It’s Spring again and it is time to freshen up our lives. While Spring Cleaning seems to happen naturally within our own homes and personal lives, this is something often overlooked in the workplace and it really shouldn’t be. Many studies that have shown clutter and disorganization can have effect on personal productivity and overall well being. While, a clean and organized space will promote productivity and a general sense of good well being.
Here are a few ideas about how to go about Spring Cleaning your work space and place.
Organize your filing cabinets
While this may be done on a continual basis, spring is a great time to do an overhaul and ensure everything is in order. Get rid of old contracts and paper work and make sure everything is filed accordingly. This is also a great time to dust out the bottom of the drawers, under and behind your filing cabinets. Fix any broken rollers, handles and so on.
Clean Out Office Desks
Just like the filing cabinet clean out, you will want to do a deep clean of your office desks. Clean out drawers of old paper work, garbage, expired pens and markers, food etc. Reorganize with new drawer organizers and file folders. Dust in the drawers, under the desk and in all those nooks and crannies often neglected during the year. Anything that needs fixing, take the time to do that now.
Clean all those hard to reach areas
The hard to reach areas are those areas that you can’t physically reach and/or see/. It is important to clean these areas as these are hot spots for dust and grime. Cleaning these spaces not only makes the office feel fresher it also gets rid of hidden allergens and possible mold growth.
Dust and air spray electronics
This is something I don’t think we do often enough in our work spaces. If you are in a larger company you may have an IT department that will do this for you on a regular basis. However, in smaller businesses this is something that is almost always overlooked. Dusting and air spraying your electronics will rid your office space of trapped allergens, improve efficiency and longevity of your electronics, as well it is a good practice to maintain for fire prevention.
Equipment Checks and Tune Ups
Depending on your office, you may have different kinds of equipment, not just computers, printers and the like. While from a safety stand point, these things should checked on regularly, there are often times when certain pieces of equipment often miss their regular checks and tunes ups. This could be due to lack of regular use, or just plain over sight, but it is important none the less. Making sure all your office equipment is in running order helps to avoid possible break down, malfunction or possible injury.
First Aid Kits
Another item often not thought of unless needed. Cleaning out and updating your first aid kit is always a must. You just never know when you are going to need it. If your first aid kit doesn’t have a check list create one or look one up online. Make sure all your essentials are covered and everything is up to date. Get rid of expired products, opened or damaged items and stock up as best you can. When it comes to first aid kits it is best to be over prepared then under prepared.
-Shanda Sawyer