Planning Your End of Year Clean Out
Time seems to be getting away from us as we screech towards the finish line of another busy year. Large projects are starting to wind up and thoughts begin to turn towards summer holidays and spending time with friends and family.
Before we finish up for the year though, we mustn't forget about the annual office clear out. With 12 months of baggage hanging over us, it can easily seem like a dreaded task, but if you follow these 3 clever considerations, we can help you turn this massive undertaking into no problem at all.
Book Your Shredding Bin Early
There is nothing worse than finally setting aside time to do your end of year document clean out, only to find that you can’t get a bin when you really need it.
Booking a bin collection in advance is a quick and easy favour you can do for your future self. Not only does it guarantee your pre-end-of-year pickup, it creates a hard deadline in your calendar that you can work backwards from, and help you to get the ball rolling early. By booking ahead of time, you avoid accidentally forgetting and having to wait until the new year.
Allocate Time to Sort Through Documents
Block out some time to allow yourself to sort through your documents, and determine what you need to keep, and what can be discarded for shredding. Allowing yourself this time in advance gives you the ability to cross-reference any queries internally, or even seek advice from third parties, to decide if documents are worth saving or destroying.
The most important aspect of sorting in advance is to make sure every document is carefully considered, and avoid mistakenly destroying still-needed documents.
It could also be a good way to flag particular documents, and file them away in an out-of-reach location, to operate under a trial run basis for a period and see how you manage without those documents. If a need for those documents arises you can still get them, and if not, confidently set them aside for placing in your document bin.
Ensure Colleagues Know What Documents They Should Be Destroying
Once you have had time to consider which documents can and cannot be destroyed, it is important to communicate this uniform message to your team.
It may even be worth running a short education session to ensure no mistakes or errors are made. Often, documents that appear similar on the surface can hold very different importance to different people, so having all of your team on the same page can ensure documents are sorted and allocated for destruction and recycling with accuracy, thoughtfulness and consistency.
Decluttering the office is a great way shed the bulk of the previous year, but making decisions early and being prepared can help you clean out your office with confidence and begin the new year with a clean slate.
Get in early and book your end-of-year shredding bin today and be confident that your documents will be securely shredded and recycled.
As a special for the Christmas and New Year period you keep the bin for 6 weeks, giving you 4 extra weeks to declutter your office and get your end-of-year shredding organised, at no extra cost.
