Are you losing the battle with office clutter? Do you wonder if your messy office is hurting your productivity? If you struggle to find files and feel like you’re barely staying afloat, this article is for you.
What small business owners don’t know about clutter could be costing them thousands of dollars every year. Recent studies estimated that some offices have so much clutter, it costs them more than $60,000 per year. You might not realize that you have a problem until you realize that your cash flow is slowing down.
We’ll give you some pro tips for maintaining a clean office and help you find a great junk removal service. It only takes 15 minutes per day to have a sparkling clean office. Time to get started!
1. Filing and Organization
Do you hate filing and organizing? You’re not alone. Most people spend 30 minutes per day trying to find what they’re looking for. Over the course of a year, that’s 125 hours of productivity. The good news is that you can get that time back by establishing an effective filing system. Your mantra should be, “A place for everything and everything in its place.”
You might also notice that you have furniture clutter laying around: computers, desks, or chairs. We help businesses of any size get their office clean and organized by removing their old junk. When you’re not wasting time searching for contracts, files, and bills, you are taking steps to help your business succeed.
2. Ordering and Inventory
Do you have a place to keep all of your printer cartridges? How about your printer paper? Are you duplicating effort and wasting money by ordering items that you already have? Not everyone has an office manager to keep them organized, but you can conquer your inventory clutter in 15 minutes.
Designate a space to hold all of your office supplies. You can often automate your ordering online, asking your supply company to send you a new ink cartridge every month, for example. If you have back inventory, you might consider having a fire sale to get rid of the clutter and get back to a clean slate.
Too often, we hold onto things that we don’t need. Whether it’s computers and desks, or outdated inventory. If you know for a fact that you can’t sell something, go ahead and donate it to a local charity. You’ll get a tax deduction for helping them out.
3. Digitizing Client Files
If you’re still working with paper files, the time to digitize is now. Working with digital files is faster and easier to keep track of. If you have employees, you don’t necessarily want everyone to be able to review sensitive client information. Having files locked away on a computer and backed up offsite is vital to providing confidential services – and adhering to HIPAA laws.
You can hire a company to come in and convert your files, but if you have time, just take 15 minutes per day and convert your client records. Once you have your old junk removed and your inventory in one place, you should have some free time.
If you notice that you’re getting busier as you progress with your office cleanup, that’s also a good sign. It means that your productivity is increasing and that your time management skills are on point. The goal of organization is always to grow your business and allow you to offer more relevant products and services to your customer base.
4. Protecting Your Computers
Always make sure that your computers are free of malware. Make sure that employees aren’t downloading software or pictures onto company computers. If you have aging, outdated computers, it might be a good time to start clearing the office computers.
Malware and hacking cost small businesses an average of $2 million: $1 million in data theft and $1 million in lost wages and productivity. Can your small business afford that kind of incursion? Take the time to make sure that your computers have up-to-date software and that you’re backing up all of your data in the cloud, offsite.
If you can’t afford to have a full-time IT person, consider outsourcing that task. You’ll receive 24/7 coverage, guaranteed response time to outages, and the comfort that comes with being proactive against malware and hacking.
5. Increasing Security
The most important step in clearing the office will be establishing new security protocols. Once you’ve rid your computers of excess software and potentially damaging programs, you need to ramp up your security features.
Nowadays, we all have two offices. One is the actual office or location that we sit in to do our work, and one is virtual. We need to have a clean office space in the virtual realm, online. Taking steps to manage your employees’ time, access to files and productivity will help your business grow.
In general, clearing the office is going to make you more productive and save you from the risk of information theft. If dealing with computers makes you frustrated, then have an IT expert assist you with maintaining a clean office space in the digital realm.
Tips for Keeping a Clean Office
If you follow all of the steps above, you’re going to notice that you’re much more relaxed. Clutter may not seem like a big deal, but it can affect you more than you realize. If you’ve been feeling depressed, sad, or overwhelmed, take a quick look around your office. What are some small changes that you can make to improve your surroundings?
Make sure that you’re vacuuming your office at least once per week and cleaning all of your hard surfaces. Computers are legendary for attracting bacteria and dirt. Again, you can outsource this task if you’re too busy. Put in some houseplants and make sure you’re watering them. Take the time to put up pictures that make you feel relaxed and happy.
We’re happy to help you remove the junk from your office, commercial restoration, or residence. Drop us a line and we can schedule a time to come and provide a free estimate. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!