Everyone loves to get something in the mail.  Of course I’m referring to something fun, and not the un-fun stuff like bills and spam.  That should go without saying, of course… I was talking to my neighbor the other day and she was saying that even when she orders something for herself she still feels excited waiting for it.  When she gets home from work and sees that the box has arrived her heart skips a beat.  There’s just something about it.  Tearing the heavy, outer layer.  Needing special tools to do so (and I’m talking about scissors, of course).  You’ve gotta work for it!  You see your name on it.  Then you get to the inside packaging.  This can be a let-down, or it can be another step to prolong the delicious process.  It all depends on the packaging supplies you use.

Like buttoned!  Yes, I said buttons.  Buttons look just like candy.  A bright, thick pop of color that you really want to take a bite out of but you know you shouldn’t (but you still might try anyway).  After you’ve boxed up your precious cargo, whatever it may be, use some white string to wrap around it, threading it through the button with each pass, and then tie a bow right above the button at the end.  There are tutorials on-line for how to do this, so don’t write it off immediately.  Even if you are using a simple paper bag to wrap something, make small dots on it with a silver Sharpie, and then use the string and button trick.  You will find yourself adding these simple do-dads to your packaging supplies list!

The longer you can drag out the unboxing experience, the better.  I’m not talking about a Christmas present prank, where you have a box in a box in a box in a box, or an entire roll of tape wrapped around a gift card.  I’m talking about clean lines and bright colors and thoughtfulness.  It’s all about the thoughtfulness.

Like tissue paper!  Is tissue paper a necessary part of packaging supplies?  Not at all.  But it is a thoughtful one.  Wrap what you are sending in some tissue paper and you will be simultaneously sending the message that you want the recipient to look at this like a gift.  “Here you go, unwrap this.”  It’s like saying, what’s inside?  Even though you already know.

In this day and age, a lot of people operate small business from their homes.  A lot of these companies are purely internet run, and so they involve a tremendous amount of shipping, which means an even more tremendous amount of shipping supplies.  The thing is, just because someone is a savvy business person doesn’t mean they are well organized.  If you have a private business there are probably a lot of areas that you aren’t great in, but you can still have a business because you know how to run one.  And if you are really that great of a business person you will probably hire someone else to do the stuff you aren’t that good at.  Or you will consult the internet.

Here are some tips for how to organize all of those shipping supplies so that you can have a shipping room that anyone could be proud of:

Become friends with IKEA.  You may not live right next to one, but most of us live within a couple hours of one.  They literally have the best furniture for when it comes to organizing.  Start with tall shelves.  IKEA makes shelves that go from floor to ceiling, and are solid enough to hold up against life.  So the first key to organizing your shipping supplies is having the right props.  Making piles on the floor just isn’t going to cut it.

Have the shipping supplies.  There is no point in organizing something if you aren’t well-stocked in it, but you need to be well-stocked in shipping supplies if your business depends on it.  So instead of making small purchases here and there, find an online retailer that you can order in bulk from and then do a monthly or quarterly order of the same thing.  Stack those different shipping supplies in segregated shelves: like size bubble mailers with like size bubble mailers, and the same with boxes.

Treat them appropriately.  If you have bubble wrap, don’t put your bubble wrap on the floor and just unwind it vertically when you need it.  There are plenty of closet rod systems from Lowe’s or Wal Mart that can make it really easy for you to hang the bubble wrap up, thus clearing up space on the ground for other necessary things that a shipping closet might need, like recycling bins.  And make sure that you put smaller items like tape or Sharpies in bins so that they aren’t falling all over the place.