Everyone knows that disorganized workspace costs them productivity and time, but few actually know how significant that amount truly is. An average executive wastes roughly hundred fifty hours each year sifting through lost information, which is almost a whole month. Not only does a disorganized workspace cost productivity, but it also puts a mental strain on the people who work there.

Most people feel inclined to solve this issue but aren’t quite sure where to begin. You’ll need to take methodical steps to organize an office in a way that conforms to your needs and maximizes your productivity. You can also solve this by hiring a good house cleaning service that takes corporate contracts.

Many people clean and organize their office once and then think that’s the end of it. As a result, their office goes back to looking like the mess it was in less than a week. That’s why you need to nurture specific organizational skills and personal habits to make sure your newly organized office stays organized in the future.

Why Is An Organized Office Necessary

Having an organized workstation can increase your productivity and reduce stress. It also helps save time and energy by making your working process more efficient. On top of that, having an organized office has absolutely zero downsides. So, you have no reason not to try and get your office organized.

Here’s a detailed account of how an organized office can benefit your work life:

1. Increased Flexibility And Teamwork

In this world, many people are used to orderly chaos. Even if a room is filthy with random things thrown here and there, the sole inhabitant living there can usually get by just fine. A tiny part of the brain remembers all the necessary details and helps them navigate through that clutter.

But that system breaks down as soon as you introduce more people into the scene. The second person will move the objects in that chaotic order, and the original person will suddenly be unable to navigate that space. Chances are you are familiar with such situations in an office where co-workers constantly move things around.

Relying on chaotic navigation isn’t reliable in an office where you share the space with many people. A well-organized structure can help you and your co-workers better navigate the office. You won’t need to rely on a vague memory to know where things are if they are all labeled and placed in designated locations.

Being organized improves teamwork because you won’t need to quibble with your co-workers over small matters. It increases efficiency and overall order in the workplace.

2. Enhances Work Efficiency and Time Management

From employees to executives, everyone spends a mind-boggling amount of time trying to find documents and work apparel, which should take minutes at best due to disorganized workplace situations. As such, having an organized office can help you save time and increase employee workflow.

An organized office also reduces the number of steps you need to do certain tasks, making work easier. Such places will nurture your employees’ good habits and efficient work habits, which can significantly help increase your revenue.

3. Stress Reduction And Healthy Environment

Workplace stress and burnout are serious issues for many people right now, but you can reduce that with an organized office. Orderly space allocation can help your work smoother and thereby reduce the associated stress that comes with it. Workers also spend less time worrying about inventory management if they have an organized workspace.

Most disorganized offices are also filled with clutter, dust, and other unhealthy substances. Prolonged exposure to such an environment can cause health issues for people with allergies and different sensitivities. Cleaning services can help declutter your office and help you maintain a cleaner environment, making things easier to organize.

Tips For Keeping Your Office Organized

Japanese businesses follow a golden rule for organizing workplaces and offices. It’s called the rule of 5S, which stands for Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. Seiri means sorting, Seiton means organizing, Seiso means cleaning, Seiketsu stands for sanitizing, and Shitsuke means sustaining.

Those aspects help build a systematically perfect work environment. Here are some tips inspired by the 5S rule to help you maintain an organized office:

1. Start “From-The-Scratch”

 If your office is already massively cluttered, then you’ll probably need to start with a cleanup. The worst way of cleaning an office or a house cleaning is to clean random areas at a time. That just makes things way harder than it needs to be

Instead, you should start from scratch. Remove all your items, files, and documents and place them in a pile. Then, clean the office area and slowly put things back individually. Doing it this way will let you sort through your items and remove the unnecessary stuff you’ll never use.

But doing a thorough cleanup isn’t most people’s area of expertise. And for the first cleanup, you’ll want a deep cleaning, which people cannot usually manage without professional help. So try getting that done by professionals.

2. Manage Paper Clutter

Paper clutter is one of the most common and annoying types of clutter in an office. Many employees hoard paper documents, thinking those will come in handy at some point, and such piles build up over the years.

In truth, most of the documents people put away for later use never actually get used. But no one dares to remove them, fearing they might be necessary at some point in the future. As a result, most offices have papers placed in random places. One of two such papers doesn’t amount to much, but over time, you’ll end up with a veritable heap of useless paper taking up space in your office.

So, you should consciously start to take note of useless papers. Sort through the pile, put the important ones in a permanent location, and shred the rest. Doing so will instantly make your office look more organized.

3. Allocate Space

Everything in your office needs to have a designated space. If it doesn’t, then either throw it away or make new space for it. Establishing specific spaces for different items is a great way to organize your workspace. Doing so makes it easier to find things, and it will help all the employees. You can benefit from it even if you have a personal office room.

You can try to organize things by allocating them to specific spaces in several ways. Sort them by different types, such as things you use often and things you don’t use all that often. You can also have designated locations for placing files and items you’ll throw away at the end of the week.

Most offices don’t have the infrastructure to implement a large-scale space allocation. There’s only so much space on a flat table, after all. Hence, investing in some desk organizers could be a good idea. These are immensely helpful for organizing. Desk organizers will give you a lot of extra free space that you can later allocate to various items.

4. Label Everything

Labeling goes hand in hand with allocating spaces. Let’s say you have a bunch of desk organizers and filing cabinets for your files and documents. But how will people realize what’s where? Especially someone new to the team will find it needlessly confusing. Even your regular employees may find navigating a new set-up hard, making things even more chaotic.

At times like that, labeling comes in really handy. You can label each cabinet and drawer, demarcating what’s in them. Doing so will make it easier for everyone to find things. It’ll also prevent unnecessary chaos, which would happen if people mistakenly put items in the wrong places by mistake. Labeling is perhaps the most critical factor that can increase your productivity.

Labeling things in an office will also streamline your work steps. You’ll have a better understanding of your inventory and office supplies. Such a system will be very friendly towards interns. They’ll take less time learning the ropes and become productive faster.

5. Digital organization

Modern offices have started dealing with paper clutter by moving their operations to a digital platform. You can replace paper-based items like documents, sticky notes, meeting minutes and other such paper-bound items with a digital platform on computers or smartphones to significantly reduce the clutter in your office.

Some paid and free apps also offer dedicated organizational services. But it’s also easy to clutter your digital devices if you do not adopt some tech habits. In such situations, your digital device can become a second disorganized office.

To avoid such a scenario:

• Learn to delete and archive emails and how to clean your inbox and notification center.
• Tag your files and separate them into designated folders.
• Put the files you need to access often on quick access.

6. Cable Management

Most offices these days have a lot of digital devices. Even the most impoverished facility has at least a few computers-decades old as they may be. Introducing digital technology to a workspace enhances many aspects of the operation and employee productivity. But with it comes the issue of maintenance.

Many offices are disorganized not because of stray files and documents lying here and there but because of wires and cables. If a cable goes over the desk, it becomes harder to clean, and lazy cleaners avoid touching the wires or cleaning around the area.

As such, wires stick out like sore thumbs in a disorganized office. You should try to solve this issue by properly organizing the cables and using a lot of zip-ties to place them in optimal locations. Or just transition to wireless devices. Then you’ll only need to worry about the charging ports, which are a lot easier to manage than 3-4 different wires per computer.

You should also set aside a designated location for charging stations. Random phone chargers on every random plug in an office will look unsightly and can often get in the way of other people. So it’s best to get a central hub for such things.

7. Drink Bar

You won’t find an office without a few coffee cups, water bottles, and ceramic mugs on some tables. These random items can be distracting and often cause chaos and disorder in an already hard-to-maintain workplace.

Especially ceramic mugs and Starbucks cups, as people tend to let them sit at their desks for days. You could try making a designated location for keeping these cups and mugs to solve this issue. Keeping them all in the same place is also great for cleaning. Having a set drink bar will also make your office more vibrant in general.

8. Build A Habit of Spot Cleaning

This tip is mainly for personal office settings. Spot cleaning is a great way to stop clutter from building up. The idea may seem a bit tedious initially, but it’s incredibly effective in the long run. For this technique, you’d want to keep some cleaning supplies close by which you can reach fast. It could be a rag and a spray bottle full of some cleaning liquid.

Use those to clean your desk once every morning to stop the dust buildup and tidy your workstation. You can also use those to wipe away any random ink stains or spilt drinks if need be. It’s a convenient solution if you have a home office or if your office doesn’t have a regular cleaning crew.

Conclusion

To reiterate, an organized office space is exceedingly important if you want an edge over your competitors. It helps increase productivity and reduces work-related stress by a massive amount. Hopefully, you’ll find the tips mentioned above to be helpful. Remember that there are many other tips and systems out there. Some of those may work better for you, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different setups.

If you need a cleaning service for your home office or workplace, feel free to contact us at Upstraight Cleaning. We are a professional cleaning company in Lawrenceville, Georgia. We offer all kinds of cleaning and organizational services.