Are you a hoarder? Is your cluttered workplace keeping you from being as efficient as you could be? If so, you are not alone.
Despite the digitization of most business records, invoices, inventories, and other documents, somehow paper and other junk just tend to accumulate all on its own.
Clutter Magnets
Getting rid of unnecessary items on your desk, in your office, or even on your dock or warehouse can improve the efficiency of your workplace. The problem is that in most workplaces, surfaces like desks, shelves, and even floors can quickly become “clutter magnets”, accumulating junk faster than your ability to organize them and put them away.
Defeating clutter takes commitment. It also takes a broad approach.
Putting away each of these items one at a time is time-consuming and tedious. Instead, it’s often best to take an aggressive approach to eliminating clutter.
First, Get a Big Box
To start, you will need something to store the items you want to keep. This can be an empty cardboard box, a laundry basket, or something else that is large but not too large. The key is to limit the amount of stuff you save. So if you use a container that is too big, you will just end up saving just about everything.
Next, create a “use by” date for the clutter. This could be six days or six months. It’s up to you how long. But anything that you haven’t touched or used within the use by date gets tossed.
For example, if there is a pile of invoices from eight years ago, you probably don’t need them anymore.
Next, Get Rid of Your Clutter Magnets
If there are areas in your workspace that tend to accumulate junk, get rid of those areas. They could be a set of shelves, a work table, a desk, or another surface that tends to build up with useless junk.
Getting rid of the place where you put the stuff you don’t use won’t give you anyplace to put it. So you will be forced to either put it away or toss it.
Digitize Everything You Can
Finally, seeing that it’s the 21st Century, should you really be holding on to all those paper documents in the first place? Scanning and filing invoices, orders guides, and other documents won’t just save you needed space, but it also will help your business work more efficiently.
Getting rid of clutter can help clean out your workspace, giving you more room to work.