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A tidy desk translates to a tidy mind. There is hardly any place where tidiness and cleanliness are more important than in the office. Read here about how you can clean your office quickly and thoroughly—whether it’s your office at home or a shared office space.
Admittedly, tidying up is never really fun—we realized that as kids when the playroom needed clearing up. But what stuck with us was that the fewer toys there were, the faster the tidying up went. This can also be applied to office cleaning. First get an overview of everything on your desk and in the drawers, and then ask yourself whether you really need it all and, if so, where it actually belongs.
Loose paperwork gets in the way of structured office work—sort out and file away what you still need. For example, all invoices for office supplies should go in one folder and all insurance documents in another. The same applies to pens, erasers and other consumables: Check them, sort them out and store them together.
Once you've cleaned out and sorted, the office cleaning can begin. Start by dusting shelves and cabinets—make the effort to pull out folders and not just wipe around them. Then work your way down one shelf at a time. Remove dust from all surfaces such as desks, chairs and other furnishings. The second step is to clean these surfaces with a damp cloth and possibly a special cleaning agent. For tough food stains or coffee rings you could use SoftScrub® Multi-Surface Gel Cleaner to get rid of them. For treated wood and plastic surfaces, a universal cleaner is usually sufficient. Screens can usually also be cleaned with this cleaner. However, you should never spray the cleaner directly onto the screen, but rather apply it to a lint-free, damp cloth. Then wipe the surface several times with light pressure. Use a dry cloth in the last step for a dust-free finishing touch. You can check out our how to clean a laptop screen article for more tips that will take your office cleaning to the next level.
Objects such as the keyboard, mouse, telephones, and other items that you and others often use should be wiped particularly thoroughly. It’s best to follow product cleaning insturctions if possible. Chairs and upholstered furniture should also be wiped down regularly. For stubborn stains, there are special cleaning foams for various materials—apply, leave to soak in and then wash off thoroughly.
Don't forget to empty the trash can when going through your office cleaning checklist. Ideally, make sure that the garbage is sorted correctly, e.g., that there are no banana peels among the crumpled papers. If you have a shredder, make sure you empty the basket regularly. Also check that your printer has enough ink and paper, and that you have sufficient supplies of tape, staplers and paper.
Tip: Avoid crumbly foods and sticky drinks when you’re in your office space so you have less work to do when it’s office cleaning day. It makes much more sense to take regular screen and workspace breaks anyway—even when working at home.
When all surfaces and objects are clean and shiny, it's the floor's turn! Thorough vacuuming is the order of the day. For wood floors, a mop and a floor care product can also be used. Before you start cleaning and caring for the floor place small items, such as trash cans and stools, on desks because the whole process will go a lot faster without obstacles in the way. Desk chairs usually have wheels so you can move them around while cleaning.
Final tip: Schedule a fixed time each week for your office cleaning, so it quickly becomes a routine. If you clean regularly, you'll always have some basic order in your office and cleaning won't take as long. Now that your space is clean, you might want some home office ideas to inspire you or do you want to make the most out of working from home? We have some great reads for you!