Why Businesses Spring Clean Too – and How Storage Supports Office Revamps

When you think of ‘spring cleaning’, you probably think of dusting, scrubbing, polishing and cleansing your home from top to bottom. Actually, spring cleaning is less to do with cleaning than it is to do with a mindset - a desire for a fresh start, or new beginnings. It’s this mindset that your business can adopt this spring, and a few changes could work wonders for the overall efficiency of your business and improve daily working life for your and your employees.

What can you do to spring clean your business?

Given that any changes or revamps to your usual way of doing business needs to be done alongside your actual (money-generating) work, we’ve put together some tips on how to spring clean your business with as little disruption as possible. 

So, rather than shutting up shop for a week while you make these changes, you’ll need to set aside perhaps half an hour, or an hour, each day for a few days. This way, not only will you achieve the fresh start you’re looking for, but you’ll get a break from your daily workload and routine that can be quite energising.

1. Declutter your office

There are pleanty of studies to show that clutter inhibits efficiency; we humans just don’t function at our best when surrounded by clutter! In an office, that clutter might be in the form of excess furniture and equipment, or it could be old paperwork, packaging or even stock.

Streamline office furniture

Start with taking an inventory of your furniture and equipment. As more people continue to work remotely, you might find that you have more desks, filing cabinets and chairs than you really need. There are lots of recycled office furniture companies out there that will buy your old furniture so that it can be resold and reused by those who need it. You’ll have more space and a bit more cash, too - win, win!

Once you’re left with the furniture you actually need and use, think about the placement of that furniture to improve the work environment. Position desks and monitors away from direct sunlight and glare, and away from the direct effects of any air conditioning or heating elements.

Upgrade or replace equipment

You might also have broken or faulty equipment lying around that in theory has a use, but in practice isn’t useful because it’s inefficient (so staff avoid using it) or simply redundant, e.g.

• Guillotine paper cutters that are no longer sharp enough to cut paper,
• Laminators that take too long to heat up,
• Printers or photocopiers that cost too much in ink to run or are temperamental,
• IT equipment that has been usurped by upgrades,
• Wires for equipment that can now be used wirelessly,

Replacing redundant equipment with more efficient alternatives may be an unappealing expense, but the increase in efficiency in the office will offset the cost very quickly. Upgrades can improve efficiency, and replacement electronic equipment will be more energy efficient so should save you a bit of money on your energy bills too.

Some items could be repaired or made useful again, saving you the cost of replacement. Guillotines, for instance, can be sharpened by trimming sheets of tinfoil. Old, slow laptops or PCs could run more efficiently with the assistance of an IT specialist; their fee should be offset by increased efficiency. 

Excess items that work well but are simply no longer needed can be sold to aid cashflow. Items that can’t be repaired can be recycled (electronic items can be widely recycled). Your local council can help to take bulky waste for recycling if you can’t find a company to buy it from you (e.g. if the furniture is old or damaged).

If you’re a growing business and are likely to take on more staff this year, you might decide to keep excess furniture for when it’s needed (or to replace the furniture kept in your office if it breaks or becomes tatty). Renting a self storage unit for your office furniture is a good way to keep everything safe for a small monthly fee (a tax-deductible expense), and avoid the cost of replacing it with capital reserves at a later date.

2. Review your filing system

Business documents that need to be kept for tax or liability reasons might be cluttering up your office space. There are rules governing how long different types of documents need to be kept - in general, you need to keep business documents for at least 6 years. 

Take some time to go through your paperwork and remove duplicates, old paperwork that can safely be disposed of, and anything you don’t need to keep by law and that isn’t useful to you. Securely shred anything confidential, and recycle the remains and non-confidential paper or cardboard waste. 

Then identify older paperwork that you don’t use regularly or that you don’t need to give to your accountants for this year’s tax assessment. Box it up by date, with boxes clearly labelled so that you can find the information later. You can then use our secure, clean and dry archive self storage units to keep them safe until they can be legally destroyed (or until they’re needed).

Look into creating a digital filing system that works for everyone; decluttering digital workspaces aid efficiency, increase organisation and ensure that if members of staff are off work then their colleagues can step in and access files without any delay.

3. Store your excess stock

If you have stock in your office space, now is the time to move it. Having boxes of stock piled up not only creates a cluttered, disorganised image and atmosphere, it places your stock at risk of damage. If damp creeps into your stock, mould will follow, creating an unhealthy work environment and costing money to replace damaged goods. Pests can also be attracted to cardboard.

Using a self storage unit for your stock is a great idea because it frees up space in your workplace, and your stock will be clean, dry and guarded against pests, Our self storage units come in a range of sizes and you can move into larger or smaller units if your stock level fluctuates. The units are indoors and accessible only by you, and our stores are covered by CCTV, fire and intruder systems for extra security. 

You could even use your self storage unit to send and receive stock direct, because our stores are all DHLServicePoints, and many of our stores can accept deliveries for you and keep them safe until you can attend to place them into your unit.

4. Tidy desks

Encourage staff to have a clear desk to maximise efficiency (and create a tidy-looking workspace). Provide enough drawer space and desk organisers to ensure that your staff have whatever they need at their fingertips, and whatever they don’t need right there-and-then out of sight but still accessible. Use cable tidies to keep wires tucked away so they don’t look untidy or present a trip hazard.

Plants and greenery can make an office look more inviting and fresh; succulents are a good option if you have plenty of natural light as they require little maintenance (just water them every few weeks) and inject a bit of colour into a room.

5. Actually spring clean

Once your office is decluttered, enlist the support of a deep cleaning service to eradicate any mould, mildew, stains and general grime to create a fresh start for your business. You and your staff will feel the benefit of working in a properly clean office, and any customers who may visit your premises will be left with a good impression of your business.

6. Set up a process for future

All the work you’ve done to spring clean mustn’t go to waste; you don’t want to have to do the same amount of work this time next year! Set up a system for your filing to ensure that documents are stored by date and ready to move to storage after this tax year has concluded. 

Make it easy for your staff to sort waste to maximise your recycling output and minimise the amount of waste that ends up in landfill from your business. Encourage staff to report faulty or frustratingly slow equipment. Invest in a dishwasher for your staffroom to encourage staff to tidy away used crockery and cutlery that might otherwise be left around the office or kitchen.

Create a rota for cleaning/tidying tasks such as emptying the dishwasher, watering the plants etc, so that everyone has a role in maintaining a pleasant working environment. Give staff an allocated time each week to declutter their desks and organise their online admin to keep things running smoothly.

Can we help?

If you would like to know more about how a self storage unit with us could improve your business and workplace, please get in touch and one of our helpful team can give you all the information you need. 

If you have multiple offices across the country and want to use self storage units in several locations, we have dedicated account managers who can organise this for you and provide you with a single monthly invoice to streamline the process for you.

If you decide to rent a unit with us, our team can help you online, by phone or in store.