additional information about your customers. If your payments are tied to a customer, you can see how their purchases change and what opportunities you have to bring new products and services to your customers.

By offering mobile payments, you’ll no longer have to turn customers away because they don’t have cash on them, and you’ll never have to worry about losing a sale.

7 Must-Have Supplies for Your Classroom

Whether you’re a first-year teacher or you’ve been teaching for years, having the right supplies for your classroom is essential. Even though the school year is over, it’s never too early to start thinking about what you’ll need for your classroom in the fall. When it comes to your classroom, the smallest details make the biggest difference. Here are seven must-have supplies for your classroom:

Pencils

For many teachers, pencils are one of the most important supplies for their classroom. Even if students bring their own pencils on the first day, chances are they’ll lose them after the first few weeks. Keeping an extra supply of pencils on hand means you’ll always have extras to hand out in the classroom. Mechanical pencils are a nice touch, but regular pencils will do the trick.

Pencil Sharpeners

If you’re going to have pencils in your classroom, it’s important that you have an electric pencil sharpener (or two) in your classroom. Spending money on a good pencil sharpener may seem excessive, but having one you can rely on, year after year, will make it worth the investment.

Trashcans

Even if your classroom already comes with a trashcan, it doesn’t hurt to have a few extras around the room. Having multiple trashcans means students will have different places to dispose of their trash. Instead of walking across the room and talking to friends along the way, students can throw away their trash at the nearest trashcan.

Filing Cabinets and Paper Organizers

Grading papers is something teachers do on a daily basis, and it’s important to have somewhere to store them. Having filing cabinets or paper organizers will keep your desk from getting cluttered with tests, homework and other paperwork that accumulates throughout the day. Buying organizers for your desk will help you organize your day-to-day papers, while a filing cabinet will be essential for organizing the papers that you need long-term, such as past lesson plans.

Arts and Crafts Supplies

If you’re an elementary school teacher, having arts and crafts supplies will be essential. Buy items such as construction paper, scissors, markers, crayons and glue for the days where you’re going to be doing projects in the classroom. Instead of waiting until a project comes around to buy these supplies, buy it all in advance and keep it in boxes or cubbies in your classroom. If you do a spontaneous project or activity that requires crayons or paper, you’ll already have the supplies in your classroom, and you won’t have to wait until you can get to the store.

Dry Erase Markers or Chalk

Regardless of whether your classroom has a chalkboard or dry erase board, you’ll still need something to write with. Some schools supply this for you, but most of the time, you’ll be on your own. Buy enough to last for the first half of the year, but don’t be afraid to buy even more. You can never have too much chalk or too many dry erase markers since you’ll be writing on the board every day during lessons. If you do use small whiteboards or chalkboards for classroom activities, make sure you have extra markers or chalk in your classroom.

Folders

Each week, you’ll need to organize worksheets, tests and homework. One of the best ways to do this is to use folders. Having a variety of folders on hand, including manila folders, two-pocket folders and folders with prongs will make it easy to organize your classroom. Using folders in a variety of colors can help you organize your papers by subject or day of the week.