Keeping emergency supplies at work can help save time and money because you don’t need to go out and buy something more expensive (see: a meal out) and unplanned right when you need time most. It can also improve your productivity by decreasing discomfort.
#1 and #2 discuss further.
#1: It rained really hard and I got soaked. The sandals will dry eventually; meanwhile, I’m barefoot in my office
#2: I have emergency back-up shoes here
#1: I wish I had socks, but oh well. I’ll just sit on my feet
#2: : hm, I seem to have taken my emergency backup cardigan home to get washed
#1: I have an emergency backup umbrella in my office, which enabled me to give my regular one to a colleague who was heading to class unprotected. I have a blazer that lives on my office chair in case of chills. I also have tampons, floss, mirror, ibuprofen, etc.
#2: let’s not forget emergency chocolate!
#1: almost out of that! Still good on emergency nuts though
Grumpy Rumblings (of the formerly untenured) 
October 14, 2013 at 3:48 am
Whiskey
October 14, 2013 at 8:08 am
Hm, I do have a flask…
October 14, 2013 at 5:14 am
food, screwdriver and wd40
October 14, 2013 at 5:56 am
Whisky, f*cke yeah!
October 14, 2013 at 6:06 am
I also have cardigan, umbrella, screwdriver & food. & I do actually have an extra pair of socks. Also Advil, bandaids, toothbrush & lipstick. I like to be prepared!
October 14, 2013 at 8:08 am
I don’t wear lipstick but I do have lip balm (some of which is tinted, so…)
October 14, 2013 at 7:19 am
What others have listed. Plus my office building has a shower and I have the toiletries I would need to shower here (and a towel: Marvin would be pleased! Oh, wait, is Marvin ever pleased?). Also: spare soy sauce packets (and wasabi!) in case I forget to grab some when I buy to-go sushi. A spare copy of the POA I hold on behalf of my elderly and incompetent dad in case I have to fax it to someone.
I have recently added a few herb plants to my office collection so that I can season my lunch with them. We’ll see how this works (whether they survive). If they do, I can offer to season whiskey juleps should anyone upthread decide to make a batch.
Great Monday morning topic. Thanks!
October 14, 2013 at 4:34 pm
Love your herb plant idea!
October 14, 2013 at 7:45 am
In addition to most of that already mentioned – bra, undies, tampons, salt, pepper, pb2, soup, noodles, an entire business cas outfit, scarf (offices get cold!), bike helmet, baby wipes… In pretty sure I could live in my office for days and stay nourished, mostly washed, and even have a couple changes of clothes.
October 14, 2013 at 8:10 am
Now I’m wondering how much storage space you have in your office! I can just see meeting with a student and opening a desk drawer and a bra pops out… I do have salt & pepper and plastic utensils though.
October 15, 2013 at 5:16 am
my office is the size of a small bedroom – heck bigger than the singles in the dorms… if my desk weren’t the size of 3 large desks arranged in a U, it would be reasonable to put a twin sized bed in there
October 15, 2013 at 8:50 am
Holy crap, that’s an awesome size. I wish I had room for a couch in mine.
October 14, 2013 at 8:06 am
Lots of snacks, toiletries, make-up, shoes, socks, a sweater, a jacket, soft drinks, baby wipes, gum, a cheapo hair dryer (in case I get wet).
October 14, 2013 at 8:43 am
I clearly need to work on this. I’m in the small time…I have a cardigan, a pair of work-appropriate shoes (in case I wear in flip flops and forget to bring a change), pain-killers, cough drops, plastic utensils, salt & pepper, tea bags, deodorant, Tums (left over from pregnancy days), gum, oh and I finally re-stocked the chocolate.
I like the idea of: umbrella, an outfit (there was an unfortunate day of cream slacks and a car driving through a puddle…), snack foods (nuts)
October 14, 2013 at 11:15 am
Painkiller, yes! I have ibuprofen but could add whiskey.
October 14, 2013 at 10:18 am
Socks, underwear, and umbrella in backpack; sweater, nuts, chocolate, ibuprofen, and fingerless gloves in office (can you tell that office heating is unreliable?). This post is making me think again of adding an emergency outfit (probably a rollable knit dress) and shoes to office supplies.
October 14, 2013 at 10:22 am
… in a true clothing emergency I could probably break out my academic regalia…
October 14, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Love it! Now you’ve got me secretly hoping for a clothing emergency!
October 14, 2013 at 3:40 pm
I don’t even know where to start. I have a wide variety of snacks and plates/cups/utensils. Feminine hygiene products, a decent medicine chest (including a variety of analgesics and vitamins and allergy and cough remedies), personal care items (lotion, lip balm, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, towel for emergency shower), a few clothes (running clothes with shoes and socks, sweater, lab coat, regalia), backup documentation (copies of passports, will, credit cards, etc.). What else? I’m also thinking about a backup outfit and work appropriate shoes (although in my department, no one would bat an eye at the running clothes as long as I wasn’t teaching that day). My favorite thing lately is that our new building has a nice kitchen with a large fridge/freezer. I have a little fridge in my office, but love having a big freezer to keep frozen lunches, breakfast options and tiny ice cream cones on hand!
October 14, 2013 at 4:33 pm
Ibuprofen, tampons, a pocket knife, and earplugs come with me everywhere. I also used to keep cranberry pills (for urinary tract infections) and diarhea medicine in my drawer. Not to mention a sweater and fingerless gloves.
By the end I was wearing sneakers to work (in black leather, to let me pretend they looked professional), but if you don’t, it’s good to have some comfy shoes in case of a 9/11-type situation.
I could not keep too many snacks in the office because I would just eat all of them. Better to bring the healthy foods I was often not really in the mood to eat–if it’s the only thing I have, then that’s what I’ll eat. Unless it’s too healthy–then I’ll eat out. It’s a balance.
October 14, 2013 at 6:31 pm
I just sit next to someone who has all these things in her desk drawer :)
Well, I should probably add some emergency snacks to my supply. I used to way overdo it and then had to throw out stuff that would get stale.
I have: hairbrush, can of soup, jacket (since most of the client meetings I have been to, the partner invited me only 30 seconds prior to the meeting beginning. Oh and chocolate. Gotta have the chocolate stash. Luckily my neighboring office mates have full make up stores ready in their drawers, for when I needed emergency back up make up one day.
October 14, 2013 at 7:50 pm
Cardigan. Migraine meds. Chocolate. Kind bars. Umbrella. Tampons.
I found some leftover estrogen and progesterone pills from early pregnancy a few days ago while looking for tylenol. That was a trip.
October 15, 2013 at 8:48 am
sweater, advil, plastic wear, tea and honey (for when I lose my voice), snacks and a couple bucks in case I want to get something different at the bookstore.
October 15, 2013 at 8:51 am
Do you lose your voice a lot? That’s crappy.
October 17, 2013 at 7:55 pm
I keep Alleve, an umbrella, some liners, a pen, a small notebook, and a foldable grocery bag in my commuting bag. You never know when you want groceries or when it will rain or you’ll want a pen!
When I walk to work, I wear either comfortable sandals or running shoes and socks, so I also keep a pair of flats at my desk.
I also keep chocolate on my desk at work. And a Camelbak water bottle because cups are way too easy to spill. I used to keep spare keyboards on my desk too because you never knew when your keyboard would break! (see water easily spilling)
If I’m not wearing a scarf to commute, I will keep one at work. I find them better for keeping warm in the office than a sweater because they don’t make my armpits sweat like a sweater can.
And then in the fridge at work, I keep bread, ham, cheese, yogurts, and apples. The cafeteria is always sold out of apples and bananas, which drives me crazy.
Oh and chapstick. I cannot live without easily reachable chapstick.
October 21, 2013 at 3:07 pm
I used to have an awesome stash of supplies in my old job. Now not so much. I have oatmeal. And tea. My workout gloves are here but nothing else because I used my emergency workout outfit and forgot to bring it back. I have a backup pair of shoes. And rain boots. There is a blazer I inherited with my office that is corduroy and giant and I use mostly as a pillow. Tissues. Hand cream. Chocolate. Deodorant. Body splash. Oh apparently my workout sneakers, a sports bra, and socks are here.
October 26, 2013 at 4:16 pm
I used to keep spare shoes and snacks in my office, but was switched to full-time hoteling and had to downsize to a single drawer in a central file room. I still keep my emergency shawl in there: an enormous mohair shawl I knit many years ago that is super warm. The new floor seems to be warmer than the old one, though, so I haven’t had to use the shawl in a while. I made up a little “grab bag” in the file drawer. My new routine when I go to the office is to check in, go to the file room and grab my bag, then settle into my office for the day. My “grab bag” has a headset to connect to the phone, some of my preferred pens, sticky notes (they are always disappearing from the supply cabinet), and a coffee mug that I use for water. The office is pretty well stocked with utensils and a self-serve first aid box with bandages, cold medicine, ibuprofen, etc. Hoteling has turned me into a minimalist at the office.