Cleaning Out: Clutter

Move Less by Getting Rid of More

Let’s face it. We all tend to accumulate clutter. And most offices are due to be cleaned out of unneeded stuff. Rather than move unnecessary things into your new space, get rid of it. NOW. Set a date and time to purge your space and stick to it. This isn't something you should wait to do on moving day.

Items you may want to have on hand for the purge party:

• Trash bags
• Dumpster for garbage
• Recycle bin for papers
• Paper shredder. (Shred documents with names, banking information, etc. Accounting and tax records should be held for 7 years.)
• File boxes
• Plenty of manila file folders or hanging folders and tabs
• Cleaning supplies

Group individuals into teams and assign them particular areas within the office. Or, let everyone have at it, the choice is yours. We do recommend you tell everyone the basic idea of what you want to accomplish with this purge party. Do you want to clean up the space so it looks like you just moved in? Get rid of excess paper and clutter? Deep clean of existing furniture? Clean out existing file cabinets? Don’t be too specific, just give a general outline.

It's a good idea to set an amount of time for the purging - no longer than 2.5 hours. Much more than that and people lose interest and it’s hard to keep the energy level up. If you think your space needs more time, split the time and responsibilities up into smaller chunks and do it in stages.

Start with the clutter. When you run across something that has a place to go, put it away. For paperwork, make a pile of what needs to be filed and file it all at one time. If you’re getting rid of furniture you no longer want, tag it and put it on a cart or a convenient spot. You can donate to local charities.

Have a garbage pile, a recycle pile, and a “don’t know file.” Have the entire team go through the “don’t know file” and discard if not valuable. When in doubt, throw it out! Remember the goal is to get rid of things – not just put things out of sight.

When you've reached your time limit, or have completed the purge, step back and relish in your achievement. Also, be sure to reward your team for their work, lunch on the house is always a crowd pleaser. Remember, putting a little effort in now will more than pay off when the day comes to move.