Spring is the time for cleaning and freshening up our environs, which means it’s a perfect time to clean your office. Here’s a short checklist to help you:

Dust: Start by removing everything from surfaces and thoroughly dusting. Don’t cheat and dust around items. You’ll be amazed by what is hiding underneath. As you put things back in place, you may find yourself tossing things you no longer need.

Vacuum: Thoroughly vacuum or mop the floors. If you can move furniture easily, this is the time to do so.

Declutter: Now it’s time to tackle the piles. Sort through them and toss what you no longer need. File anything you can. Whatever you do, do NOT create a miscellaneous folder. Even if a folder only has one sheet of paper in it, it will at least be labeled for future reference.

Order: Check your supplies. Do you need ink cartridges, paper, file folders? Make a list and get those ordered, if not for the year then at least for the next six months. It will be one less thing you have to remember to do.

Sort: Open your file drawers and determine if anything can be tossed. I have a rule that everything needs to fit within two file drawers. If both are full, I know it’s time to purge. I’m finding I have fewer file folders because of online documents.

Electronic sort: As part of your spring cleaning, take some time to clean your computer. Delete folders you don’t need anymore. Clean out your emails. Update your software.

There! You’re done with your spring cleaning and your office should be good to go until you start the piles again.