04JUN

Stop your office junk from affecting productivity – Commercial Waste

You spend one third of your adult life at work, so it’s worth making it a space you actually want to be in. Whether you’re a manager who likes to run a tight ship, or an employee who likes to keep your messy workmates on track, arranging a spring clean for the office should always be a part of the yearly work calendar.

Stylish modern commercial office space that's junk and clutter free.

Modern open plan office organised and junk free

Repeat offenders when it comes to office rubbish

All offices generate rubbish and keeping it at bay is important to making it a place people want to work in. Here are a few of the repeat offenders when it comes to sorting office junk:

  1. Paper – with everything going digital these days when we finally come across something paper based its importance goes up. But that also means we start to hoard it. If it’s not irreplaceable and it’s not a contract then it’s probably time to scan and save it, or just get rid of it completely.
  2. Pens – they’re everywhere, and when the ink dries up we never seem to throw them out. If you don’t use it put it in the stationery cupboard. If it doesn’t work, chuck it!
  3. Paper Clips – paper’s junk collecting friend. Chances are you don’t even use them and staples are your preferred choice. Get a paperclip magnet to keep them all tidy, or just get rid of them.
  4. Dust – use a damp cloth to keep dust at bay (oh, and it’s going to be a lot easier to handle with less paper and rubbish cluttering your workspace)
  5. Clothing – clothing belongs at home in the wardrobe, but we all have ‘that workmate’ who likes to shower at the office and keep a full range of winter clothing on hand ‘just in case’ the cold comes early.
  6. Office supplies – when we all work on computers having our own stationery sets becomes somewhat redundant. Having a fleet of staplers, rulers, and pencils every shade of the rainbow becomes more of a hindrance to your workspace than they are a help. Minimise by having a communal stationery set. The chances of 10 people needing a stapler at the same time is slim to none – embrace the communal stationery cupboard.
  7. Food – and this includes coffee and tea. If you keep snacks at work that’s fine, but contain them, and put them in the kitchen fridge if possible. Keep your desk for working at.

Office junk removal

It’s the first thing someone complains about and the last thing they want to take the time to fix. Office rubbish and junk is always ‘someone else’s problem’. People think we pay cleaners to clean our rubbish away, but when we collect things in boxes and cabinets the cleaners aren’t going to touch them.

One person’s junk is another person’s legacy. When you’re moving offices and have to pack up decades worth of work, memories, and junk, people often find it hard to let things go. Those paper tax records from 1982 that you’re not sure whether you should keep, chances are you don’t need them, or it’s a better idea to digitise them.

Rules for decluttering the office and removing junk

Make it a fun exercise; allocate some time during the week for people to stop doing their day job and allow them to put on some music and get to tidying. It’s a great time for some office banter when you discover trinkets in the depths of your desk drawers.

Divide your workplace into zones

Arrange your office space into zones to make it clear what’s going where. Installing a communal book case is going to indicate ‘library’ and staff can store any research materials, industry journals, or magazines, on this shelving. It’s also a great way to encourage collaboration by sharing those gems you once had stashed away where noone could see them.

The Arm’s Length Test

If you need it everyday, and you need it often, then it stays on your desk. If you have 5 framed family photos then consider downsizing to one and rotating them in and out.

Clearing out the office junk

Here are a couple of things you can do to make the process easier:

    1. Colour coded stickers – red for dead and off to the tip, orange for could be worth keeping, and green for definitely staying. Help your workers to prioritise what needs to stay and what needs to go. With Junk2Go we collect your rubbish and take it offsite so you don’t have to. If you can colour code boxes of junk then we’ll collect them and dispose of them without you and your employees having to sift through and sort everything into what’s recyclable and what’s not.
    2. Boxes – a box for keeps and a box for rubbish removal. Get your employees one of each, depending on your storage capabilities, and get them to make their allocations. This way you’re setting up some reasonable expectations for just how much junk they can keep at work
    3. Shelving – often the problem with office clutter is not having enough individual storage space so all the excess paperwork spreads itself into communal spaces. Try installing some simple desk shelving
    4. Communal Book Cases – if desk shelving isn’t an option then a communal book case or shelf can do wonders for an office tidy. People are also going to be more careful about considering what needs to stay and what needs to go if it’s going to be visible in a communal space.

Home office with plenty of junk, but neat organised in colourful boxes.

Decluttering your home office

Cleaning up your home office can be quite a challenge, especially if your home office also operates as a family office space and computer room. If you work from home then it’s important to keep your office space separate from your family life.

From a psychological standpoint, creating a dedicated space for work within your home is going to help set boundaries around what is work and what is your personal realm. It’s also a good way to help with calculating expense claims with the IRD. When you use your home as a business you can claim back a percentage of your rates, insurance, and power.

Stop your office junk from returning

When your Mum told you to make your bed each morning before school it always annoyed you, but getting home to a fresh space never felt that bad now did it?

Apply the same principles to your workspace. At the end of each day take 5 minutes to tidy up your desk; wash your coffee cup, sort through your papers and put the excess into the recycling, and wipe away the crumbs from your afternoon tea. It will make you more productive in the long run.

Commercial waste removal for business

The removal of commercial waste can be tricky for businesses to manage, especially when your business demands removing large quantities of it. But Junk2Go can take care of that for you too. We’ll collect the rubbish from your premises, and ensure it’s properly disposed of.

Get your office rubbish sorted

Junk2Go can come to your office and take away all the junk and rubbish you’ve collected over the years without you having to lift a finger. Point us in the right direction and we’ll take all the rubbish from your premises, without you having to put it all in boxes or a skip bin.

We recycle as much of the junk as we can, so you can be sure all those cardboard bits n bobs won’t go straight to the tip.

Get in touch today and get your office rubbish removal sorted.

Further reading