Is your office desk a mess? Do you always return to more clutter desk than you left it? Are you looking for different ways to clean and maintain a clean office desk? If so, you are at the right place. In this article, I will bring you up to speed with 6 ways to keep your office desk and maintain its cleanliness for a long time.

How to clean an office desk and maintain its cleanliness

The feeling of working on a clean desk always gives you energy and inspiration to work more and become more productive. In fact, cleanliness has being directly related to productivity. However, cleaning and maintaining a clean office desk is not that easy, especially if you do not have a proper plan on how to do it. Below are 6 ways you can use to keep your office desk clean and maintain its cleanliness. 

6 ways to keep your office desk and maintain its cleanliness

#1: Accessorize

Invest in desk accessories. If you have had your eye on that beautiful printed pushpins or a Lucite paper tray for some time now, it’s time to get it. These accessories play a crucial role in maintain overall office cleanliness as well as a clean desk. Next, you need to organize all the current projects and arrange them according to their deadlines. Then, place each project in manila folders, poly file folders, project jackets or the accessories you have bought. Take your time to label each file and store it upright at a designated place on the desk. This is the best way to avoid huge piles of papers and files and also gives you access to all your projects with ease. From there, you can now easily clean and maintain the office desk.

#2: Get a stacked in/out tray

One of the many things that make an office desk untidy is the flooding letters. Look for a temporary location to store all the unopened letters directed to your office desk before making a decision regarding them. Make the two last drawers of you office desk or use a stacked in/out tray as a temporary place to store these letters, therefore limiting the number of stuff accumulating your table. This helps to keep your office desk tidy and clean, and helps you stay on top of the projects which need urgent attention.

#3: Get rid of all distractions

Between the number of visitors stopping by the office, the incoming emails, the ringing phone and keeping up with meeting and appointments, it is definitely a hassle to maintain a clean office desk. But, you can simplify thing. Get rid of excess personal items that can be taken at home and pay close attention to the space under your desk which is often used as a place to hide clutter. In addition, get rid of all distractions which may hinder you from attaining your goals, i.e. maintaining a clean office desk. 

#4: Have the trash can within you reach

Sometimes we find it hard getting up from our comfortable office chairs just to dispose unwanted papers and items to the trash can and at the end of the day, we end up having piles of papers and clutter on the desks making them very untidy. To maintain a clean desk, make sure you have quick access to the trash can. Note: If you have to get up from your chair to reach it, know that it’s too far away. 

#5: Minimize incoming paper

As we have stated earlier, papers are the most common things that clutter an office desk. To keep the desk clean, stop all incoming papers from reaching your office or minimize as much as possible the amount of incoming papers. You should eliminate or reduce the number of subscriptions, memos and paper reports getting to your office. Furthermore, it’s a digital world. Stay up to date with the latest technology and have them sent to you via email.

#6: schedule regular office cleaning time

If you have not cleaned your desk for a very long time, it consumes a lot of time and energy to do it. In fact, the thought of doing it discourages you. However, if you do it on a daily basis, it’s very exciting and could only take a few minutes. To maintain a clean desk, avoid compounding your office cleaning and organizing time by scheduling a regular cleaning time each day. 

With these 6 ways, you will be in a better position to clean and maintain a clean desk for a very long time in a hassle free manner.