We all know somebody who has mountains of paper, clothes, and/or junk all over the place and claims to know where everything is! It might be your child who is avoiding cleaning their room, your grandmother who hoards every little knick-knack that reminds her of a time long past, or it might even be you. While that might be acceptable in your personal life, it is not conductive to having a productive working environment. Here are five simple steps to keep your work space clean and tidy.
5 Tips to Maintain a Clean Work Space
- Sort consistently. Instead of dreading having to dedicate an entire day or weekend to unclutter your work space, spend just five minutes at the end of the day to clean up after yourself and leave your area ready for the following day. Recycle or shred any unnecessary paper and organize your supplies so you (and anybody else) know where to find them. As professional organizer Ellen Delap says, “You can either brush twice a day or 14 times on Saturday.”
- Have a space for paper. We hear all the time that the world is becoming paperless. Instead of letters – we send emails, there’s online bill pay, applications and forms are filled out electronically, etc. Then, why are we still flooded with paper? I do not have the answer to that, but I know how to deal with it. Save a space where you can keep invoices, memos, and other non-essential documents until your file them (at the end of the day). Make sure your co-workers and/or employees know where this is so they don’t dump papers on your desk.
- Maintain a clean desk. Your desk is the most crucial physical object in the office so keep it clean. A cleaner desk will help you think clearer and focus on the tasks at hand. Always insure that you have an open space to operate. One of the ways to do this is by limiting the number of picture frames. Yes, you want the world to know how cute and how much your kids have grown and a quick glance at the photos might even give you that extra boost of motivation to finish a project or get through the middle of the week, but is it really necessary to have every single one of their school or soccer pictures? Probably not.
- Use organization products. After you limit the number of picture frames and the amount of paper on your desk, you should have some free space. Use that space to add products such as file sorters and trays to keep only the most essential of office supplies (pens, pencils, white-out, highlighters, etc.). Make sure to label the each of the sorter’s slots so you are able to find important documents quickly. These items will help keep the clutter off your desk and reduce the amount of time you will spend looking for files or pen with ink.
- Keep extra office supplies organized in a cabinet. As mentioned previously, only keep the most essential of office supplies on your desk. We recommend that you have extra supplies but they shouldn’t be on your desk. Store the rest of the supplies in a cabinet but have them neatly organized so you are able to easily access them. This will come in handy when your favorite highlighter dries up or when your co-worker comes scavenging for extra staples.
We have more useful tips for your office and how to improve your performance at work!