At the beginning of each new year, most business owners find themselves saying, “this year will be different. This year we are going to say organized!”
However, two weeks down the line their office looks like the aftermath of a bad tornado. Papers are stacked precariously on every surface, chairs and desks are scattered haphazardly throughout the space, and office supplies have mysteriously started disappearing amidst the chaos.
The team at Western Archives understands how difficult it can be to keep your office organized, so we’ve decided to come up with a list of our top strategies for storing paper documents and reducing office clutter.
Consider it an early Christmas present from us to you!
1. Designate a “File Room” in Your Office
You would be surprised at the number of businesses that do not have a designated room for files in their office. Having such a room reduces the likelihood that documents will be left lying around the office, thereby eliminating the risk of them getting lost or your data getting compromised.
It’s also important to create an efficient filing system for your filing room. For example, all boxes should be labelled and assigned an alphabetical or numeric I.D. In addition, the files inside each box should be separated into folders and labelled. Incorporating a filing system might seem like a tedious chore in the beginning, however, it will save you time in the long run.
However, we understand that not all businesses have the luxury of enough space for a file room. In this case, it’s important to still designate a certain area of your office for keeping your files. Otherwise, they will just get left all over the place, resulting in problems.
2. Shred Expired Or Unneeded Documents
One of the reasons offices get so cluttered is because paperwork builds up over time.
Think of it as a garden – if you don’t make a point of pulling weeds every once in a while, eventually the weeds will take over and your garden will be a mess.
Similarly, if you don’t make a point of eliminating irrelevant documents from your office, these documents will create needless clutter.
In order to avoid this, be sure to sort through your files at least once per quarter and remove all those which no longer serve a purpose. Then, once you have gathered these documents, take them to a shredding facility to be safely destroyed. You can even hire a mobile shredding company to come to your place of work and shred your documents there!
3. Store Documents Offsite
Finally, if you do not have enough space for a file room in your office – or you just need a secure home for your documents – consider storing your documents offsite. There are a number of benefits that can be seen from this strategy.
For example, most of these types of facilities offer 24/7 security, so you can rest assured that your documents will be safe at all times. Many storage facilities also have special environmental controls (humidity and temperature) that can be used to prolong the life of your documents.
Western Archives – Document Shredding and Storage in Edmonton
If you need help with your annual office clean up, the team at Western Archives would love to assist you. We provide document shredding and storage services to help your business stay organized! Please contact us today to learn more.