I can smell the spring in the air. While I still see snow in my yard, the days are getting longer, the birds are louder, the trees are waking up, and I can smell that winter is finally ending.
At this time of year, the annual “spring cleaning” bug bites me. I consider myself clean and organized generally, but there are certain things that I like to do around my house, specifically in the spring.
My office is no different, and I also take the energy the spring gives me to do spring cleaning in my office too.
Are you planning on cleaning your office? You will improve your workspace and help organize your mind, stay focused, and increase your productivity.
Start by doing the basics. Go through your office and organize them in piles: keep, donate, throw away, and things that belong in another room. This will get rid of the clutter that has accumulated over the months and will help you move on to bigger tasks. When I was cleaning my desk, I found I had a blanket for my lap (and on colder days) that didn’t need to be there anymore. Easy to put away, but it had been there for quite some time, and clearly, I didn’t see it as clutter anymore. It was, and it is now put away.
My desk tends to get cluttered with notes, pens, and things I like and expect to use. Except I don’t always use them as often as I think I may. If you use it every day, then keep it on your desk. I have a jar of pens (I am a bit of a pen junkie), one of my #AdminsRock post-it notes and notepads, and my daytimer. Not multiple pads of notes and different color post-its or every pen I own. I always used to keep a small dish of paperclips on my desk too, but I’ve discovered that I don’t use them very often (I have very little paper anymore), so I put them away.
If I use it daily, it can stay on my desk. If I use it often, it can go in my drawer. If I use it occasionally, it can go in the cupboard (or wherever away is for you). If I’m not using it, I must ask myself why I’m keeping it.
I am a fan of baskets and containers, allowing me to identify what is where quickly. To keep my drawers from becoming cluttered, I use organizing containers (often found at the dollar store). In my cupboards, I use containers to sort “like” items (like all those post-its I have).
Find a space to pin visual aids or reminders such as calendars, project plans, or to-do lists.
Organizing your document and filing system is one of the more tedious steps in spring cleaning. Take the time at this moment to go through every file and document. As mentioned above, I’m no longer using much paper, so spring is an excellent time to purge the filing cabinet. I no longer keep paper files (and if you are, ask yourself if you need to or if it is a product of habit), so I’ve opened up more storage space by cleaning the filing cabinet.
Warren does need to keep much more paper than I do (he does all the accounting and needs backup files), and he is a fan of piles. As you could probably guess, I am not a fan of his piles, so by emptying out the filing cabinet, he can use it for his holding system instead of having piles all over his workspace.
In reality, I don’t need a filing cabinet at all, but it is an ideal space to store things, especially in a home office. I challenge you to ask yourself why you are keeping the paper you are keeping.
When organizing the cupboards, find a system allowing others to find items if needed (or to make it easier for you to find them later). Books could be alphabetical; project files/boxes could be alpha or sorted monthly. When cleaning, we tend to organize things so they look attractive (for example, books grouped according to height); however, that doesn’t allow us to find items later.
Remember to wipe down the dirt and marks from all surfaces too. I’m amazed at how dusty and grimy things get. Clean your keyboard (the statistics on how dirty a keyboard is are disgusting!). Cleaning requires more than just reorganizing the items on your desk.
Additionally, if your office has a window, remember to take a moment to wash it, so you can benefit from the natural sunlight it can provide.
Finally, it’s important to clean up the virtual workspace too. Go through your desktop and delete any unnecessary files, including large documents or downloads you no longer need. Set up folders for efficient filing, and you can also establish backup protocols for important files.
The arrival of spring allows everyone to get rid of the winter blues and start anew. A clean and organized office is an efficient one.
I know I am more efficient and happier when I sit down at my nice clean workspace, looking out the window at the green peaking through the white and the start of the buds appearing on the trees.
