As winter fades away and the trees start to bloom, you might start to feel the itch. No, it’s not allergies, it’s the drive to spring clean your office. Those piles of paperwork and mountains of coffee mugs that grew all winter have to go.
No matter how busy you are, spring cleaning is worth the time. A clean, neat workspace makes you feel happier and less stressed. You’ll also spend less time sifting through piles of paperwork or digging through random drawers, making you more efficient on the job. But how do you spring clean your office to get maximum effect with minimum time and effort?
File paperwork
Somehow computers haven’t completely done away with the need for paperwork. And as long as humans have paperwork they will put it in a pile to be sorted later. Well, it’s later now. Go through all of the paperwork on your desk and either file, scan or shred it. The only paper left on your desk should be inside your in box.
Get into your drawers
A wise woman once said: “Show me a desk that doesn’t have at least a few rogue ketchup packets rattling around in it, and I’ll call you a liar.” We might be paraphrasing. The point is, you’ve probably collected all kinds of things in your desk drawers that you don’t need. Get rid of that old junk and while you’re at it, organize what you do need so you don’t have to open three drawers just to find a paperclip.
Can the kisch
It started with just one cute little desk toy, but now you could open a toy store. We don’t recommend the KonMari method for most of your office cleaning because it could lead to awkward situations:
Boss: do you have the expense report
You: it did not spark joy, so I tossed it.
Boss: *glares*
But we do think that Mari Kondo is worth listening to when it comes to your office decorations and tchotchkes. For each desk toy ask yourself. Does this spark joy? If it does, by all means, keep it. But you’ll likely find that at least some of those amusing knick-knacks have lost their shine. Get rid of them to reduce the clutter.
Keep only the essentials in reach
It’s easy to let things stack up on your desk. Coffee cups, for example, or antique business cards. Clear your desk (and your mind) by storing on your desktop only the things that you use every day. So if you have a deposit stamp that you use once a week, that goes in the drawer. Your coffee mug stays on the desk, but the four extra ones can go back to the kitchenette. Your red Swingline Stapler? Keep that in easy reach.
Create a place for everything
Personal items can quickly make an office look cluttered. Designate a space for those things so they don’t end up on the floor or piled on a chair. Hang hooks for purses and coats. Designate a drawer to hold your lunchbox or your favorite snacks. Keeping those items out of sight will help you stay focused on work.
Clean and disinfect
Of course, you do need to actually clean the space once you have it all organized. In most cases, you’ll be able to do the job with a few Swiffer dust cloths and Clorox disinfecting wipes. Dust everything first, then go over it with the wipes. Pay special attention to drawer pulls, doorknobs, your mouse and phone handset. We touch these items a lot but don’t always remember to clean them because they rarely get visibly dirty.
Maintain your momentum
If you’ve done everything on this list, your office should feel fresh and open. Now you have the hardest task of all, maintaining this level of organization. Take the extra second to put things away as you use them to keep your office organized for the long haul.
Maybe you’re looking for an even bigger change this spring? Contact Jackie today and get into a new office tomorrow.
