A clean office in 7 steps

Do you also arrive at work in the morning wondering what could have happened to your desk? You find loose leaves, sticky notes, useless post-its, coffee cups, etc. It’s now high time to clean up, isn’t it? Don’t let this discourage you! Find out here about the benefits of a clean desk and the 7 tips with which you can quickly get your affairs in order

The benefits of a clean desk

• Calm and serene mind: working in a messy environment is mentally demanding and physically tiring. Several studies have shown that a tidy office brings calm and serenity and thus increases our productivity.
• Hygiene: a tidy office makes it easier for your cleaning team to do their job.
• Flexibility: there will be fewer and fewer fixed desks for everyone, so a clean desk will facilitate flexibility at work.
• Confidentiality: in a tidy office, there is less chance of your confidential and official documents lying around and falling into the wrong hands.

Seven tips for a clean office

►tip 1: Dare to throw away

[What you need ⇒ Wastepaper baskets and document shredders

“Clean your desk regularly” is the message, so make sure you always have a waste bin or waste paper basket near your desk. It’s best, however, not to take any chances with confidential documents: a document shredder is the safest solution. If you can’t throw away specific documents, look at tips 2 and 3

► Tip 2: Archive your unnecessary stuff and papers

[What do you need? ⇒ Storage and archiving boxes

outdated promotional material, unnecessary documents, unused business gifts: don’t leave anything lying around on your desk anymore, archive it. Items and documents you no longer use create unnecessary clutter and take up a lot of workspace. Less is more – so try to store as much of your stuff as possible in archive boxes or storage crates

► Tip 3: Organise your workflow

What you need ⇒ Paper modules and bins

Although more and more work is done digitally, a lot of documents still end up on your desk in paper form. It’s best to store them immediately in paper modules and bins. Organise your workload by separating each task into a different sorting bin: to do, in progress, done, to be archived etc

► Tip 4: Plan and classify your tasks

What you need ⇒ Whiteboards, easels and post-it
it’

s best to avoid the paper desk pad on your desk. Your notes are always in plain sight and never cease to attract your attention. Make sure you centralise your notes, tasks and schedules in one place in your office. A whiteboard or easel, for example, is a good solution. By using post-it notes, you can also organise and keep track of each task even more easily

► Tip 5: Get your stuff together

What you need ⇒ Rubber bands, staplers and staplers

make sure you only have what you need on your desk, and store everything else. Secure all your unused pens and markers with a rubber band, for example, or staple your stacks of papers together. Larger folders (up to 120 sheets) can also be bound together with a hole punch, and you’ll get a neat, professional result immediately

► Tip 6: Put your files away

What you need ⇒ Pockets, binders and bookmarks

Are you cleaning up your desk? Store the important documents you come across in one binder. The coloured binders, dividers and bookmarks allow you to organise all your documents clearly and efficiently according to subject, author, date of publication, etc. This way, you can quickly find what you need without wasting too much time.

► Tip 7: Keep your desk clean

What do you need? ⇒ Desk cleaners

After putting so much effort into tidying up your desk, you’ll obviously want it to stay that way, so get into the habit of cleaning it regularly with the right cleaners. There are, for example, air jets for your keyboard or wet wipes for your computer screen, tablet and mouse. This is just one more technique for having a healthy mind in a healthy office