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As Spring is just around the corner, use this time to declutter and reorganize your work areas – be it in an office tower, home environment, or professional tools area.
You’ve cleaned up your computer, and it’s time to take a closer look at the area you physically work in. Don’t just think of the office as your work area – especially if you’re in the trades. Your work area may be as simple as a cubicle in an office tower or as complex as vans to run your business with mobile offices around the world. Taking the time now to declutter will help you prepare for any future endeavours.
Contents
How to spring clean your work area
Office at Work
If you have an office outside of your home, take a critical look at how it might appear to others. Try to walk to it with new eyes – what do you see? Most people tend to clutter the office and desk with personal pictures along with files to be worked on. Ensure you have one area or drawer reserved to store those working files while you leave the office – so your area always looks neat and tidy. Be careful about the “cute” posters unless they are work-related and sanctioned by your company. Personal pictures (family, vacations) are usually allowed, but make sure these do not overshadow the main point – you are there as a team member of the business.
And yes, you DO need to go through all those files to see what can be stored in the company’s storage area and what can be thrown out. Ensure you label all boxes with contents, and if appropriate, dates for when the contents can be destroyed/deleted.
Remember, you want your office area to exude confidence and capability to anyone who walks by – be it, external clients or internal workers.
Office at Home
Even if you don’t work out of the home, most people have an area in their home for working at home. You might even have to share this area with other members of your family. And it still needs to be spring-cleaned!
Ensure you have all printer supplies such as paper and ink in one area, preferably near the printer if not stored in the printer stand. Clear off any extraneous files or loose papers – use an appropriate filing system for storage – there are many inexpensive solutions at your local office supply store.
And yes, you still need to go through those files to see what can be removed for storage and/or destroyed/deleted. For example, you hopefully are keeping your filed tax returns (for seven years), but you most likely only need the past couple of years within easy access.
Trades (and Anyone Who Uses Tools)
Those who work in trades should also ensure all toolboxes are tidy, in good working order, and labelled in some fashion, so you know where particular tools are. This is especially true for those NOT in the trades – you’ll save time and effort when looking for that tool that is not used on a weekly basis. More importantly, though, for tradespeople, it is to go through and see the condition of the tools now – what might need replacing; what do you think you might need for the near future?
Bottom Line
Go through both your home office area as well as your official office area – get rid of unnecessary files. Don’t forget your professional tools area – be it a tool chest or your computer and printer – make sure you only keep what you need within easy access and store the rest. Take the time now to declutter your work environment and prepare for the future. Spring is just around the corner.
Win Home Office Cable Management Clips
To help you spring clean your work area and attempt to keep all those cables organised, we are fortunate enough to have a pack of home office cable management clips to giveaway. Easy to attach to most surfaces they each keep three cables where they need to be – saving you from scrambling under desks etc trying to find cables.
PRIZE: Home Office Cable Management Clips (Pack of 3)
To enter simply complete the Gleam widget below, all entries are optional and each one completed will gain you more entries into the random draw.
Home Office Cable Management Clips (AFFT)
