Last fall, I wrote a review of two new ballpoint pens from Bic, called the Atlantis Exact and the Atlantis Comfort.  I really liked those pens - I gave them 5 paper clips.  So when the Bic rep came to see me again with another new model in the line, I was eager to try it.

Introducing the Bic Atlantis Ultra Comfort ballpoint pen.

We live in a digital age.  Transactions are electronic now - we pay our bills online, make purchases online - even buy our coffee with our smartphones.  Technology is wonderful, isn't it?  

Until something goes wrong.

ID Theft is everywhere - has it happened to you yet?  It has to me.  Fortunately, an alert bank teller stopped it before it became a disaster for me.  Trying to restore your identity and credit rating, as well as recovering your money, is time consuming and frustrating.  It can take years sometimes and require a lot of hoops to be jumped through.  And you can incur a lot of expense in the process.  Just what you need, right?

Now that the winter is over (am I going to incur the wrath of the weather gods for making that statement?) the season for moving and/or spring cleaning has begun!  If you're one of those people, the main thing you need is boxes.  Small, medium, large, wardrobe - you name it.  Or maybe you need storage boxes for the office (all those files have to go somewhere.....).

If you're like most people, you have a desk tray of some kind that functions as your "In" box at your desk.  This is the central location where people drop off assorted documents for your attention.  It probably looks something like this: 

Safco has introduced a unique new line of powered desk accessories that allow you to charge your USB devices while you work.  You can also operate USB peripherals (keyboard, mouse, etc) from it.  When I heard about them, I thought they were a fantastic idea and couldn't wait to check them out.  There are four products in the line - a monitor stand, an organizer with three drawers, an organizer with three upright sections and three horizontal sections, and an organizer with six upright and two horizontal sections. 

Logitech introduced a keyboard which may very well be answer to many people's prayers.  Dubbed the K480, this is a universal keyboard that works with all types of Bluetooth capable devices that support external keyboards.  It can be paired with up to 3 devices at once and it's super easy to switch between them or swap one device out for a different one.

This is an item that caught my eye when in January when I was reviewing some of the new products that we're carrying this year.  

The Victor Monitor Document Holder attaches to the side of a flat panel monitor.  I really like the idea of having a document holder that isn't taking up surface space on my desk, so I was geeked to try it out.

If you work in an office that uses an end tab filing system, you will appreciate today's topic - especially if you've ever run out of file folders and needed to make some new files.  Instead of having to wait until your office manager or company purchasing agent processes your request for additional folders, you can make an end tab folder quickly and easily from any top tab pocket folder, pressboard folder or expanding file jacket you have in your office.

My house is not beige.  I am not decorating it so that somebody I sell it to years down the road will be happy - I am decorating it with what I like so that I will be happy while I live in it.  And I like COLOR.  (Having said that, my decorating kind of stalled and the house is a bit of a hodgepodge.   One of these days I may finish..............)

What does all that have to do with scissors?  Well, Fiskars and Westcott have some totally fun scissors to dress up your desk and make your day more fun when you use them.  They're not your normal, boring, solid-colored scissors. 

This is the time of year when people start focusing on cleaning and janitorial items - it's cold and flu season - and keeping things clean and sanitary.  So when a manufacturer's rep came to see me with a new product line called PAK-IT, I thought it would be a timely topic.

PAK-IT is a new system of cleaners that has a broad product line, encompassing bathroom cleaners, carpet cleaners, glass & hard surface cleaners, all-purpose cleaners, floor cleaners and more.  It's competitors are products such as Windex, Lysol, Pine-Sol, Tilex, Kaboom, Vanish, Resolve, Febreze and Mr. Clean.

I am excited to share another new product with you today and I think it's going to take off like a rocket when people find out it exists.  

Avery has come out with a line of self-laminating labels.  They're called Easy Align Self-Laminating ID Labels (printable) or Durable Self-Laminating ID Labels (hand write). These labels are the solution for the times that you need a durable label or a weather-resistant label.  We've all done the tape thing; you know - covering the label with tape to try to protect it.  (Yes you have.)  This product creates perfectly laminated labels with no laminating machine needed and they are super easy to use.

I like ballpoint pens - specifically retractable fine point blue ink ballpoint pens.  Don't even try to give me black ink or medium point.  Just don't.  I also don't like gel ink or rollerball ink.  Sure, the gel ink pens are fun because you can get them in fun ink colors like pink or purple or orange or green  (I can do that with ballpoints too) but I don't like the way the ink writes, the way it feathers on the paper or the way it smears.  Yes, I know there are all kinds of "new, revolutionary" gel ink pens out there, but I run into the same issues with all of them.  The same goes for rollerballs.  

I am a list writer.  I am constantly writing to do lists for both home and work.  My family makes fun of me and my lists sometimes, but it keeps me organized, so when I saw the new To Do Lists from Tops, I thought "Cool!  I'll grab a few pads." 

I don't like having to constantly write the same thing over and over again, so I am a huge fan of stamps.  I have several of them on my desk; some are pre-made and some are custom stamps.  They're very handy and easy to use, but the one thing that I don't like about them is that they take up so much room on my desk.  I used to have a tray that held some of my smaller stamps, but it only fit one size of stamp, so the others still had to sit somewhere on my desk.

Ruth to the Rescue!

(Sorry - if you're not from the Detroit area, you won't get that.)

Meet Stamp Stack®.

Last week I wrote about a nifty little gadget that applies the reinforcement labels for you.   Today's topic is more smart binders and accessories to make your life easier.

There are tons and tons of different configurations of ring binder indexes for you to use to separate the contents of the binder.  But what if you don't want to separate them?  What if you don't want to put them on rings - you want them in the binder so that everything you need is in one place, but you want to be able to just grab them all at once and pull them out? 

If I were to take a survey and ask consumers why they laminate, the most popular answers would be what we call the 3 P's of lamination:

• Protection
• Presentation
• Preservation

Here's a neat idea from Swingline - a stapler that you can customize.  The Skins Fashion Stapler is a half-strip stapler that can staple up to 20 sheets of paper and it uses standard staples.  

Ladies - Are you tired of carrying the same BORING black tote bags and using run-of-the-mill office supplies?  Does your office look tired?  Do you feel tired sitting in your office?

Well, give it some life!  Who says corporate has to be drab?  Sure, there are certain types of office supplies that have always come in colors (file folders, correction tape, pens, highlighters, sticky notes) but I'll bet I've got some here that you haven't seen.  Let's give your office some pizzazz!

I mentioned in a previous post that I have lots of new items to share with you this year.  Here's one I think you may be interested in - a magnetic cork board.  This is a new idea  that comes from Quartet®, the largest provider of whiteboard, chalkboard and bulletin board products in the world. ( I'm sure you all have at least one of their products in your office.)

Ergonomics has always been an issue in offices.  Companies are responsible for providing a safe work environment for their employees and ergonomically correct work spaces are part of that safe environment.  It's important to realize that ergonomics encompasses more than just a good office chair.  Proper height and tilt of a monitor, elimination of glare, distance of the keyboard from the user, keyboard position and angle, clearance under the desk, headsets for frequent phone use, and even the type of stapler you use are all factors in an ergonomically correct space.