7 Steps for Spring Cleaning Your Home Office
Now that tax season is over at Gardner & Billing CPAs, we're feeling spring fever pretty fiercely! If you're feeling that restless, energetic spring fever bug like we are, then maybe you're getting ready for spring cleaning!? Check out these helpful tips from Remote.co for cleaning and organizing the chaos that accumulates in your home office!
If your work environment
is littered with papers and odds and ends—and if you often find yourself
wasting time hunting for things—it’s probably time to pay it some attention. So when it comes to
spring cleaning, don’t neglect your home office. Establishing and
maintaining a clean, organized, and uncluttered workspace will do wonders for
your peace of mind and your ability to get work done. This includes your
physical office as well as your laptop’s many files, too.
Here
are seven tried-and-true steps for bringing order out of home office chaos:
1.
Assess
Stand back and survey
your space. Notice where items are stored, and also where they have migrated
while in use. Take stock of what gets in the way versus what you’re often
reaching for. Identify wires to be rerouted or tech that actually belongs there.
Think about what you
wished you had but currently don’t. Acknowledge what might be better placed in
another room, or what items first need to be tested (pens, dry erase markers,
etc.) in order to determine if they’re worth keeping.
2.
Sort
Start with what
occupies your desk and any drawers. Be swift and ruthless. Hang onto physical
documents only if it’s absolutely necessary; otherwise, take photos or scan them for
your records and place them in a tossing pile.
The buttons,
stray caps and random pennies can be returned to their rightful match or
location, or they, too, can be tossed. (Whatever you decide to hang onto will
be organized later.) Aim for growing any empty space; it frees up room for your
mind.
3.
Purge
Toss the items from
your pile of discards into the garbage or set them aside for recycling or
donation.
Important: do not leave
the non-trash items sitting in your office for weeks on end. Make immediate
plans to rid yourself of them so that the purge is complete. This stage is
liberating. You’ll truly feel as if a physical weight has been lifted from your
shoulders, and you will be even more content if some of it went to charity.
4.
Clean
Gather the necessary
cleaning supplies for surfaces, along
with cloths or paper towels. Before spraying anything, open the windows to
allow fresh air into your space even if it’s a cooler day.
Then go to town
wiping away the dirt, dust, and coffee rings that have accumulated over time.
Thoroughness is key here; leave no paperweight or knickknack unturned!
5.
Categorize
Sort items into
specific categories based on functionality. Separate those that you use daily
from those that are accessed weekly, or are sought out only on rare occasions.
Think of your desk as
being within your personal orbit; place the materials you most frequently use
within arm’s reach from where you sit or stand. The rest can be located much
further afield—in drawers, on shelves, or in bookcases.
6.
Rearrange
Question why certain
things stay in the same place. Is there nowhere else they’d fit, or no spot
that’s better suited?
This stage is
especially helpful with regard to your laptop; examine your folder hierarchy
(or lack thereof) and institute deliberate changes. Rename files so that they
fall into chronological order and more accurately describe their contents. Test
out your new virtual or physical desk organization to gauge whether or not
it’ll work for you in the longer term.
7.
Maintain
Commit to preserving
your newly organized and clean workspace. Be conscientious of what new items
you bring into your home office, and think carefully about their placement.
Take the time to clean up small messes or toss unneeded mail or paperwork
before it begins to pile up. This ongoing attention will save you time, and
will enable you to continue working in an environment conducive to greater productivity and mental concentration.
