Declutter Routine: Add those two words to your office list of duties, and make sure that everyone in your office does the same.  It’s a fact of life.  You can’t organize clutter, the only way to get your office organized is to first declutter. Declutter meaning removing anything that does not belong to you or that you no longer want or need. You’ll need to then keep it decluttered with a declutter routine.

You may remember in the first post in this series “Organize office: prepare for organizing“.  That article explains how to go about having anyone with stuff, cluttering up your office, remove it, so you will be able to declutter and get your office organized.  Start a declutter routine and keep it up as a way to save time and keep organized at work.

Declutter Routine

We go to university and get our degree’s. We spend many many years in school. The one thing we are really never taught during this time is how to put in place, routine habits to deal with all the mundane stuff that we have to deal with as a part of our exciting jobs. It’s just the way it is. Don’t be hard on yourself, for not really having this part of the work process down pat.

If your a born organized type, not really a problem.  If your the unorganized type, you need to learn to de-clutter and have a de-cluttering routine, to use on a consistent basis to keep all the new stuff that keeps coming in organized.  We’ll get to a routine for keeping your office organized further down the track.

Cut the clutter in your office, I’m not the only one saying:

• Do you know the clutter in your office could be costing you as promotion.  So says Jenna Goudreau from Forbes.com
• Lissane Oliver is a Professional Organiser, Trainer, Author and TV presenter who helps organise people’s space. She is the best-selling author of “SORTED! the ultimate guide to organising your life – once and for all” (Hardie Grant Books).  Lissane says that you should clean up your desk at the end of every day to keep organized and also as a way to save time in that you wont have to walk around in circles, wasting time looking for things, that are probably right in front of you.

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Step No One: Throw out clear cut rubbish and note things that don’t belong in your office

Tools: Garbage Bags, pen, note pad

I suggest having a walk around the space with a pad and pen and garbage bag.

The pad and pen, to write down anything that you’re not sure of throwing away.

The garbage bag to throw out anything that can be, as your making your list.

Start at the door and walk around in a clock wise position. (Don’t stop until you reach the door again, work up the middle next if need be)

Step No Two: Find the owner, or person responsible for the items you don’t want to just throw away without confirmation.

Tools: Garbage bags and boxes

Next go talk to the owner and ask if they want it.

If they do, pack it up and take it to them.  Don’t wait for them, you’ll never get started.

If they don’t want it, throw it away right now.

Pack up everything that doesn’t belong to you

Anything that doesn’t belong in your workspace, put it in a box and label it, take it to the owner or throw it away.

If no one has been near the items for years, chances are they don’t even remember they are there and I’d safely bet, you’ll get away with throwing the stuff out.

If it’s financial information it has to be kept, where I’m from for at least seven years. Be sure to find out what the guidelines are in your country.

This should hopefully get rid of a great deal of stuff and see you looking in not anywhere near as bad a position as you were before doing that exercise.

Now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty and start going through everything in our office that is left.

Now de-clutter your stuff and your office is nearly organized

• As you circled the office you were looking for anything you could throw away.  With that done the next step is to pack up all your stuff into box’s.  Empty your drawers, bookshelves, and pack each different category of things into separate box’s.
• Don’t do the filing cabinets, we’ll get to them. the
• The idea is to pack up all flat surfaces and all drawers contents, into the box’s so you can clean all those surfaces.
• Label the box’s so you know where something might be that you need urgently.
• The aim of this exercise is to de-clutter and get the remaining things organized by category, into the box’s so that your office can be thoroughly cleaned, ready, to get your office organized.

Part three to the series

The third part to this series will tackle office planning and design. We will clean the office from roof to floor, sort stations for our different equipment and reference material and work out a plan for arranging our office furniture.

Blog Challenge Day 34 Blogging while Angels Sleep

Today is the 34th day of our blogging challenge and we are looking for more inspiration from our blogging, by working out of a clean organized office, that is if you aren’t already. Today for our challenge, simply follow the post instructions for the office declutter routine.

In Summary

The only way to keep organized, and the best way to save time in your office organization, is to get your office decluttered.  Once complete, it’s important to begin a regular declutter routine, so that your office will remain, organized. Now you know the steps to use, all you have to do, is get in there and start.

1. Grab a pile of boxes, document cardboard boxes with lids, are perfect, if you have them.
2. Grab a pile of garbage bags.
3. Set a timer for 10minutes or 15minutes and start throwing away as much stuff as you don’t need or use.
4. Pack up all of your stuff, by category into boxes. (Not your files, but bundle them all closely together)
5. Pack up anyone else who has stuff in your office and return it to them.
6. If your not sure about it say, “if in doubt throw it out”.  Best of luck.

Comments

Have you decluttered your office yet?  If you have I’m interested in how long it took you. Are you now going to keep it organized? I bet you will.

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As Always, thanks for reading

By: Sharon Thoms