Do you find yourself anxiously searching for a pen to note something down while you’re on an important work call?
Doesn’t it seem frustrating when you need an important document that is buried underneath a heap of files and paperwork?
A cluttered office is an indicator of how busy our lifestyles have become. When I was working at my desk job, clutter never seemed to be that big an issue to me. I was immune to the mess around me and thought it was a part of my job. With all those deadlines looming over my head, it seemed unrealistic to expect my office space to stay decluttered and organized at all times.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures.
But no matter how unsusceptible we think we are to clutter, it impacts our productivity level in more ways than we can imagine. In fact, productivity loathes clutter.
Imagine how efficient you would become if you organize your office in a way that will allow you to find important documents without having to dive into a pile of clutter. And how easy it would be to concentrate on your work knowing that there’s no clutter to distract you. Decluttering your office does not only improve your efficiency level, but also represents you as a brand to people who are visiting your office on a daily basis.
If you’re struggling to declutter your office, at home or at work, here are some easy tips and tricks that are sure to work:
1. Aim For A Clean & Open Workspace
Decluttering your office space without a goal in mind can do more harm than good. So if you’ve made up your mind to give your workspace a nice decluttering therapy, start by imagining how you want it to look like in the end.
You might be aiming for a clean and distraction-free desk that will allow you to focus on your work. A clean and open workspace also paves way for new ideas and helps in improving productivity. You might have been finding yourself lost in those piles of paperwork and wish to take them off the desk. Aiming for a clutter-free work zone will allow you to take back the control while making way for efficiency in your work.
2. Start By Making Space To Work
Since it’s your workspace, you don’t want to forget your work and focus all your energy on decluttering. In order to jumpstart your office decluttering journey, you can simply start by eliminating visual clutter on the office desk and free up some space to carry out your daily work-related activities. Remove any excessive notes lying on top of the desk or items that don’t belong in your office. Get rid of trash or food wrappers, if any, and vacate some space on the desk to be able to work comfortably. Before moving on to the actual decluttering process, make sure that the space that you’ve created remains vacant even after you’re done decluttering.
3. Be Ruthless
Pull out everything in one place to figure out the stuff that you actually need to keep. You might have to be a bit ruthless while decluttering your office supplies because you’ll find tons of items you don’t actually need. There will be staplers and folders that are broken, pens with no caps and paperwork that is no longer relevant. It’s best that you begin by pulling out everything from the area that you wish to declutter first before putting things back one by one.
For instance, if you’re looking to declutter the junk drawer, empty out the contents before sorting through the items one by one. Keep only the things you need and organize them back into the drawer in a proper manner.
4. Tackle One Area At A Time
You don’t want to overwhelm yourself by trying to tackle all at once. Plan your decluttering efforts in a way that you declutter only one section of your office before moving on to the other. You can start by clearing your desk off the unneeded items on day 1 before digging through the junk drawer on day 2. Sort through the filing cabinet on day 3 and do a deep cleaning of your computer on day 4. Doing one area at a time will keep you motivated while also allowing you to have time to focus on work.
5. Do A Deep Cleaning
As you’re decluttering your office space, utilize this time to dust and clean the flat surfaces. Don’t forget to vacuum behind the furniture and under the office desk. Wipe the insides of the filing cabinet when you’re decluttering it as you won’t get a better opportunity to clean it.
6. Organize Everything By Category
Decluttering an office space isn’t a difficult task as there isn’t much to tackle with. You can simply start by picking up items and make a quick decision on whether to keep it or discard it. If there’s an item than you haven’t used in last two weeks, get rid of it at the soonest because there are little chances you will need it in the near future. Discard the duplicates and broken stationery items.
Once you’re done decluttering, start organizing everything based on categories. While sentimental items like family photos and paperwork can be arranged on the desk, stationery supplies should be tossed into the junk drawer. Arrange the books in the shelf and the electronics in a separate drawer. Don’t mix up the stuff while organizing them or you’ll have a hard time finding them when they are most needed.
7. Digitize All Files And Documents
The best way to eliminate unnecessary paperwork is to digitize your files and documents in a secure manner. Creating a digitally centralized system for storing your paperwork will make it easier for you to find them and make space for other things in your office.
Before you scan your paperwork for digital storage, make sure that you put the physical copies into the shredder as it might contain confidential information. You can choose cloud storage or a hard disk drive for the purpose of storing your digital documents, but make sure that you organize all your files in folders that are labelled properly.
8. Assign A Place To Every New Object
There won’t be a need to declutter if you learnt to prevent clutter from settling in. Give a home to every item that you bring into your office. Don’t let anything sit out of place even if it’s something as small as a pencil. When every object has a home, it won’t end up in places where it doesn’t belong.
Now that you know how easy it is to keep your office decluttered and organized, it’s time to get into the high gear and get rid of everything that doesn’t belong in your work space. And if you have become unbothered by the office clutter, just look around your workspace and ask yourself – does this represent me as a person?
Your workspace is where you spend most of your life in, and keeping it organized and clutter-free is bound to have many invisible benefits that can only be felt after going through a thorough decluttering exercise.