As the grass starts to grow and the sun shines high, we start to think about spring cleaning and decluttering, while most people start dieting, tidying up their apartments. Businesses have to organize and declutter differently. When it comes to the office, we need to ensure that outdated or unwanted documents are securely disposed of.
Spring cleaning your office can benefit your work life by:
- Reducing stress
- Increasing productivity
- Creating a positive mood
- Allergy symptoms relief
- Create a great impression
59% of Canadians engage in spring cleaning every year
While spring cleaning may provide some benefits, it can be an overwhelming task. Before starting, try and get inspired either by a picture from a magazine or by going shopping. Create an idea of what you would like your office to look like, you will feel more positive about the task. Maybe buy some new artwork or set up space for natural light to come in. Don’t rush the project, take your time. Aim to complete small tasks over a week or so. Think about having a process, take everything out of the area, even clean inside your desk draws.
We have some easy tips to help you create a clean and organized office:
Organize your paperwork
Bills, invoices and receipts can pile up quickly and never really find a home. Create an easy filing system. Label boxes or draws which make sense to you. For example Client work meals, receipts for office equipment. Create an area on a bookshelf or cabinet for paperwork such as “to file” and “to do”. Throw away old pens or broken scissors, place frequently used stationery on the desk. Other stationery should be stored in a special drawer or box under your desk or a cabinet. Only keep important paperwork on your desk.
Only keep necessary items close to you. Make it a weekly habit to check through printed sheets of paper.
Declutter your inbox online
Most of us spend all our time looking at emails and never really go through and sort out what emails are useful and what is junk. Simply create folders to group all your emails and set up a reminder on your calendar to check weekly.
Do a Virtual clean up
Unnecessary emails, files and duplicates of photos are all a waste, they are using up space. On average we can spend over 45 minutes a day searching through cluttered information to find what we need. Aim to do a digital deep clean of your desktop at least once a month. Remove any unwanted files or viruses, this will help to speed up your computer or laptop. Place all documents or images into folders. Always update passwords to help prevent hackers from accessing your desktop.
Over 41% of companies have 1,000+ sensitive documents open to employees.
Cleaning up sensitive documents
Businesses and companies are required to protect and sort confidential documents out correctly. Many documents might even have to be held for a serious amount of time, this is when we can help. Here at Western Archive, we offer a variety of services to ensure businesses are well protected. We have a wide range of document solutions including Record management, Secure shredding, Media storage, Document imaging and Document boxes. We can help clients out by providing a portable shredder that can give you the option of having all your documents destroyed on-site and help free up your employees to focus on more productive tasks for your business. Our security store is held high as we provide custom identification barcodes and around-the-clock monitoring. Get in touch with us today and we’ll discuss how our services can help your business do a spring clean.