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It’s Spring! Time to Organize Your Home Business

See how doing some office spring cleaning can improve your operation.

Ah, springtime. This is when we take to straightening out our living spaces, cleaning out our garages and refreshing our wardrobes.

While that’s all good, remember that “spring cleaning” isn’t only for your home. Your business can also benefit mightily from the same sort of freshening up. This is the perfect time to also look at where and how you manage your business.

Do you stumble over visible clutter? Are your efforts slowed by virtual messes? Maybe you’re mentally bogged down by certain unproductive habits. If you’ve been wanting or needing to put a new polish in your business, now’s the time to spring into action and organize your home business.

Start with your workspace

One of the toughest things about starting your spring cleaning is, well, starting.

Once the clutter is gone, dust and polish everything. You’ll be amazed how a bit of shine and a fresh scent can reinvigorate you when you work

Usually, feelings of being overwhelmed and not knowing where to begin are caused by visible clutter. Take to whatever messes you can see where you do your work.

Discard of or file away paper that might cover your work surface. Remove any items you don’t need for your actual work, making sure your office hasn’t become a catch-all storage room.

Once the clutter is gone, dust and polish everything. You’ll be amazed how a bit of shine and a fresh scent can reinvigorate you when you work. Plus, when you have a clean, organized and clutter-free work area, you will have created some momentum to take on the next spring cleaning tasks.

Clean your computer

This is a two-step exercise: clean the inside of your computer (your files and such) and the outside, too (the physical hardware elements).

Start on the inside by spending a day—yes, a day and hopefully not more—reviewing what is stored on your business computer. Delete old emails you don’t need and properly file away anything you think you need to keep. Then dig into your hard drive and determine what can be discarded there.

Delete old emails you don’t need and properly file away anything you think you need to keep. Then dig into your hard drive

If there are files you need to keep, properly move them to meaningful file folders. Next, review the software applications on your computer and remove any that you simply don’t use.

Follow that by running your computer’s disk cleanup tools to reclaim space and ensure your system’s running as efficiently as possible.

Last—but definitely not least—be sure you have a computer backup method; if you don’t, get one quick!

With the inside of your computer cleaned out, take to physically cleaning, and disinfecting your computer and peripherals.

Studies have determined that computer keyboards and mice can have more active bacteria than toilet seats. Wipe down your display with a microfiber cloth. Then carefully vacuum your computer, inside and out. Dust buildup can affect your computer’s cooling capacity, shortening its lifespan.

Spruce up your inventory storage

With your workspace and tools tidied up, take a look at your product inventory. Wherever you store it, it’s a good idea to do some physical cleanup and inspection.

Look for any items that might have been forgotten or even damaged since being stored. Rotate out that older inventory to make room for new goods.

This is a perfect time, then, to consider steps to quickly sell, even liquidate, items that have been languishing.

Is your inventory surviving its storage or is it being affected by heat, moisture and possibly little critters?

While you’re at it, this is a perfect time to determine if your storage process has been efficient. Is your inventory surviving its storage or is it being affected by heat, moisture and possibly little critters?

Take steps, as needed, to make sure your storage area is clean and well cared for.

Cobwebs in your Web presence?

On to your business face, that is your online store or listings. Are they up to date or is there old content that needs to be cleaned away.

If there’s still messaging that refers to seasons or holidays past, your items will look unattended, and who want to shop where it appears no one is tending the place?

Take this time to reorganize and reorder your offerings. Sometimes just moving listings around and giving them a fresh new message can rejuvenate their appeal, making it easier for customers to find them.

While you’re at it, check your help information, FAQs and contact details. If you’ve changed your processes, moved your location or have gotten a new phone number, update all of that now, and determine why it went updated when it changed. Oh, and be sure your business cards and all correspondence materials are updated, too.

The most important part is you

Now it’s time to sit yourself down and assess you. How effective do you think you’re operating both in the way you perform your business tasks as well as how you perceive your business efficiency?

Have you ever timed how long it takes to do a task? If not, try it and see what you might do to get more done in less time

It’s very easy to slip into unproductive methods and energy-draining habits. If you’re running back and forth to complete everyday tasks, you might need to streamline your process for more efficient end-to-end flow (taking out the feeling that you’re spinning in circles).

Have you ever timed how long it takes to do a task? If not, try it and see what you might do to get more done in less time.

Regarding your overall perception of your business, consider if you feel you’re truly successful. Only you can define what success means to you, but if you think you’re not realizing all you set out to, here’s your opportunity to identify what isn’t working.

Be brutally honest with yourself and consider getting input from family, friends, and business counterparts. Listen carefully to what you hear and determine if you’re lacking skills or confidence to move up to the next level. This is your chance to take charge of the situation because, after all, it is your business.

Let the spring season invigorate and inspire you. Just as the landscapes around you are blossoming with new life and revived potential, you and your business can do the same. Do some spring cleaning for your business and see for yourself how it can help you get more out of your business this season and beyond.


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