practical and pretty vessels

I like to keep all of my office materials at arm's reach. The problem is that things like pens, sticky notes, stationary, staplers, and paperclips are not really that attractive and can quickly become clutter, or go missing in action during day to day use. What I do is store these items in cute catch-alls to disguise their mundane appearances and keep them organized.


A set of driftwood boxes my dad made for me contain blank cards, envelopes, sticky notes and a votive holder which keeps pens, pencils and scissors at the ready.



A pretty little plate from Anthropologie holds my business cards, and my cell phone while I work at my desk. Lately though, I have noticed the contents of my husband's pockets creeping into the dish: coins, receipts, fuzz. (Maybe he needs his own depository.)



An unsuspecting cache pot I grabbed at TJ Maxx hides uglies like my calculator, phone charger, pencil sharpener, and tape measures.




My Ikea drawers store tacks, paper clips, staplers, markers and other items I don't necessarily use every single day. On top of it I set a simple wire "in-basket" where I keep my blog ideas in an expanding file, 2 brainstorming notebooks, and my daily planner.



In the kitchen and living room I stock sweet little flower pots with writing utensils so I am never searching for a pen when I need one. I use a small, scrolly white jewelery tray to set keys in, on a table next to the door.

Using decorative vessels in this way creates order and beauty. Ditch the boring, traditional and predictable organizers from office big box stores and hunt for vases, plates, trays, pots and baskets at antique malls and second-hand stores for variety. These unique finds will surely give your office a dash of creative, attractive order!