8 Tips for Organizing Your Busy Office

With a large in-house team, it’s inevitable that your office will get into a bit of a mess every once in a while. We know as much as anyone that in the midst of a busy project, paper will get strewn around, files will end up stacked on every available desk space and tables will become buried under office stationery junk.

There are plenty of solutions to this problem which will ensure your office stays a calm haven during busy periods rather than a chaotic heap. Check out these fun and functional office organization ideas that will keep everything in its place and stress levels low.

1. Organized storage

Storage is key – and effective storage at that. Label all drawers and cabinets for easy location when you need to find things. Explain the new system to all employees so that they know where everything should go.

The more storage you can get that fixes to the wall, like shelving units, rather than standing on the floor, means you have more floor space and gives the illusion of a larger area (plus makes it easier for people to get around).

Draft in more filing cabinets and in-and-out trays for mail if you need to have physical files – the most efficient way is always to look into digital filing solutions and give up all paper where possible, to keep your office completely free of unnecessary clutter. There’s nothing that can’t be computerized these days.

2. Combine your appliances

Check out companies like CDS for their Complete Document Solutions, offering office appliances at the best prices. Xerox machines that combine printing, copying, scanning, paper storage, print-from and scan-to USB capabilities and more, mean that you don’t have to take up valuable free space in your office with multiple clunky machines.

3. Cable organizers

This is not only a space-saver but a health and safety savior! Tangled cables lying around are not just a trip hazard but really annoying to navigate. Ensure all your staff can walk around the office freely and quickly by clipping all cables under desks or covering them with floor covers, both of which can be bought online or from office stores inexpensively.

4. Message & pin boards

Pin important documents and messages that the whole team need to see on a big office pin board. This way, need-to-know messages won’t get lost and will be positioned at eye level for all to see.

5. Desk tidies

Give everyone in the office their own personal desk tidy, like a small cabinet or a computer screen platform with built-in drawers. Give each person their own coat and bag hook to avoid personal belongings being dumped on the floor. This means everyone is responsible for their own tidy desks and there can be no excuses!

6. DIY organizing

If you’ve blown your business budget for the month but can’t stand the mess any longer, there are plenty of temporary DIY solutions you can turn to. Use old shoe boxes for filing papers and jam jars as pen pots. Clip cables and wires together and out of the way with crocodile clips and use a long line of parcel string fixed to the wall to clip papers onto and keep desk space clear.

7. Have a spring clean

You’re guaranteed to have TONS of old paper, junk, cardboard boxes, empty wrappers, old appliances, and much more littered around the office that you no longer need and have probably been meaning to throw away for a long time.

Set aside one morning for the whole team to clear out their desks and throw out anything that is no longer needed – you might need to hire a skip! Afterwards, you should all have much more space to breathe and the whole office will be fresh, clean and clear of clutter.

8. Cubby holes

Give each employee a cubby hole for their mail so that parcels and personal mail doesn’t end up littering the office, or worse, getting lost. Try to ensure that everyone keeps their cubby clean and neat – maybe install a bin beside the area so people can throw away any rubbish instantly.