With the weather warming up and winter fading away, now is the perfect time to start thinking about spring cleaning your office! Cleaning and organizing any room can seem like an overwhelming task. But with a few key tips and tricks in mind, you’ll have a fresh, clean office in no time. Here are 9 tips for spring cleaning your office.
Divide Your Office into Sections
Before you start cleaning, take a good look around. Is your desk a mess? Are your bookshelves overloaded? Are there file boxes stacked up behind the door? The best way to tackle any mess is to break it down into sections. Start with one area and work in small sections at a time.
Organize Paperwork
As paperless as you may want your office to be, it’s nearly impossible. Files, notepads, memos – these things pile up with ease. Make room on a bookshelf or cabinet for file boxes or paper trays. Separate papers by type such as “to file” and “to do.”
Clean Out Your Desk
Your desk should hold your absolute most important items, such as a computer, phone, notepad, and pen. If your desk has drawers, those drawers should hold your most important or most current paperwork. The trick is to keep all of your most relevant items within arm’s reach.
Create a Designated Area for Supplies
Post-it notes, staples, paper clips – everyone’s desk is full of them. Empty out that junk drawer, gather the pens that are scattered across your desk, and create a designated drawer or bin to organize office supplies. Don’t use your stapler every day? Put it in a drawer. Is your desk calendar on a page from three months ago? Throw it out. Use your desk to hold the items that you really need.
Find a Place for Temporary Items
If you receive lots of trade publications and magazines, create a space just for them. Don’t mix them in with important memos or client files. By keeping reading materials grouped together in one box or bin, you’ll be able to see how quickly they stack up. And it will be easier to know which subscriptions you can cancel.
Eliminate Your Digital Clutter
Digital clutter is as frustrating to deal with as physical clutter. Clean out your inbox. Read, reply, and delete emails you no longer need. Remove unused desktop icons on your computer by filing documents away into folders. The less icons on your screen, the easier it will be to find the ones you’re looking for.
Clean Your Furniture
When the organization is done it’s time to actually clean. Wipe down all surfaces with disinfectant. Dust your shelves. Polish your furniture. Cleaning and disinfecting should be a part of your weekly routine. If you can’t keep up with it yourself, hire a professional cleaning company to come in once or twice a week.
Clean Your Floors
Don’t ignore your floors. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, hire a professional cleaning crew to vacuum, mop, or wax your floors. Professional cleaners have equipment that you probably don’t, so they’ll be able to get every baseboard, corner, and air duct clean as a whistle.
Keep Up With Clutter
The best thing you can do to keep your office clean and tidy is to keep up with the mess. If you can get in the habit of filing and storing item where they belong, you may never have to do a major clean-up again. And if you hire professional cleaners, you can cross actual cleaning off your to-do list forever.
It’s time to get your office in shape for spring. Organize paperwork, clean off your desk, and empty out that junk drawer. Create storage areas for reading materials and office supplies. Clean out your inbox, remove unused icons on your computer, and hire a cleaning crew to make it dust-free and dirt-free. With a clean, organized office to work in, you’re sure to get more done!
