Ever heard the phrase ‘clean desk, clear mind?’ Well, for many people it rings true: a messy and cluttered desk (and workplace as a whole) can make it trickier to focus on the task at hand.
Plus, if you own your own business, having an organised workplace gives prospective new employees and visitors a good first impression – and first impressions count. If your business is looking a little cluttered, we’re here to help.
Some items in your office may be seasonal or only required for special occasions. If that’s the case, at 1st Access Self Storage Peterborough we can house these items for you in secure, five-star-rated storage units. From 25 to 200 sq ft, we have options to suit every business.
What do you actually need?
The first step in any decluttering endeavour has to be identifying which items you actually need. Or, rather, which you actually use – you might think you need all those spare computer keyboards, but are you going to use them? Almost certainly not. And even if you did need one, it wouldn’t be hard to grab one from the nearest supermarket.
Be ruthless with this part of the process, as the remaining steps depend on it. If you can’t bear to part with stuff you really don’t need, you’ll forever be surrounded by clutter! If it helps, think how easy each item would be to replace. If it’s rare or valuable, thus not easily replaceable, consider storing the item off site.
Sort your items
With your must-keep items decided upon, sort the remaining items into groups: sell, throw away or store.
Make an initial categorisation of each item, but then revisit each category – particularly the ‘must-keep’ pile. Often, saying goodbye to lots of stuff gives you a fresh perspective and helps you re-evaluate what you need to keep.
Throw away, sell or store your remaining items and you’ll be left with your essentials. That’s the laborious part out of the way, and hopefully you’ll notice immediately how much more spacious and tidy your office looks.
What has to be out on your desk?
Next up, decide which items you need to have out on your desk. In all likelihood, you’ll only need a few things – perhaps some pens, paper and a calendar. The rest of your stuff can be neatly hidden away, either in drawers, cabinets or on shelves. Unless you use it every day, it doesn’t need to be out on your desk.
At this point, it may be worth investing in some drawer dividers or stackable boxes to help you organise your surplus items further.
Maximise floor space
Paperwork off the floor on shelves, cable tidy, digitise as much as possible, rearrange desks?
With your desk taken care of, now it’s time to look at the rest of your office and business as a whole. Maximising your floor space not only makes your workplace look less cluttered, it becomes easier to clean and, often, makes each room feel larger and more spacious.
How do you go about doing that? First off, move everything that doesn’t need to be on the floor up. That means any folders of paperwork or boxes of stuff can either be filed away or placed on shelves. Better still, digitise your records instead of printing them off.
Next, try and tidy your electrical cables so that they’re less visible. This has the added bonus of making the workplace safer for staff and visitors alike, and it’s quite easy to do, if time-consuming.
With all of that floor space freed up, now might be a good time to consider rearranging the office to make it feel even more spacious. More floor space means more possibilities for different layouts, so experiment and find one that works for you.
Label, label, label
With all of your items settled in their new homes, now’s the time to label all of your boxes, drawers and cabinets to make them easy to find in future. Try to categorise everything in a logical and convenient manner, and make your labels jargon-free and easy to understand. This will make life easier for new starters in particular and make them feel welcome.
Clean it – and keep it that way
Now you’ve got a clutter-free office, it’s time to clean it thoroughly and freshen it up a little. With less clutter adorning every surface, it’ll be much easier to clean, so there’s no excuse not to! Schedule a time each week to tidy it up, and it’ll soon become second nature. Provided you keep on top of it, you’ll never have to have a clear out again.
Any questions?
If you’re planning to declutter your office and are considering commercial storage for select items, we can help. Speak to a member of our friendly team today to learn more or receive a quote for your choice of storage unit at our facility.
