Getting out of bed and NOT leaving the house to go to work has been a complete change of routine for many of us. Working remotely and having Zoom calls has become the new normal since the pandemic. So what did you do for your office space? Did you find a small corner in a room for a desk, or do you sit on your bed with your laptop? Do you make your space look great for Zoom calls but behind the scenes it’s a mess with papers everywhere and office supplies flying around? If so, you’re not alone. 

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But there’s a downside to spending all of this time in one place.  If it’s cluttered and dusty, it can actually affect decision-making, cause stress, and even lead to sickness. A messy office does not help with productivity or your mental health – let’s refresh this room and our minds!

1. Clear Out!

First things first. Clear out your office! That means everything sitting on tabletops and inside desks and cabinets. Depending on what kind of office you have, this could be an easy job or a daunting task. Take a deep breath, put on a pot of coffee, and start on one side of the room and work your way around.

This is a great time to go through all those stacks of paperwork that have been piling up in the same place for a year. Anything you have hanging up, like notes or memos, check if you still need them, and if not, toss them.

This would also be a great time to assess your office space to improve its ergonomics. Do you need a new chair with better back support, perhaps a stand-up desk and mat to stand on, or better lighting for reading and writing documents? Trust me, over time your body will thank you for investing in these! (See our office faves here → Canada + USA)

2. Top to bottom, left to right, give the room a good vacuum!

Using a vacuum (Canada) (USA) with a horse hair brush (Canada) (USA), start at the top left side of your room and work your way down and around in a circle. This is so any dust that falls will be caught as you work your way downwards. Clean light fixtures, picture frames, chairs, door and window frames, etc. (This is a great time to clean those windows!) Make sure to wipe down the tops and inside of your desks and cabinets. Don’t forget desk legs! Move these away from the wall (if you can safely do so) to vacuum behind and underneath.

3. Get out the rag!

Time to deep clean all surface areas and sanitize!

How long has it been since you cleaned all the high-touch surfaces like your door handle, chair arms, keyboard, and drawer handles? Using our water, bleach and Tide recipe (omit the bleach if your office has carpet) and a microfibre cloth, soak it, wring it out, and wipe everything down. Work again in a top to bottom, left to right circle around the room. For your computer monitors and laptop screens, use a damp carbon cloth (with water ONLY) to clean your screens. (Check out our cleaning screens article for more.)

4. Now for the fun part… organizing and decorating.

Let’s create an office space that you love to spend time in! Here are some organizational items to help keep papers and stationery in their place so your desk is clean and you can find what you need when you need it.

Office essentials – Amazon USA and Amazon Canada

• Marble look Desktop Organizer (Canada) (USA)
• Clear organizing tray set (Canada) (USA)
• Label maker (Canada) (USA)
• Wire tray organizer (Canada) (USA)
• Height adjustable sitting/standing desk (Canada) (USA)
• Rolling Cart (Canada) (USA)
• Desk Chair (Canada) (USA)

Organize papers, files, and supplies so they are accessible, ready to use and easy to find. Use labels if that helps keep things in their place.

Maybe your office needs a little extra to make it feel homey. Perhaps some plants, candles, pictures, or music? Feeling good in your space helps productivity and focus!

5. Vacuum again! Then mop, if needed.

Yup, get that vacuum and do the surfaces and floors one more time just to catch any dust and dirt that got kicked up. Then, grab your mop and, using water and Tide®, give the floors a good once over (only if your floors aren’t carpeted). For extra floor cleaning help, read this article.

6. Enjoy your new clean office.

Blast some tunes and enjoy your clean and organized space. Make sure you utilize the new systems you put in place to keep it organized!

For a list of our favorite products, click here.

• Denise @gocleanco