
Parents running at-home, online classrooms while also trying to work a 40-hour week from their kitchen table may find themselves refereeing more than the usual disputes. Kids will disagree about who gets to use what and how to organize their school projects and supplies. For essential workers who remained on-site on the job and for those returning to socially distanced offices, it’s more important than ever to keep what belongs to whom sorted out so that they can minimize contact with surfaces and objects touched by others. Consider the benefits of colored staples to keep paperwork sorted and identify what stuff goes where on whose desk or in which cubicle.
Color-Coded Manuals and Schoolwork
Although a lot of necessary communication has migrated online, there’s still much to be said for the physical instruction or policy manual and worksheets that provide a tactile means of learning. Keep these things organized by color-coding them with colored staples. A quick visual reference will tell you what department the manual belongs to, or which child’s physical homework has been scanned and emailed or is ready to go back to in-person classes.
Maintain a home bulletin board of schedules and kids’ projects using colored staples. Each member of the family will have an instant visual clue about which schedule is for which person and who deserves the extra credit for a neat project. You can even use colored staples to indicate rewards—create your own hierarchy of colors and assign points. Kids can earn red, blue, or green staples on the board for chores completed or black staples for taking on extra work helping around the house without being asked.
Make Staple Art
Staple art has become a fun craft for kids. It has also turned into a craft business for some, creating cards with images formed from staples. One of the benefits of colored staples is adding interest to craft projects. They fit standard office staplers and can inspire creativity. When you or your child creates an especially fetching piece, use a framing stapler to preserve the work in a lovely frame for all to admire. When you go back to the external office, take your staple art with you to decorate your cube and show your colleagues how you used your time at home creatively.
Surprise and Delight Your Colleagues
You don’t have to have a special reason to use colored staples. The next time the office stapler needs a refill, load colored staples just for fun. See how your coworkers react. Some may not even notice, while others may be comically confused. There will always be that guy who gets upset with any change in routine, so maybe forewarn him about your colorful little experiment. Colored staples are a conversation starter and may even jazz up your presentation handouts, adding a little levity to your next workshop.