Tackling an Office Move – Part 2: General Office Clean Out

This first phase of an office move is preparation. The second phase is a general office clean out. Before you can start packing, there are steps to take to make the packing process go smoother and easier to organize. By devoting time to cleaning out the excess that has collected, you’ll ultimately save yourself and your team precious time later on. Here are this NYC Professional Office Organizer’s three simple steps for the second phase of your office move.

Establish document retention guidelines. Before you start piling all the papers from the entire office into boxes, consult the company’s retention guidelines or develop document retention guidelines if they don’t exist. Review and update policies already in place concerning the length of time to keep specific documents before you pack up any files. As you plan for your new space, determine if your paper organizing system should be changed once you move.

Set-up staging areas. It’s incredibly overwhelming to have one person sitting in the middle of all your filing cabinets attempting to keep track of where each file goes. It’s easy to get mixed up and put in the wrong box. Instead before you start, set up staging areas for archiving, shredding, recycling, and trash. This keeps the process of sorting the files organized and will help prevent mistakes being made.

Assign teams. This step should be applied to all phases of your move. Don’t take everything on yourself – delegate! Assign teams to specific areas of the office. Have a team for the common areas, a team for filing cabinets, a team for bookcases and unused desks. Don’t forget storage rooms! The team is then in charge of general clean out of their assigned space.

Ready to put part two into action? Download this NYC Professional Office Organizer’s Office Move Checklist!