Spring has officially ‘sprung’ so there’s no better time to spring clean your office! A streamlined office is a more productive office and only a tidy office can be truly streamlined. Spring cleaning an office is not as simple as spring cleaning your home, however. You can’t afford to interrupt the daily running of the office and you need to be mindful of your colleagues. Leading online retailer of office products Office1web Ireland (http://www.office1web.ie/) shares its tips on getting the most from your office spring clean.
First, think about what you want to get out of your spring clean. Do you want a more organised stationery cupboard; a clutter-free desk policy; a new central area to find regularly used items such as copier paper or ink cartridges? Think of the things particular to your office which you think are hampering efficiency (or are just driving you and your colleagues mad!) and then make a plan of attack. Classic office areas in need of an annual tidy include where all the regularly used office supplies are kept, communal kitchen cupboards and the kitchen fridge.
Your office spring clean is going to have to be a model of efficiency in itself. It’s not likely that you’ll want to come in to the office over the weekend to do it and your boss won’t thank you for disrupting the work day. The key is good planning and working out exactly what it is you’ll be doing. For instance, if you want to reorganise the stationery cupboard, make an approximate inventory of what’s in there and draw up a plan of where you think things should go (every-day items of stationery in easy to reach places, sporadically used business supplies on higher shelves or at the back of cupboards, for instance). When it comes to putting your plan into action, enlist help. All your colleagues will benefit from the spring clean and many hands make light work so you should be able to find a few willing helpers (and there’s usually someone dying to get away from the daily grind!).
Finally, make use of labels. These humble bits of office stationary will help people to find things under your new improved and organised plan, but they’ll also help to keep them there, at least until next year rolls around and you have to do it all again!
You can find some nifty products at http://www.office1web.ie/ which will help you keep your office organised, from labels to storage boxes.