 Starting a new job can be equal parts stressful and exciting (usually unequal...heavily favoring the stress). I'm starting a new job on Monday and I'm definitely more nervous than excited. I really want to enjoy this job more than my last one so I figured one way to start off right would be to decorate my workspace. I feel like most of us would love to have a Pinterest-worthy desk or cubicle, however a lot of us aren't really looking to break the bank to do it. I get it-I'm all about dollar chic! So, in this post I'm going to share with you all the cute things I found and let you know the best places to buy cute desk accessories! Stationary  The name Dollar Tree is going to pop up a lot in this post-be prepared! I absolutely love Dollar Tree because you can find a bunch of cute stuff there that literally costs a dollar. (Useful stuff too-sometimes you can find a sample 3-pack of Huggies diapers! #momhack) The Pineapple notebook and the cactus folder pictured here were both found at Dollar Tree. The coloring notepad was actually a gift from a friend and the ombre sketchbook I found at Jo-Ann. It was originally only $7 and once I realized it was 30% off, I couldn't leave it! JoAnn always has pretty stationary items on sale near the registers and they usually have an online coupon you can download as well. Electronics  No workspace is complete without electronics to boost productivity! I like to keep a charger for my phone at home, at work and in the car. The one pictured came with my phone but Five Below and WalMart usually have some really affordable ones. Speaking of Five Below, that's where I found this Color Changing LED Clock for $5! I love having an easy to see timepiece readily available on my desk and this one tells the date and temperature as well. The mini bluetooth speaker is one I found at WalMart last summer. Walmart, Big Lots, Family Dollar and Five Below always have cool speakers, usually for less than $10. The mousepad pictured was something of a DIY project. When I pulled it out of the back of my closet, I noticed that it had a little bit of weird discoloration, like someone had spilled coffee on it but otherwise it was a perfectly good mouse pad. I wanted to cover it up, so I grabbed some acrylic craft paint (50 cents a bottle at WalMart) and a makeup sponge. Using water to dilute the paint and a light touch with the sponge, you can personalize a mousepad like I did this one! Just make sure you don't use too much paint, otherwise it will be cakey and take too long to dry. You just want to stain the fabric lightly for a cool watercolor effect! Pens and Pencils Have you ever seen a set of writing utensils more Instagram ready? The glass pencil cup was another Dollar Tree find. They also carry a lot of nice mechanical pencils, pens and highlighters and that's where I got most of the ones in this picture. Miscellaneous Office Supplies & Bookends   Okay, I'll admit that most of the desk accessories in this picture I probably didn't need but I'll likely still use! Besides they matched the theme, so it's totally okay. That adorable flamingo tape dispenser was another Dollar Tree triumph, as was the white-out and mini stapler. (It came with staples, which I ran out of a long time ago, but Dollar Tree has refills.) The basket, sharpener and sticky notes came from Dollar General, all for under $2! Nobody really needs bookends on their desk but they do add an interesting element. The ones pictured are from Barnes and Noble and they were given to me as a gift. Besides Barnes and Noble, Target is another good place to look for interesting bookends but both stores are a little on the pricey side. Personal Items  You know where's a great place to find cool stuff? Dollar Tree. Have I mentioned that? If you're going to conquer the day, you need a fabulous coffee cup to mark your office territory and I found this adorable one at Dollar Tree. They have cute ones at Five Below as well, but they're between $3 and $5.
I also found the picture frame at Five Below for $1 but it was plain black when I bought it-I painted it to match everything with the same acrylic craft paint I used for the mouse pad. Be careful though-acrylic craft paint isn't really made for slick surfaces like picture frames and it scratches easily. I'm using the pencil case for personal things like a mini deodorant and lotion, etc. but it was actually a gift from my dad and he got it at Barnes and Nobles. The cactus tissues were given to me by a coworker and she got them at JoAnn on sale 70 cents! In addition to all this, I also found a pink wastepaper basket and a larger storage bin to keep on the floor at-you guessed it-Dollar Tree. All in all, between things I found lying around and gifts from other people, I only paid $12 to outfit my new workspace with all this cute stuff. I managed to stick to a tropical theme-hence the cacti, pineapples and flamingo! Before you shop, I recommend looking around your house to see what you may already have. I found a lot of these things in my closet and on my dresser and it turns out I didn't have to choose a theme-they were things that already matched my tastes and just ended up fitting together. If you have things that don't match your theme but are still perfectly useable, you can go rogue and DIY them, like I did! Add paint, stickers, washi tape, gemstones or whatever you like to personalize them and make them match! One thing I definitely don't recommend is j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶d̶r̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶yn̶i̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ going shopping without a clear idea of what you want. Go ahead and visit some websites so you can make a list of things you would like and you're not just buying things left and right! I've linked all the stores I talked about down below:
What stores do you shop at for office supplies and desk accessories? Do you tend to go for dollar chic items or splurge and go all out?' Thanks for reading!
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...Confused Millenial mommy, constantly learning and reinventing myself. College grad, budding authoress and awkward geek extraordinaire. I like the Bee Gees. Archives
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