The home office is your humble abode, a place to escape the chaos of the day, and reflect on what’s ahead. Your office drawers on the other hand? These are pesky annoyances full of seemingly never-ending junk, misplaced bills, and who knows what else.
Like it or not, keeping this area clean and organized is essential to business success. It isn’t exactly fun, but keeping your office drawers clean and organized will surely change your life.
Items Needed to Organize Your Office Drawers
- Dry Washcloths
- Safe Cleaners
- Duster
- Vacuum
- Twist-Ties
- Trash Bags
- Desk Organizer
- Wood Polish
- Glass Cleaner
- Organizational Basket
- Scraper (for gum or other sticky items)
Remove Everything
Getting started is as easy as removing everything that currently resides in your office drawers.
Whether this includes paper clips, pencils, and staples, or bills, long-forgotten memos, and junk mail, it needs to go. Period. We’re not saying you have to throw everything away, but at least put it to the side, now you can focus.
Dust and Wipe Down Entire Desk
With everything removed from the top of the desk and inside the office drawers, it’s time to dust and wipe down the entire desk. Dip a dry washcloth in to a bucket of warm water and dish soap, and slowly wipe down the desktop, legs, drawers, handles and desk legs.
Now do another thorough wipe down with something other than soap and water. Using safe cleaners is recommended, but if you have some build up that really is giving you trouble something like Awesome! or Fantastic will do.
Grease Track System
Now it’s time to move onto the track system that makes opening and closing your officer drawers possible. Without proper lubrication, your drawers can get stuck or lose function altogether.
Slowly but surely remove each and every drawer from within your desk. Using safe cleaners wipe away any residue or gunk that’s built up overtime. Now, add some extra lubrication to the tracks and track balls, then slowly re-insert the drawers back into your desk.
Dedicate Your Drawers
Before putting everything back into the office drawers, it’s important to think about what items you want to store where. Your desk should be organized in a way that is logical and easy-to-understand.
For example, if you are on the phone, it’s important to be able to take notes, so have a pen and notebook easily accessible. Need paperclips, staples or sticky notes? Store those in an easy-to-reach place, also.Everyone is different, and so is their work flow. Think long and hard about how organization can positively impact you, then take the necessary steps to get there.
Sort Supplies
As busy individuals, we have a tendency to rush through organizational tasks like putting things away. Our desks are especially notorious for this, and trying to find a thumb tack can end up turning into a massive quest if nothing is in its proper spot.
Dedicate at least half-an-hour to sorting through all of the items and work materials in your office drawers. If you have items that your kids or spouse regularly use, wipe them off using safe cleaners only! This will give you peace of mind, and will prevent accidents from happening. Taking this extra time is sure to make life easier in the long run, and keep your personal office looking professional for years to come.
Untangle Cords and Cables
Once your office drawers are organized and properly lubed, it’s time to add the finishing touches. Untangle all of your computer, lamp, television, and electronic cords, and then use your safe cleaners to give them a wipe down before you use twist-ties to keep them from knotting up again. If you have extra space, you can even carve divots into your desk top, and lay an individual cable into each designated cubby.
Don’t Be Afraid to Throw Things Out
Last, but certainly not least, don’t be afraid to throw things out! Humans are notorious for collecting junk, but keeping stuff forever doesn’t really do anything except create more clutter. Memories last a lifetime, junk on the other hand does not.
By following these simple steps, you’ll have your whole desk and office drawers cleaned and organized in absolutely no time.
We recommend you reading How to Clean Out Your Computer Effectively.