Packing Supplies and Solutions

Every year, millions of people find themselves doing something that absolutely nobody enjoys. That’s right, I am referring to the awful process known as moving. There are a lot of reasons out there that would explain why someone is needing to move, but it happens much more often than you may think. If you have ever had to move at some point in your life (which you eventually will), then you know just how stressful it is to pack up your entire life into boxes, a couple moving vans, and your own vehicles and move out to somewhere else that you have never been before.

Well, I for one have had to move many times in my life, especially while being at college. Granted, moving into college is a lot different than moving into a new home or apartment, but some of the more central components of moving remain the same. In fact, I feel experienced enough in moving to offer some advice your way if it means I can make your life any easier during such a stressful time. So, that being said, I decided to go ahead and write this article that can relay a few moving tips and tricks that you can hopefully take advantage of at this point in your life. So without further ado, here is my advice for when you are moving (especially if you find yourself moving right now).

My first tip to you is that you invest in some good packing supplies. There is nothing worse than going through the whole ordeal of packing up your entire house, including fragile things like dishes, appliances, and decorations, only to find that these items were not properly protected during the moving process and actually became damaged. What a nightmare! At this point, you have enough in your life to worry about with everything going on, and hearing news about your favorite piece of china being damaged on the moving truck could be the last thing you need to hear. You don’t want to spend the first few months in your new location in a mental hospital do you? That is why I am heavily suggesting for you to get some good packing supplies if at all possible. Bubble wrap, wrapping paper, packing peanuts, air pillows, and any other type of packaging could mean the difference between your favorite Christmas tree ornaments surviving the move or not.

Another piece of advice I have for you is to stick to some sort of moving budget. I know that budgeting is not necessarily everyone’s favorite task – in fact, I am well aware of how much some people hate budgeting. However, I speak from personal experience when I say that budgeting your money can actually be a lot more freeing and gratifying than before you did. So if you are currently moving or planning to move in the near future, I highly suggest that you come up with a detailed moving budget. This way, you can even set aside some money in the case of unforeseen circumstances that arise from moving. And if you think that you won’t be victim to random and unforeseen circumstances that will cost you money, then you are truly being a naive person. I hope that this article was extremely helpful for you!

I have seen a lot in my day. I have spent decades in the business industry, doing things from accounting to marketing to sales to management; so as you can imagine, I have seen it all! Over the years I have seen companies make some pretty huge mistakes, and I have witnessed firsthand the downfall of corporate empires like Blockbuster and the like. You may think that you know all the inner workings and basic ongoings of a company at any given time, but I can promise you that there is a lot more going on than what you may see at face value. The thing that bugs me the most about businesses in our society today is just the large amount of waste that is produced on a day to day basis.

In this case, I am not just talking about financial waste (which runs rampant throughout all the fortune 500 companies), but I am also talking about time wasting, resource wasting, and even labor wasting. There are so many opportunities out there for people to just latch onto, and I see a lot of companies fall short of the place they should be at. With all that being said, the main reason I am writing this article today is to talk about business supplies, so take everything that I said previously with a grain of salt. In all honesty, I don’t really know much about business, I am simply just a guy who wants to write this article and talk about business supplies. So without further ado, here are some of the most overlooked but most necessary business supplies in our world today.

The first thing I want to talk about is shipping supplies. Now, even if you are a business that doesn’t regularly ship things, this part of the article still applies to you. I mean, any type of business can seriously benefit from having some good old fashioned shipping supplies on hand. Whether you work at an accounting firm, a law firm, a non-profit, or a marketing agency, having some shipping supplies on hand is always a good idea. If you have not heard of poly bags, then I would high recommend they be on the list for your next set of office supply purchases. Poly bags are great because you can ship just about anything in them with relative ease and safety. They are definitely cheap to buy and use, and you never know when you’ll need to ship something off to a client on a random Wednesday; avoid having to go to the post office, just buy some shipping supplies in advance!

Another thing I want to talk about is technology. Now this is a super broad and extensive topic, so I am going to do my best to keep things short and simple. Like I said, I have seen a lot of businesses make some pretty poor decisions when it comes to equipping their employees with the right technology and equipment to get the job done. Let’s be honest for a second – is there anything more frustrating than technology that won’t work properly? Or is the internet too slow to be efficient? That’s why I believe having the right tech for the job is a crucial part of any office work flow, and should be at the top of your list for upgrading office supplies and quality of work.

Running a business in this day and age is tricky, and there is absolutely no doubt about it. There are so many legal hurdles to jump through, and the economy is constantly changing between good and bad. Personally, I know that it takes a lot to run a business these days. That’s why it always pains me to see that people are not properly outfitted with the right supplies or accessories at their home or office. No, I am not a salesman, and this is not a sales pitch for some packing supplies or something like that. Rather, I am a concerned businessman and citizen who would hate to see anyone have to suffer through not having the right business supplies on hand to get the job done. So I took time out of my super important day just so that I could help you figure out what to do next. If you are a business owner or office manager, then this article is definitely for you. All you have to do is sit back, relax, and soak up all of the information and advice that I have to offer. And trust me, this is really good stuff that I am writing about, so pay close attention. 

The first thing that I want to talk about is technology. Let’s face it – the world is moving completely online little by little. It used to be that computers were barely used in business because they were slow, clunky, and all around inefficient for business. Nowadays, you would be hard pressed to find any sort of business that doesn’t take full advantage of what today’s technology has to offer. That being said, not all technology is created equally, and there are definitely some companies that fail to live up to the technological standard of others. So if you want my advice, I suggest that you invest in some serious technology for your office and your employees. It is so sad to see important work being done on 10 year old laptops and computers; that’s why I would advise you to get the best and the newest technology, regardless of how expensive it is or if it makes sense. Just being able to say that your company has the best technology around is enough to generate revenue in my opinion. Remember, I am definitely qualified to be talking about this stuff.

As far as other business supplies go, we are all well aware of the basics like pens, pencils, paper, and other stationery items like that. However, packing supplies is something that often gets overlooked by most businesses. Even if you aren’t a supplier and don’t usually spend time shipping products or something like that, you still may never know when you’ll need to send off a package or letter to a client or business. That is why I highly suggest having those types of supplies on hand at all times.

Let’s say, for example, that you forgot to fax over the audit report to a certain business client, and all of a sudden you get an email that their fax machine is down and that they need you to send a hard copy ASAP. How embarrassing would it be if your entire office failed to have any stamps, packages, or envelopes and had to go all the way to the post office to buy some? 

So I have a huge problem in my life right now. And when I say problem, I don’t just mean some little annoyance or something that’s not a big deal. I mean to say that I have a massive, all-consuming, apocalyptic problem in my life that I cannot sleep while trying to solve. The problem that I am talking about, of course, is the problem of clothes shopping in 2021. I mean, how am I supposed to look like a snack and a half everyday of the week if I can’t properly shop for the hottest new thrift finds as well as the latest trends that are sweeping the nation all over TikTok and other social media websites. I know that my problems may not sound like a huge deal to you, but I promise that what I am going through right now is bigger than anything you have ever faced. In fact, I would venture to say that you have never experienced the same level of emotional grief and depression that I am currently going through. 

I have always been super into clothes shopping. In fact, basically the only reason that I currently have a job is so that I can afford to pay for my all-encompassing shopping addiction. Now I have had to face a variety of problems over the last couple years, the biggest one of course being rising gas prices. JUST KIDDING. It’s the COVID19 pandemic that has been metaphorically slapping me around for the past year. I am so completely sick of this pandemic that I cannot properly describe it in words – and if I could, well, it would not be appropriate to write about in an article like this.

The biggest problem with the pandemic is not that there are people dying whatever; rather, the biggest problem is that in-store shopping closed down almost anywhere you could shop for clothes. Do you know how hard it is to go shopping in a store and not being able to touch anything, or especially try anything on? Stores started to do this thing where you had to just buy an item and take it home if you wanted to try it on. But this became super annoying to me because I would buy things that I couldn’t try on in the store, get home to try them on, and find out that I actually despised that piece of clothing this whole time. Then I have to put the clothes bag in their bags, drive all the way back to the store, and go through the trouble of returning them. 

Before you say it: yes, I have tried online shopping for clothes. But honestly, it’s basically the same thing as shopping in stores right now, because you can’t try anything on when you buy online. And what makes online shopping worse is that you can’t even feel the clothing to see if you like what it’s made out of and all that. Oh, and they always send you clothes in poly bags. This is okay at first, but I start to feel bad with the amount of poly bags I’m going through because I know they are not the best thing for the environment. Anyways, thanks for coming to my TED talk.

If you are struggling with starting an eCommerce business, then you are not alone. ECommerce is truly how business will be done in the near future, and I believe that 50 years from now we will rarely be shopping in stores. Instead, most people will simply buy their products online from various retailers and wholesalers all under the umbrella of eCommerce. That being said, starting an eCommerce business is no easy task. Lots of bright minded business entrepreneurs have tried and failed to create a lasting eCommerce business that can compete in a saturated online market. So if you are struggling with various aspects of starting your own eCommerce business, this article might be able to help you. I have a lot of experience in working with eCommerce companies and am definitely qualified to be speaking and informing you on this topic. Since I have so much knowledge about eCommerce that I just had to get off my chest, I decided to impart some of my wisdom onto eCommerce novices like you. So sit back, relax, and take advantage of these free tips and tricks.

The first tip I have for you is that you need to seriously consider the product that you are going to be selling. When it comes down to it, there are some products that are still easier to purchase in person than they are online. Think about it, are there certain products that you are only willing to buy in stores? Some products that I can think of are things like candles or plants. I like to smell my candles in person before I purchase them, so buying candles online is not really my cup of tea. I also do not want to spend time buying plants online, since logistically I don’t really understand how one might go about shipping me a plant and consequently do not trust anyone that tells me they can.

So it is imperative that you find a product that you know is in high demand and that can be easily marketed and shipped in an eCommerce store. The last thing you want to do is have to start selling a different product and go through a whole rebranding process because you discover that your product is just not selling well.

Another tip I have for you is to heavily invest in different packing supplies and shipping materials. I am sure you already know that these things are important since you are an eCommerce company, but I cannot stress enough how important packing supplies are in this business. Not only is all your business going to be done online and involve shipping for every sale you make, your actual shipping box and packaging is the only physical contact that your customers will have with you. That being said, it is super important to make sure that you are using the right shipping materials and keeping your items safe and secure. The last thing you would want is for your products to arrive at your customers door and be in poor condition. Damaged products make unhappy customers, who don’t come back to buy more products. So it’s super important that you are taking care to ship your products with the best shipping materials and to not cut corners.

How many things do you think you have ordered online in the last year? Whatever number you come up with, double it. That’s right, it is said that most people nearly doubled their consumption of online goods and participated in some form of online shopping more than ever before. You might be sitting there wondering how on earth this is possible.  Well, I am here to tell you that there a few different factors that have gone into this surplus of online ordering and shopping, The biggest one is the COVID19 pandemic – unless you have been living completely underground for the past year and a half, you have not only heard of but been greatly affected by this pandemic. Most people found themselves locked at home with nowhere to go due to all stores, restaurants, and various places of work being shut down for the time being. This meant that many people had to turn to the internet for their basic necessities as well as random goods that they may be wanting to get their hands on. 

I know for myself, I spent hours online surfing the internet for new things that I could buy. It is kind of insane when you think about how consumerist our society has become. Honestly, it makes me a bit scared to think about the generations to come, and how they will continue to be affected by our online and consumer product reliance. I often think about my future and wonder if I will witness the collapse of the United States or even the world. That is a very scary thought and one that I don’t like to think about. I really just want to live in peace for the rest of my life. Sorry, that was a little bit off track – what I was saying earlier is that I definitely have ordered way more things online in the past year than I have ever ordered previously.

Another reason for this mass online ordering is because it has never been easier to get online. Nevermind the fact that most people have nice laptops or computers at home that they can access literally all of the time, but now we live in the age of smartphones! I can order anything from anywhere, and get it delivered to anywhere, all with my phone. I could be standing in the middle of a grassy field and, as long as I have service, order some random product to be delivered to my house in 2 days. We truly live in a crazy time for technological advancements. It is no wonder that many people end up going into credit card debt by online shopping – many companies go to great lengths to make it as easy as possible for people to spend their money on products that they don’t need. 

And don’t even get me started on shipping. Nowadays, most products are shipped in nice boxes or poly bags and delivered right to your door in literally a few days. Sure, we are probably destroying our environment and our earth day by day with the countless poly bags and packing materials going into landfills; but hey, I get my stuff on time and in good condition! And I believe that that is truly the American dream.

I am an office manager at a mid level accounting agency, and I have spent a lot of years in this business and in the corporate world. I know what it takes to run a business, and I also know the kinds of work environments that make people the most productive in an office setting. With the repercussions of the pandemic sending people to work from home, there has been a lot of lost time in the office. However, many people are starting to go back to the office now, and there are some things I would like to share with you about office supplies that you need to have on hand now that your employees are coming back. So here is a list I made – remember, I am definitely qualified to be writing this and have a lot of experience managing an office and the people that work in that office.

The first thing you will need to keep in mind when you’re buying office supplies is that your employees need to be working on quality technology. What I mean by this is that work cannot be done properly on low quality laptops, computers, tablets, phones, and the like. If you are asking an employee to do high level accounting on a 10 year old computer, you might as well ask that employee to stare at a wall for 3 hours. You have to be getting the best stuff for your people in the office. I have been around long enough to know that the world of technology is ever changing. In fact, it seems like there is something new coming out every year. I am not saying that you have to constantly be buying the latest and greatest software or gadget, but it makes a lot of sense to ensure you are staying with the times and that your office has access to quality, workable technology. 

Another element of office gear you need is packing supplies. Even though we are just a mid level accounting firm at my company, we always end up having to send packages here and there at various times throughout the month. This is because, though technology is important, snail mail is the tried and true method of the business world. Investing in some proper packing supplies will ensure that, not only are your packages being shipped properly to get to their destination, your items inside are staying safe and will arrive without damage or incident. Bubble wrap and packing tape are essentials, as well as some quality corrugated boxes that you can use to ship different items in. I have seen it too many times – we go to ship something to a partner, and the package ends up getting lost in shipping because the postage was not properly labeled, the box fell apart, or the items were broken beyond repair or recognition. 

Don’t let this happen to your company. The world of business is fast-paced and cut-throat. If you want to stay in the game, you have to be on your toes as far as office supplies are concerned. I hope this was helpful in enlightening you on some necessary office supplies you will need to run your business, and I hope that things go well for your company as well. 

If you’re like me, then you love to buy new things. It seems as though each of us is raised with that consumerist mentality like so many other Americans before us. There is no feeling like buying that new, shiny, dopamine inducing product that will satisfy us temporarily until the next thing we find to buy. We’ve all been there! I personally really love clothes shopping. I enjoy wearing new clothes and changing up my wardrobe frequently, and this involves buying new clothes on a regular basis. I like to shop at thrift stores a lot because things are so much cheaper and you can honestly find some really cool stuff! Some people don’t like to shop at thrift stores because it can seem gross or poor, but I think it’s like a fun adventure and a treasure hunt to find something really cool amidst all the other crap in the store!

One problem I run into when shopping for clothes is stamina. My mom and my sisters can shop for hours, and oftentimes when I was little I would have to tag along. However, I max out at maybe 2 or 3 hours before I’m ready to do something else. My feet get tired and I don’t have the energy to keep looking for more stuff. The solution to this, though, is online shopping! Online shopping for clothes is truly a dangerous addiction for many people. Everything is so casual, easy to browse, and non committal. I began to shop online a lot more during the COVID pandemic when everything was shut down for a while. There were not a lot of brick and mortar stores open during 2020, so online shopping was a great solution for many people that were looking to buy clothes. You can find so many different types of clothing, brands, styles, and fabrics online with a  few simple searches, and it has never been easier to click that ‘buy now’ button and have the clothes shipped directly to your door in nicely packaged poly bags. 

As you can see, I really do love online shopping at times. However, there are a few drawbacks to online shopping. Like everything else in life, there are pros and cons. One big con to online shopping is that you normally only get a small, virtual preview of what an item will look like before you buy it. This can make it really hard to commit to buying online if you’re not sure what it will look like on your body. Being able to try clothing items on instores was super helpful for me in making my final decision. After all, half of what makes clothes look good is how they fit on you! The return process for items has gotten easier over the years as many online stores have realized that more people are likely to buy items if they feel confident that they can return them if need be. Most stores will simply let you place your unwanted clothing items in poly bags or other packages and have them shipped back to the warehouse, thereby issuing a full refund for the item.

Another disadvantage to online shopping is that you don’t get the experience of going to the store with friends or family. Shopping is always more fun with other people that you enjoy spending time with, and you can’t really get the same effect when shopping online.

Starting an e-commerce business has never been easier than in 2020. Clearly, there have been a lot of strange occurrences this year, one of the big ones being the COVID19 pandemic. Because of the pandemic, most of the world was put into some sort of lockdown. Unfortunately, this had a huge impact on many country’s economies, including the United States. We have seen an unprecedented number of businesses forced to close down their brick-and-mortar stores because of the pandemic. Since the government temporarily closed many businesses, owners have been having a hard time finding a way to make ends meet.

Fortunately, e-commerce has barely any barrier of entry. The average American has some access to a phone, computer, or tablet, as well as a post office and packing supplies. With those boxes checked off, most people are already halfway to building their own e-commerce business. The crazy thing about e-commerce is that it exists for almost every segment of the market. In this day and age, you can just about buy anything online (hopefully not illegal things). This also means, on the flip side, that you can pretty much sell anything online if you’re able to find the right customers or niche market. After finding what product you are going to be selling, it’s important to be able to identify what kind of people look to buy this product. How do they think? What are some things that they might like to hear? What problems keep them up at night? It becomes easier to understand your target market when you can answer a few of these consumer questions. 

Since the COVID lockdown, e-commerce businesses have blown up to an enormous scale. While there were many online retailers with a wide customer base before lockdown, this number has essentially doubled since the start of the pandemic. People who would normally go to small businesses or local stores to buy various products suddenly found themselves unable to visit their favorite stores to find products they love. This means that those people turned to the internet to find similar products from small businesses; however, these small businesses are now e-commerce businesses. The beautiful thing about e-commerce business is that it keeps overhead costs relatively low. No more worry about paying for rent, utilities, electricity, water, wifi, etc. The money that would normally be budgeted out for these things can be allocated to different parts of the business, like marketing and advertising. Or the money can simply go back into your own pocket. 

One example of an e-commerce business is my mom, who makes and sells her own candles. She started out making candles as a hobby that would be gifts for family and friends. After she realized people would pay good money for them, she began to run her own little business through Facebook and other social media. She didn’t even have to worry about shipping out her product or buying packing supplies since her business was local and products were simply picked up from her house. Before she knew it, my mom already had her own e-commerce business up and running. Obviously, e-commerce is a super broad topic and doesn’t require the same steps or include the same factors for all businesses, but hopefully, you can see how possible it is for anyone to have their own business through the internet!

Ever since lockdown began in early 2020, I have found myself having a hard time buying new clothes. Not only are many stores closed down or utilizing limited hours, I do not want to be going out as much into the community due to the virus. My grandpa is immunocompromised, which means that my family and I have to be very careful in how we shop and attend public places. The last thing I want to do is risk spreading the virus to him and risk him getting health complications because of it. In place of this, I have been spending a lot of time online shopping. 

Online shopping is a very different experience compared to shopping in, say the mall or a department store. The thing about online shopping is that it’s very convenient, and most companies try to make it as easy as possible for you to spend your money. Growing up, I spent a lot of time going to the mall with my two older sisters who loved to shop. Prices can be very expensive and there are not always a lot of great deals on certain items; additionally, it can be hard to find the selection or size that you are looking for in an in-person store. However, online shopping is a whole different ball game. There are quite literally thousands of websites that sell all different kinds of clothing, apparel, accessories, and other similar items. Like I said before, they really make it as easy as possible to spend your money. 

My favorite part about online shopping is the insanely broad selection that many stores offer. It is also really easy to find things in your size, or sort websites by filters that allow you to see only the type of product you wish to purchase. For example, if I was only in the market for buying Adidas hoodies, I could go to their website and set a filter that allows me to choose from their entire selection of hoodies all in the same place. You can even filter things by price range, color, size, style, and other various factors. 

There are also, however, a few downsides to online shopping. One pretty big downside of online shopping is that you are unable to try your clothing items on like you may in the store. This can make it hard to ensure that you are finding the right size or color that you will like the look of. This is also a problem when shopping in a real store, however, with recent COVID restrictions forcing stores to close down their dressing rooms. In addition to this, there is always a possibility that the clothes you order might not arrive on time, or at all, if there are complications with shipping. 

Companies have ways of addressing these issues like free returns, good package supplies like poly bags that ensure clothes are kept safe, and money-back guarantees for damaged or lost items. Like with everything, there are pros and cons to online shopping. Another con is that ordering online clothes a lot can be wasteful and harmful for the environment. Some shipping supplies that companies use, like cardboard, bubble wrap, and poly bags can be potentially harmful to the environment if not properly disposed of or recycled.