Clutter isn’t good for productivity. On top of making it harder to find things, clutter can serve as a distraction and elevate stress levels. By taking the time to free your workplace of excess stuff, you can make it somewhere that you and your workers can focus and find peace. Below are 5 ways to reduce your clutter in your workplace.
Embrace minimalism
When decorating your office, try to avoid cluttering it with too many ornaments and excess equipment. Get rid of items that are gathering dust and tools that are outdated. Meanwhile, try to limit personal knick-knacks to a few inspiring and meaningful items (think photographs and certificates and motivational artwork rather than desk toys and endless personalised mugs). A minimalistic approach can make your office feel more spacious, as well as making it easier to clean.
Go paperless
Paper can be a big source of workplace clutter, and yet few businesses truly need to use paper anymore. Accounting records, rotas, handbooks, reports and even legal contracts can be shared and stored online. By getting rid of paper in your office, you could free up a lot of physical space. Any existing paper files can be digitised, allowing you to get rid of filing cabinets. No need for printing also means no need for printers. On top of reducing clutter, going paperless could save you money on paper and ink. All in all, it makes sense to ditch paper.
Explore storage solutions
There are many storage solutions you can use to organise and conceal clutter. This includes tool cupboards for organising tools, filing cabinets for various paper files and shelving racks for heavy items. You can even consider bespoke storage solutions to help fit the unique needs of your workplace. To reduce clutter on desks, you could meanwhile consider desks with in-built storage.
Use labelling and colour coding
While exploring storage solutions, it’s also worth considering different ways of categorising items. Think about using different labels to sort items. You could use an alphabetical system or sort items by demand. Colour coding can be a fun way to visually sort different items – this could include using different coloured labels or dividers. Using different colours may also help new recruits to memorise where certain items are and more easily distinguish different categories.
Schedule regular decluttering
You should make decluttering a regular task rather than a one-time task. By preventing clutter from building up, you can make it easier and quicker to tackle. An annual ‘spring clean’ declutter session could be something to consider. You can get your whole team involved in order to make it less time-consuming.
Conclusion
Clutter can be tackled by first determining what you don’t need. Going paperless and taking a minimal approach to decorating could help you free up a lot of items. Next, think about ways to organise the remaining contents of your workplace such as exploring new storage solutions and using labelling/colour coding. Finally, schedule ahead dates to declutter your workplace in the future.