There are many tools which we can use at our desks which will make our working lives so, much, easier! There really shouldn’t be any excuse for struggling on unaided, it wastes your time, your employers time and causes general frustration and stress. With the use of simple desktop tools you can work with more ease, you can organise your desktop and you can run more efficiently. The basics which we swear by are of course the letter tray (or filing drawers) for paper work which is to be referred to daily or until the accounts are dealt with, desk tidies for storing all your pens, pencils and pins, the stapler (goes without saying really) and tape dispensers.

Sellotape dispensers are probably the most obvious choice, for good reason. In fact, did you know that Sellotape still come out top on all consumer sticky tape surveys? Proud market leaders since the 1930’s and still going strong over 70 years on, Sellotape have now earned themselves a place as a household name, the only brand of sticky tape to have done so! You may even be surprised to know that they have pride of place in the English dictionary! However the brand are aware they there are many brands competing for the top spot and so they focus complete dedication on developing their ideas and innovations and maintaining an immaculate reputation. To be fair to them, it’s paid off as they’re still head of the leaders board!

LA Office have a large selection of Sellotape Holders, our favourite being theSellotape Large Chrome Dispenser featured. Boasting:

• Stylish desktop essential
• Non-slip base
• Mirror chrome finish
• Takes 33m and 66m rolls of tape up to 25mm wide
• Just £7.64 inc VAT!

Not bad considering the price and will bring a sense of style to any office or desk. Using this non slip tape dispenser means that you can take pieces of tape at your desired length with the use of just one hand! Perfect for multi-taskers and means that no longer will you have to tear strips with your teeth and stick them to the desk ready for use!

The Green Bit

At Sellotape, tape is made using the Hot-Melt technique because they believe that this method produces less waste and is more environmentally friendly. Any solvent used to make the release coating is destroyed in a thermal oxidiser which ensures that no dangerous or harmful gases are released into the atmosphere. In the process of converting any harmful gases into clean air, heat is produced from the thermal oxidiser. This heat is used to power the drying oven. This ensures that the process is not only very environmentally friendly but efficient.

Desk mats are an increasingly popular item found among managerial personnel in the workplace. It’s become a status thing; “one with a desk should be looked up to, respected and has obvious sophistication”. They give an office, or rather a desk a little bit of “swagger” and their classiness will surely impress your clientele and customers. They are basically a way of marking success and higher status. A posh desk normally goes hand in hand which can often cost an arm-and-a-leg, and so the purchase of a desk mat in this instance becomes necessary rather than lavish. We mustn’t forget the actual purpose of the desk mat you see; to protect our beautiful surfaces from pen impressions, scratches and general wear and tear. However in my opinion, the best bit about a desk mat is the sift surface it gives you to write upon; it makes writing smooth and enjoyable!

At LA Office we have quite a large selection of different desk mats with various options including work pads, indexes, anti-glare covers, non-slip backing, calendars and even USB hubs! However today’s choice has to be the unique option. Take a look at our Durable Artwork Desk Mat featured.

This distinctive and modern trapezoid shape desk mat will not only enhance the appearances of your desk and protect it, but it will also allow you individualise it in whatever way you choose! The transparent anti-glare, hard-wearing overlay cover lifts so that you can place under it a picture of your choice. This could be a map, a calendar page, a famous copy of artwork or even a picture you child drew for you! What’s more you can be sure of a smooth writing surface and non-slip foam backing! Measuring (WxD) 680 x 510mm, the size is spot on and at just £15.70 inc VAT, it’s certainly affordable.

The icing on the cake however has to be that this mat is made by the prestigious Durable, a brand who have celebrated three awards at the 2009 BOSS Awards; Brand Awareness, Manufacturer Environment Award and Marketing Excellence. What’s more, they have been voted Supplier of the Year at the Nemo Conference and for the third time, DURABLE was awarded Langstane’s coverted Supplier of the Year Award too! If there was a flicker of doubt about our Durable desk mat, then their reputation is sure to clear up any hesitation!

The Green Bit

DURABLE products are particularly eco-friendly thanks to their durability. The plastic materials they use are robust, have excellent recycling properties and can be disposed of together with normal refuse with no problem at all.

In accordance with its guiding principles, Durable continuously aim to further optimise their ecology-oriented management. Their aim is to develop products that are largely recyclable (of course they should also be produced at low cost and yield a reasonable profit!). To meet this ideal as closely as possible, Durable continuously carry out critical analyses of the environmental impact of their products and production processes. Thus the material thicknesses of their products and above all, their packaging are constantly reviewed for possible enhancements. Through packaging modifications developed in-house, Durable have been able to achieve significant material savings and reductions in volume. Durable also demonstrate their responsibility towards the environment through their purchasing policies. Important decisions in favour of ecologically sustainable production are being made in regular project meetings between their purchasing department and suppliers. Careful selection of optimal materials is one way to protect the environment.  The right choice of suppliers is also as important to Durable. They never fail to check whether the manufacturers and their suppliers are certified, and how they are being regulated. These questions must always be answered before they decide on any purchase.

Over the years rulers have come in many forms, from wood, plastic, fabric and metal, you’ll even find that once upon a time they were made of ivory! The very first calibrated foot ruler was invented in 1675 by an unknown inventor, and today you will see these rulers on most every desk in the home, school and office. However the rulers uses are not quite as straight forward and few as we may think, just take a look at what this simple tool can help us with!

The ruler is used in the home, the school, at work, for math and geometry, sewing and quilt making, for measuring spaces, by surveyors in order to draw an area of land and in the past, if you’d been particularly naughty, your teacher may have even used a ruler to slap you across the knuckles or on the bottom! Other uses include;

• To quickly split paper
• Drawing straight lines
• Providing a straight guide for cutting and scoring with a blade
• Making technical drawings
• Drawing margins in books or on paper
• Creating lined paper
• Marking off measurements in fractions
• Helping to connect two straight lines
• Measuring heights, lengths and widths
• To flick small objects (such as chewed up paper) across the classroom (not recommended)

These tools are certainly indispensable! Also known as a rule, rulers are marked in increments of inches but often also have metric markings on the opposite edge or reverse side such as centimetres (cm) or millimetres (mm). Steel rules are considered the most accurate, so if optimum precision is what you’re looking for, then try browsing through our selection of steel rulers.

You will find however that we also have a large variety of standard plastic desk rulers which are used for three main purposes; to measure, to aid in drawing straight lines and as a straight guide for cutting and scoring with a blade. Choose from an extensive selection of brands here and from some very favourable offers!

If your answer is ‘no’ to any of the following then you’re in need of a little guidance!

• Do you have space on your desk to put a mouse mat?
• Is there a clear space on your desk to put your morning coffee?
• Are you able to give your desk a good dusting at the end of each week?
• Do your important files and paperwork have a home?
• Is all the paperwork on your desk an active or an open case?
• Can you honestly say your desk is organised?
• Do you have a home for everything on your desk?

Ok, I’m guessing for most of you the answer will be no. Having worked in many different offices and call centres, plus having had and seen many home offices, I can safely say that the vast majority of desks within those offices were a complete unorganised mess!

I don’t care what the saying says; a cluttered desk can only mean a cluttered mind too, never mind a genius! If you don’t know what everything is on your desk, you don’t know where ‘that’ file is, you can’t see a pen for mounds of paper, then how are you meant to be functional, to think straight. When you boss call’s ‘can I have the files on the Johnson case’ and you can’t find them, I’d say you’re mind would be a jabbering wreck of pure panic! Where’s the room for genius when you can’t even get organised?

There really is a very simple solution to the widespread problem! It goes by the name of a letter tray! Letter trays allow you to quickly, simply and very easily just pop your paperwork on the tray right in front of you. If you have a system of say, 3 trays for example, you could label them ‘Active Projects/Cases’, ‘Recently Dealt With/Closed’ and ‘Complaints’ for example. When each file on the tray has been dealt with and say a month has passed, then file it away in the main filing cabinet.

Using this tactic will free up so much space on your desk you’ll be able to clean it each week, you’ll be able to surf your mouse, find your pen, heck – you could even invest in a desk tidy for all your pens. Just think, you can start work every morning with a fresh brew right there and no need to worry about coffee rings on your paper work or accidental spillages for lack of room! If you really wanted you bash out a little tap dance on your desk to get the day off to a great start, why not?

Have a look at our extensive selection of letter tray options here at LA Office, you won’t be disappointed and you certainly won’t be put off by our tiny prices either! Happy shopping!

Did you get caught out last year when trying to find a diary for 2011; leave it too late? Well don’t make the same mistake again this year, get your diary in plenty of time and that way you won’t find yourself in a position where you organisation and planning goes out the window. What’s more, the end of the year is fast approaching and companies are making plans for the New Year already! You’ll need to get yourself a nice new desk diary so that you don’t fail to make appointments and so you can be prepared for what lies ahead.

Here at LA Office we have a wide variety of desk diaries which cover from august to august, ideal for school pupils, teachers, professors, students and more, but also a variety of diaries which are designed to cover all of 2012, perfect for early bookings and appointments. Take a look at our Collins 2012 Early Edition Diary featured below.

• Early Edition Diary - Next year’s diary for all those early bookings and appointments
• An essential office accessory all year round
• Case sewn in a durable leather grain material
• Available in a wide range of colours and formats to suit individual purposes
• Printed on quality white wove paper
• Contains financial summary pages, a web directory, yearly planners, staff holiday planner and ribbon marker
• Day to a page
• Size: A4 297 x 210mm
• Black
• Just £ 9.07 inc VAT!

The Green Bit

One of the great things about Collins is that they will only order raw materials from reputable, well established companies who are compliant with environmental legislation and procedures. The Collins policy is to source their paper based products only from reputable mills which commit to implementing sustainable forest management to supply the need for wood as raw material for pulp making. They specifically require all supplier’s to pursue continual improvement in environmental performance by way of the following:

• Conducting environmental protection by complying to existing environmental legislation and regulations, and other regulations.
• Carrying out monitoring of environmental performance continuously.
• Improving efficiency of resource consumption.
• Improving environmental awareness to all employees through education and training on a continuous basis and providing environmental information to the wider society and government.
• Maintaining preparedness and response to emergency situations.
• Enhancement of participation and contribution to local community welfare through Forest Community Development Programmes.

Whether you work at home or in the office, a desk lamp is a real must have. We can’t always guarantee the perfect light to work by, and this can be particularly true in the office. What would be the ideal light for one person isn’t always right for another, which is why a desk lamp is the perfect lighting implement in any office. However all this artificial light can be really depressing, a bit of natural light can be very uplifting, particularly during those dark winter work mornings and late afternoons. So we’ve found a range of desk lamps which can actually offer daylight solutions, the Helix range. It has been proven that the human eye is most effective in natural daylight and people respond with more energy when working in natural daylight. This makes sense when you consider evolution and that we have only adapted to electric light over the past century. What’s more, poorly lit offices can have a negative effect on staff and is known to cause eyestrain, headaches and fatigue that ultimately leads to poor productivity, performance and worst of all, permanent damage. We all understand that working within an office environment means pleasing many people which often leads to working in variable lighting; however our Helix natural daylight desk lamps offer the solution to all these problems. They allow each individual to control the lighting at their desk and working area to suit their needs.

Take a look at our Helix LED Daylight Lamp featured, a perfect example of a correct lighting solution for your desk. With a multi positional head, it can be moved int o virtually any position increasing or decrease direct lighting and preventing glare.

• 50 LED bulbs arranged in a radial pattern
• Total output 5Ws
• Provides directional daylight effect ideal when doing close-up work
• Weighted base
• Lumens 185 (1m)
• Just £69.55!

What’s more, these daylight desk lamps provide a huge 80% energy saving when compared with a conventional GLS desk light, plus the daylight tubes last around 10,000 hours, which is a staggering 10 times more than the GLS equivalent. So if you switch now to individual energy saving daylight desk lamps and lower levels of ambient lighting, you can save your business up to 40% on the previous lighting bill. And when each employee leaves the office, they turn off their own desk lamps, this will save energy further. If you’re looking for any further quality reassurance, all Helix lighting products are built and tested to the highest quality standards and conform to BS EN 60598 for total peace of mind.

The Green Bit

Helix are aware that everything they do has a potential environmental impact in one way or another and recognise the part they play in the control of these impacts so as to minimise their collective effects upon the environment.

Helix is committed to the principles of social responsibility and to the protection of human rights.