Is your office constantly feeling disorganised, cluttered and untidy? Whether it’s your home office, or the one you work in, this article will help you recognise why your office is the way it is and help you fix the problem.
Is your office always feeling disorganised, cluttered and chaotic? Don’t worry, there’s a lot you can do to make things better, so your business can run more smoothly day to day in a tidier, more functional workspace:
1. You Need Self Storage
It may be that you aren’t aware of London self storage and so you’re paying the maximum price for your office, using it for stock storage and paperwork when you don’t need to. London self storage and other self storage near you can help you to clear out your office because you have affordable, secure space for stock, filing cabinets and more. You can even sometimes use self storage for business fulfillment and other daily business activities. By utilising secure self storage you can enjoy the space in your office and utilise it for more staff, easier movement around the office, breakout spaces and more.
2. You Don’t Have A Turn Down Routine
Sometimes an office becomes cluttered because there is never a set time to put things away and get the space ready for the next day. Sure, you might have cleaners who vacuum and wipe down communal spaces, but they don’t clear up desk debris and it is not their job to sort through paper trays and throw things away. If you can give yourself and your team a turn down routine, with set things that have to be done before they end their shift (and allow them to have time to do that routine), you will find that the office is much nicer to come into in the morning, and you have less of an issue with clutter because time has been put into keeping it in control.
3. You’re Not Decluttering
Some offices are not decluttered regularly enough, or at all. This is a problem because clutter then builds up until things really start to feel chaotic in that space. For that reason, it is important to have regular decluttering sessions to ensure that you aren’t holding lots of unnecessary items in your office. That includes shredding or destroying paperwork (legally and properly), getting rid of old or unused technology or furniture, emptying bins and recycling containers, and ensuring any old stationary, momentos and other unused items are removed and cleared from the space. As with your daily turndown routine, it will help to have a fixed time every month or so to dedicate to this task.
4. You Need To Rearrange
Sometimes we get so used to the way that a space works dysfunctionally, we forget we can move things around for a much better functionality. How long was it since you last moved things around to see if there could be a better office layout? If you’re due an office renovation, it’s a great time to move things around and give the place a fresh design. It could be all you need to have a much less cluttered office.
5. You’re Decluttering But You Haven’t Fixed The Function
It may be that you are decluttering but you haven’t actually fixed the function of the space. Marie Kondo talks about this a lot in her podcasts and TV series episodes. If you haven’t restored the functionality of a space, it will become cluttered again quickly. So, as well as decluttering it is important that you also ensure that there are processes in place to help effectively use different spaces effectively. For example, staff know paperwork has to go into certain trays where it is then processed by specific people who know it is their job to do that. The trays allow for easy storage and access of the paperwork, and there is also a recycling centre, storage unit or other place for the paperwork to go when it has been dealt with.
6. You’re Still Storing Paperwork
Going paperless is a long way off for certain businesses and companies. Digitising just cannot happen overnight, particularly with sensitive documents. What you can do, instead of keeping paperwork in the office where it takes up so much space, is move it to deep archive storage instead. This enables you to keep the paperwork safe until it can be digitised and destroyed, whilst also helping you reclaim the office space previously used up by storage cabinets.
7. You Need More Storage Furniture
You might need more storage furniture if you have clutter that actually needs a place, but instead gets left to pile up on desks and in other areas. This can include baskets, cabinets, desks and other options, helping to give items a place to go other than open working space, like desk surfaces. If you are in a position to add more storage furniture to your office, do think twice about whether or not you could declutter instead, or use affordable self storage. If you are certain you have items that do require somewhere to be stored, think carefully about the furniture you purchase to make sure it is as streamlined, efficient and space-conserving as possible.
8. You Need Less Storage Furniture
It may be that you have more storage furniture than you need. Sometimes we can get too many cabinets and drawers for our things, leaving limited space to actually use the space for business needs. Declutter items inside filing cabinets and drawers and then consider whether you could decrease the storage space, or get more efficient furniture, instead.
Are You Ready To Create A More Beautiful, Functional Office Space?
With the tips above, and a bit of time and energy, you can transform your office space so that it works better for the needs of your team, and your business. Use services like local self storage, declutter, have different organisation systems in place, and put the time aside to ensure you maintain organisation and functionality in your workspace. The result is a more productive, fresh, hygienic and pleasant office that helps your business grow from strength to strength every day.
