Office Organizing
Have you ever been inside The Container Store? If you’re a Virgo, you probably said yes. But if you haven’t, it’s a store full of things that you put other things into.
Unless you know what you’re looking for, it can be very overwhelming. Never go into The Container Store without a plan! Instead, read this article on office organizing and see what you can take from it.
1. Have a Giant Leave Calendar in a Public Area
Most businesses have a leave calendar they keep for their records, but it’s only accessed by HR most of the time. This is a mistake — people being out of the office affects other people, and they have a right to know when it’s happening.
Not only that, but it’ll be easier for employees to see who has requested off at the same time, to see if they can request off for a similar time frame. If you don’t want to share names, you can color code markers for “one employee out, two employees out, etc.” You’ll have to ask your employees if they’d like to opt-in to this practice if you want to use names, but we think they’ll say yes.
You should ask your employees how they feel about the tips you plan to use from this post. It’s their office, and they know what will work and what won’t. They may even have ideas you (or we) didn’t think of!
Your employees are your best asset, and with this tip, no one will be surprised by an automatic out-of-office reply again!
2. Create a Regular Refrigerator Cleanout Day
Office kitchens are a point of tension for a lot of businesses. Either people leave dishes in the sink, eat other people’s food out of the fridge, or, to this point, leave things in the fridge for months on end.
By establishing that you clean out the fridge every Friday, you’ll avoid finding moldy containers stashed behind the coffee creamer that you find months later. HR or the office manager should take on the task of throwing everything that’s left away at the end of work hours on Friday. Be sure to take the trash out if you don’t have a weekend cleaning crew!
The first few times, you’ll want to send reminders to your employees on Thursday and Friday, along with posting signs in the kitchen. After three or four weeks, they should get the drill, and removing foods will become routine.
If your employees want to, they can make Friday a potluck day, sharing the food they didn’t eat from the week with the rest of the staff.
3. Make All Office Organizing Containers Clear
If you’ve never seen the show “Home Edit” on Netflix, you’re missing out. It’s the 2020/2021 version of what “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” was to 2019.
In the Home Edit organization method, all storage should be clear. This could be fancy acrylic bins from the container store or cheap plastic shoeboxes you can get from Target or Dollar Tree. Being able to see what you have makes things accessible, keeps you from rebuying stuff you forgot you had, and … looks pretty.
The designers love and sell pretty labels that you can put on these bins, so everyone knows where everything is.
You can follow The Home Edit on Instagram or watch the show if you need inspiration.
4. Keep Filing Supplies Close to the Filing Cabinet
If multiple people use your filing system, you may have issues with the consistency of items and filing style. Maybe some people have manilla folders, while others prefer colorful ones.
Some have pre-printed top tabs, while others have Avery exhibit tabs, which doesn’t lead to the most intuitive file-finding experience. By keeping file supplies stocked and on/near/in the filing cabinet, your employees won’t have any excuses for misfiling or using the wrong equipment.
The tips above were aimed at corporate-type offices. If you’re looking for ways to stay organized while working from home, don’t worry – the office organization ideas below are for you.
5. Have a Hanging Office Wall Organizer for Files
You know those accordion file folders that have multiple pockets and fold out? Well, they make those that expand vertically and hang on the wall. That way, you can see everything at once in your office but collapse it if you need to take it to a meeting.
If you have multiple projects at once (most of us do), we recommend having three of those folders labeled “new projects, in progress, and finished.” Depending on how complex your work is, you could even have a folder set for each client, depending on how complex your work is!
6. Get a Document Scanner
We all have those things sitting in our Amazon carts that we want, but we aren’t sure we want to spend the money on. For this writer, that was a document scanner. You put your paper in the top, and it rolls it through, scanning it as it goes, then uploads it to your computer via Bluetooth or USB.
It’s worth the purchase. You can scan a stack at once, so it becomes a multi-page PDF document, then drop it in the shredder and never think about it again.
7. Use an Office Drawer Organizer
It’s 2022. There’s no excuse for having a messy office drawer. Not only are organizing tools more affordable than ever, but you can find them everywhere. Target, TJ Max, and Marshalls all have great organization options.
If you’re on a tighter budget, a dollar store cutlery organizer holds office supplies, like pens, perfectly and is made to fit in a drawer!
Make It a System
If you’re reading this article, you’re desperately looking for a solution, or your last attempt at office organizing didn’t work. The organization should be catered to you.
If you’re the problem, repeat this mantra “don’t put it down, put it away!” It sounds silly, but it helps.
Speaking of things that help – we hope this content helped you. We have thousands of other helpful articles on our blog. Take a look!
