I love everything about Spring. I love the tulips that begin to pop up, checking out all of the exciting new fashions, and finally being able to plan for family vacation.
But above it all, I LOVE Spring cleaning!
Each year I pick a weekend and completely clean out my home. I go through my closet, clean out the kitchen, and I thoroughly organize my office.
It is an exhausting, but exhilarating experience.
My Spring cleaning process is two-fold:
•Part 1: Properly Purge – I fill bags (I create a trash bag and a donate bag) and get rid of anything that I haven’t used in the last year or that I no longer need.
•Part 2: Make Pretty – I style up my freshly cleaned space with flowers, candles, new supplies and organizational pieces (like containers and trays).
Your Virtual Office
When Spring cleaning your business, start by organizing your virtual office. This consists of your computer and your online world:
•Do a digital detox. Go through all your social accounts and unfollow any accounts that aren’t providing you with value.
•Get your inbox to zero. Inbox zero is a term that refers to getting your actual inbox in your email down to zero messages. You can do this by deleting, filing, or forwarding, etc. If you have hundreds or thousands of unread messages, I suggest declaring “inbox amnesty” and deleting them all and starting over. Or move them into an “unread” archive folder you can search if you absolutely must find something later. Start with a clean slate.
•Clean up your desktop. If your digital desktop is your dumping ground for random files, it’s time to get organized. Delete old photos and files, and create folders for better organization. (Did you know that on a Mac, anything on the desktop is treated like it’s open all the time? Cleaning your desktop could seriously speed up your computer!)
•Unsubscribe from pointless newsletters. Do you ever wonder how you even ended up on so many email lists? There is no need to be bombarded by every business that you have ever bought from. Another great tool is Unroll.me, a service that lets you “roll up” the newsletters you do want to keep into a single message, and bulk unsubscribe from those you don’t.
•Cancel accounts for services or software that you don’t use anymore. Automatic payments are great — until you don’t need the service any more. Check your credit card statement and PayPal account to see what you’re automatically paying, and cancel any you no longer need.
•Back up your computer! We all know we should be doing this regularly (but so few people do!). Buy an external hard drive to backup your computer or use a service like Carbonite to do it for you.
•Organize your passwords. If you have trouble remembering your passwords for every website you’ve ever visited, an app like LastPass could be a lifesaver. You can also come up with a system to create unique passwords that are easy to remember. Start with a root phrase that you use for all your passwords, then add the initials of the website to the beginning or end. Experts say snippets of poetry actually make some of the strongest passwords!
I’ve also put together a Spring Cleaning Checklist for Your Business, which you can download here with more helpful ideas, tools, and my favorite office organization items!
Inspired,
LaShanda Gary
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