June 2015 (1) January 2015 (1) October 2014 (1) August 2014 (1) July 2014 (1) May 2014 (1) March 2014 (1) November 2013 (1)

Office spaces are necessarily one of those spaces which become very untidy, very quickly if due care and attention is not paid to them regularly. If you want to avoid a messy catastrophe, read on for hints and tips as to how to achieve this – and how to minimise the number of hours for which you will need a cleaner, which will cut office overheads dramatically. Firstly, make sure that you attend to all of the easy things. Keep tiled floors swept, vacuum carpeted areas, dust thoroughly around the office and especially furniture. If you manage to keep the basics under control then this will help establish a welcoming environment in your office. It’s easy to keep on top of the simple things. It may seem obvious but make sure you throw rubbish away rather than leaving it on tables to gather up and become an unsightly mess. After use, wash cups up and put them away in cupboards as quickly as possible, because this is the fastest, most effective way of keeping cups clean. When paper documents come in, always file them immediately in the relevant drawer or cabinet. This way, you will keep the documents in neat order and you will not lose track of anything. Equally, do not let papers pile up on desks or unattended surface areas. This is unsightly, and more to the point, it will attract dust. A wise move is to ensure that all employees are responsible for their own work areas. By encouraging this attitude, no one person will have the major job of tackling the entire office to do. If simple tasks are carried out daily, i.e. filing paper, taking crockery to the kitchen to be washed, tidying pens, pencils, calculators, etc. out of the way, this will make life very much easier in the long run. Along the same lines, ensure that all employees keep their desk – and their chair – clean. It’s all too easy to spill a cup of coffee and use a paper towel to quickly wipe up the worst. But what about the sugary residue at the bottom of the cup? If left uncleaned this will quickly solidify on surfaces and attract ants and insects, etc. Far better to fetch a damp cloth and spend the extra time wiping the surface thoroughly at the time and save valuable time later on. Office bathrooms are sometimes a contentious area. They usually have a high traffic flow during the day and employees are not often keen to take responsibility for keeping on top of the cleaning. However, with just a few simple steps office bathrooms can be kept pleasant for everyone to use. Excess soap should always be cleaned off basins. If left, although not technically unclean, it will solidify and leave unsightly marks that will put other users off. They will also then be more difficult to remove for whoever has the job of scrubbing the basin clean. Likewise, it’s sensible to wipe down the taps. Even the slightest mark shows up a lot on the usual stainless steel tap and just a quick wipe down after using the basin will help ensure they remain in near-perfect condition. Always collect paper towels from the floor if you happen to drop one whilst using it. Or even if you see one dropped by someone else. A bathroom floor littered by paper towels does not give the impression of a clean office to anyone who happens to be visiting. These could be potential clients, needless to say! Another important tip is to encourage all employees to be aware of their environment. There should be basic guidelines in place for wiping feet before entering the office building and placing any wet umbrellas in a stand to avoid drips all over the floor which will look dirty, and could potentially be a health hazard. In addition it is also a good idea to place an absorbent rug or mat at the office entrance to absorb excess moisture or dirt from employees.