Office Spring Cleaning Tips + Tricks
Does it feel like your desk is getting smaller and smaller? Or your desktop is getting smaller and smaller? Now is the perfect time to get inspired by the melting snow and chirping birds and get organized! Spring means a fresh start, and a chance to let go of some items, and organize others.
Let’s cover the big three; your desk, your computer, and the company storage closet. Our busy schedules don’t always allow us to be as organized as we would like – let’s use the good weather as inspiration! Take five minutes and look at your workspace. Whether you work at home, have a tiny cubicle, or earned the corner office with a view, these tips will maximize your office spring cleaning and set you up for a more effective Q2!
DESK
Start by taking everything off. Wipe down your desk and put back only the things you use regularly throughout the day. Be sure to wipe down all hard surfaces with a disinfectant and don’t forget about your electronics! Your phone, keyboard, and mouse are high germ zones. Pretend your desk is a cockpit – keep the things you need close by and tuck everything else away. Aesthetically, coming to work will be a more pleasurable experience knowing you will be entering a clean and organized workspace.
But cleaning your desk has more than aesthetic advantages, a cleaner workspace also means a more productive office. Not having to search through piles of papers will save you valuable time throughout the coming months. Colors also have a notable effect on productivity, a study published by Science Magazine found the color red helps recall and attention to detail, while blue fuels creativity and imagination. Take this into consideration when choosing what to surround yourself within your newly cleaned desk space.
The easiest, most impactful way to make a big change in your workplace is to add a pop of color. Add a low-maintenance plant or some flowers to freshen up your space. Not only does it liven things up – it creates barriers between you and others allowing you to get your work done.
While in your cleaning frenzy, don’t forget to look under your desk too. Make sure your cords are organized and drawers are purged of old unwanted clutter. Consider donating any usable items, recycle anything that can be recycled, and toss the rest!
COMPUTER
Sometimes we only focus on the physical space in front of us, don’t forget about your virtual space! Do you save everything to your desktop? Eventually your desktop will be taken over with an unnecessary amount of files making it impossible to see that adorable background picture of your furry friend. The more you cloud your desktop the more distracting and hard to navigate it becomes.
Take a couple of minutes to clean up your desktop. Separate files into appropriately labeled folders. Folders are your best friend. Make it easy to navigate to your important files by following a consistent naming convention. Use this opportunity to get rid of any files you no longer need. Screenshots, or files that can be easily downloaded from other sources, don’t need to take up space on your computer!
Next, tackle your inbox. Are you still seeing emails hanging around from last year? Move everything from last year into a folder called “Old Email 2017” or something similar. Implement a new email sorting method from here on out. Laura M. Stack, “The Productivity PRO” preaches the “6-D” method which I absolutely love!
Discard it – What’s the worst that can happen?
Delegate it – Send the email to the appropriate party.
Do it – No better time than the present!
Date it – For items you can’t work on immediately, determine when you need to see the item again and put in the appropriate dated storage system.
Drawer it – Drag to appropriate folder.
Delete It – Get rid of this annoyance for good! Unsubscribe from mailing lists when possible! Time spent deleting emails adds up.
Bask in your empty inbox.
STORAGE CLOSET
At Tactive, we had a bad habit of allowing our warehouse to become a storage facility for our clients. Recently, we rented a huge dumpster and parked it right outside of our warehouse. We were encouraged to reach out to our clients about their current inventory, see what they wanted, and throw away the rest. At the end of the week, it was full! Office spring cleaning means more space, which means more room to help our existing clients with new projects or bring in new customers.
Whether it’s customer projects, retail products, or office supplies, take some time to keep it organized. Start by making sure all your inventory is in one place. Stack pen boxes with other pen boxes, and paper with the paper. Save money from ordering new products by being easily able to see what’s in stock.
While you’re at it, treat yourself to a little organizational reward! Purchase a fun new wall calendar, a colorful pencil cup, or a new tray organizer to hold all of your t. You’ll be more likely to keep your desk & papers under control if you love the tools you’re using to do it.
Want to treat your whole office to some branded swag to inspire them to stay organized? Say, “Hi” to Tactive! We’ll help you find the perfect branded office gear to keep your employees focused.