Make Your Office Bloom With These 7 Spring Cleaning Ideas
Posted on: 21 January 2016
Most people think of spring cleaning their home -- getting rid of winter blues and preparing for a prosperous year -- but few think about doing so at the office. Since the average person spends so much of his or her life in the office, it's important to make a fresh start there as well.
So, how can you do some successful spring cleaning at the office? Here are 7 ideas to get you started.
Clear the Clutter
Take a hard look at what you have lying around the office and whether it really adds value to your routine. Purge unnecessary things like unused furniture, old technology, outdated books or folders of paperwork kept "just in case." A good rule of thumb is that if an item hasn't been used in a year, you probably don't need it. At the very least, consider moving unused items to a specified storage area to free up work space.
Discard Old Inventory
Like unused office items, check your inventory for things that have been in your possession too long. If you haven't sold or used it in a long time, it's probably time to either discount it and get it sold, donate it or write it off as a loss. Make room for the new by losing the old.
Freshen the Decorating
Along with the new year, why not add some new colors, update accessories or make some changes in the layout of the office? A little change could do your employees a lot of good and inspire some new ways of thinking. While you're at it, this might be a good time to consider freshening up your brand or logo if it's getting a little tired.
Shred Old Paperwork
Now is the time to go through all your old piles of paperwork, filing cabinets and storage boxes or bins to look for documents that you can get rid of. Old paperwork is more than a nuisance -- it's also a potential liability. So pull it out and purge it, following suggested retention schedules from your accountant or lawyer. If you have a lot of papers or files that need destroyed, it may be a good idea to hire a secure document shredding service so you don't spend the whole day feeding pages into your normal shredder.
Clean Out Email
Don't forget about your virtual spring cleaning needs. Email can be one place that's often left disorganized or allowed to build up to epic proportions. Not only does this waste time and money when looking for particular items, it also opens up the company to liability if sensitive emails are kept beyond legal requirements.
Go Digital
While you're cleaning out your digital realm, why not take the opportunity to start using it to its fullest potential? You can reclaim space, make searches easier and reduce risk of physical loss if you start moving your files to a digital filing system.
Hire Some Help
If your office cleaning is a big job, don't be afraid to hire some help for the day. If you hire a professional cleaning service, for example, you and your employees can focus on tasks that only you can do -- like sorting through items, organizing email or deciding what inventory needs to go.
Spending one or more days bringing the office back to life and increasing its efficiency is a good investment to make each year. The result will be a happier office and some fresh new ways of looking at things.
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