Spring Cleaning for Your Work Area

Clean Up Your Work Environment In Office and Home

Feb 27, 2009 Paym Bergson

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.

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. Careful on 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, preferable 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, 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, 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 yrou 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.

The copyright of the article Spring Cleaning for Your Work Area in Career Advice is owned by Paym Bergson. Permission to republish Spring Cleaning for Your Work Area in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Time to Declutter Your Work Area

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