Take Action! 8 Organizing Tips to Prepare Your Office in Case of Disaster

This month we’ve been talking about preparing for a disaster while at work, and in doing so, creating plans and strategies to support your team and keep them safe. Office fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes can only be planned for at a basic level – you can’t dictate what date something might possibly happen, or to what extreme. So, the best thing to do, is to prepare now when you are able to think clearly (providing you aren’t currently dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence) and are not under the stress of dealing with a hectic situation. Your NYC Professional Office Organizer urges you to take action by utilizing these office organizing strategies.

1. Create a post disaster plan for resuming operations. Identify alternate work locations which could include a plan for working from home for the short term.

2. If you don’t already have them, install emergency lights that turn on when the power goes out. You can find these at building supply stores.

3. Make sure that you are using surge protectors and battery backup systems to keep your computer system protected in case you lose power.

4. Create a list of cell numbers, addresses, and emergency contact numbers for your staff and store it in the cloud. Share this with staff members who will be in charge of texting staff during a disaster.

5. Check in with your insurance agency and ask about specific precautions they would recommend for disasters that are more likely to happen in your geographical region. Make sure you know what is/isn’t covered in your current policy so that you can purchase additional
coverage as needed.

6. Keep the entrances and exits clear of clutter or items that you plan to discard but haven’t gotten around to removing. This will prevent unnecessary accidents should the power be out.

7. Prevent more damage by taking a look at the furniture in your office. Bolt tall bookcases to the wall, move large objects to lower shelves, and make sure that mirrors or picture frames are securely attached to the wall.

8. Regularly inspect smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Schedule time to replace batteries at regular intervals.

These office organizing tips will help ensure that you have thought about and prepared for many of the possibilities if a disaster was to occur while you were at the office. It’s hard to remember what steps you need to take during an emergency, so it’s even more important to take the time now while your office and staff are safe to create a well thought out plan. Keeping in mind these 8-office organizing tips will ensure that you have prepared your office for whatever may happen. Need more hands-on tips for office organizing? Reach out to the NYC Professional Office Organizer today!