Whether you work from home or in an office, you surely spend a lot of time in front of your desk, which means you touch and grab things with your hands (like phones, keyboards, etc). By touching them, two things happen: if your hands are not clean, they’ll get those things dirty; and if those things are dirty, but your hands are clean, your hands will get dirty. We could say that when two things make contact, the dirtiest one gets the other one dirty. A good reason to keep your workplace clean. But how?
The most important tip any office cleaning guru can give you is to be aware of the consequences of not having a clean office. To put it simply, if we don’t take care of cleaning our work environment, we’ll become ill.
So, it goes beyond de-cluttering, removing stacks of papers, and organizing bills. Let’s take it step by step:
1.It’s all about habits. It’s so easy to get lazy and let things grow untidy. If needed, put a note on your desk or in your digital calendar to remind yourself that you must take 15 minutes to clean up your desk and put everything away. As time goes by, you’ll get used to cleaning your work environment without even thinking about it while you do it.
2.Try not to eat at your desk. I know this is a hard-to-follow rule. But in order to understand why eating at your desk is so unhealthy, think of it the other way around: would you take your desk and your PC and work in the kitchen? If this example doesn’t hit home, I suggest you turn over your keyboard and shake it, to see all the dirt and food remains that fall onto your desk like beautiful snowflakes.
3.Clean your desk at least once a week. After you tidy up your papers and stuff, this is the place that needs to be cleaned first. Use a soft cloth and any spray cleaner to wipe down your computer, monitor, keyboard, speakers, telephone, lamp, pencil holders, paper stackers, and anything else. Do not spray your cleaner directly onto the objects; simply spray your cloth and wipe them clean. Make sure your computer and monitor are turned off before cleaning.
4.Waste basket. We tend to think that throwing garbage in the trash can is enough to get rid of it. But our minds are playing a trick on us, because the trash can is inside our environment. It will become a place where bacteria grow unless we clean it regularly. For this purpose, you can use a cleaning spray too, but make sure you use a different wipe than the one you used for your desk.
5.The floor. If you have carpet, vacuum regularly. Tiled and other types of hard floor should be swept and mopped at least once a week. If you have a plastic chair roller over your carpet, be sure to clean it as well, using the spray cleaner.
Office cleaning is so important to add that plus to our quality of life. It will ultimately increase your productivity, because you’ll sense a healthier environment, and hence you’ll work more enthusiastically.
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