With office space at a premium, employers obviously want to get as much out of it as possible. At Loco we think a light, bright, open-plan office with hot desks and no need for private offices can often cut costs and allow a greater sharing of knowledge. A cleverly designed office will use space wisely, however in the modern office no matter how well designed, clutter will undoubtedly build up and you may not notice it until you can barely get to your desk in the morning.
Having a ‘clear the clutter’ day every so often is a great way of getting rid of unnecessary items, many of which may have been sitting around unused and unloved for years. Here are some tips to help you organise your very own ‘clear the clutter’ day.
Advertise – Rally the troops and build awareness with posters around the office and emails letting the staff know what is happening on the day. Ask your employees ‘what are you really using?’ to get them thinking about the task at hand.
Clear Out – Look out for unwanted documents and out of date files that could be thrown away or archived. A shredder will be of great use here, to dispose of documents of a sensitive nature. Unrepairable electrical equipment or products with missing parts such as dead hard drives or mystery cables can be disposed of, and unusable stationary such as out of date diaries can be recycled too.
Recycle – Make sure you have plenty of extra recycling bags on hand and maybe set out a specific area for different types of recycling. You may need some extra help to clear the waste to wherever your office waste collection points are. Make sure you keep any hazardous waste such as electronics and used laser toners separate. You might also want to think about donating unwanted items such as old stationary and working office machines to charities or schools that are often happy to receive them.
Organise – Re-evaluate your use of space, looking to incorporate better office storage solutions. Using taller filing cabinets will make great use of vertical space and can also double up as office partitions. Also think about storing products of a similar nature together, close by to where they are used, like keeping laser toners close to the printer.
Permanent Change – Have a clear desk policy to encourage tidiness on a daily basis and provide an appropriate amount of recycling facilities, which all colleagues can reach quickly from their computer desks.
Underneath all that unwanted clutter you could well find a happier, more productive workforce. After all, we know what a nice feeling it is when we’ve finished spring cleaning the house and can enjoy the space as it was intended. And if after the ‘clear the clutter’ day you find you need to upgrade your office storage or are short of any other business supplies, Loco is always here to help.
