Your End-of-Year Lab Stocktake: The Smartest Move You Can Make Before 2026
As schools and laboratories gear down for the holiday break, most teams are focused on final reports, shutdown procedures and clearing benches. But there’s one job that pays off more than people realise: a proper end-of-year lab stocktake.
A quick audit now saves hours of scrambling in Term 1, avoids budget blowouts and ensures your teaching and testing programs start smoothly in 2026. Most importantly, it helps you catch the consumables that always run out at the worst possible time.
To make things easier, we’ve put together a practical checklist you can work through this week.
Your Essential Stocktake Checklist
Before you lock up the lab for the year, take 10 minutes to review the basics.
PPE - Gloves, lab coats, safety goggles, face masks, hand wipes.
General Consumables - Test tubes, beakers, petri dishes, microscope slides, pipette tips, filters, alcohol swabs, sharps containers.
Chemicals & Reagents - Check expiry dates, quantities, safe storage and upcoming curriculum or testing requirements.
Cleaning & Hygiene - Bench wipes, disinfectants, sterilisation consumables, spill control kits.
Equipment Accessories - Replacement bulbs, chargers, moisture analyser accessories, tubing, connectors, replacement parts.
Storage & Lab Organisation - Labels, markers, sample bags, trays, racks and storage systems.
A tidy, well-stocked lab means fewer interruptions, safer sessions and a cleaner start to the new year.
Why Now Is the Best Time to Restock
Most schools and industry labs discover gaps after returning from break, when demand spikes and suppliers run low. December is the quiet opportunity to restock while prices are at their lowest.
Right now, Westlab’s End-of-Year Stocktake Sale includes hundreds of discounted essentials across PPE, consumables, equipment and lab storage. If you know you’ll need it in Term 1, this is the ideal time to secure it.
A Clean Lab Is a Productive Lab in 2026
Once your stocktake is done, use the break to reset your space. A quick tidy, wipe-down and reorganisation sets your team up for safer, more efficient work next year. Pair that with a fresh supply of consumables and you’ve eliminated 90 percent of the small frustrations that waste time in Term 1.
Final Tip
If you’re unsure what to prioritise, start with items your team used heavily this year. Gloves, test tubes, wipes and basic consumables never go astray, especially when they’re on sale.