4 Smart Storage Strategies to Get Your Office Organized

We all pay lip service to organization. But how many of us actually practice it – especially at the office. There’s just so many other things to do that always seem to take priority. Getting your office organized can seem like a time-consuming, budget-busting task. However, with the right storage strategies, you can get organized fast. And do it without spending a ton of money.

1. Centralize Your Storage into One Area

Do you have lateral file cabinets littering your office? If so, you might not be aware of how much space they’re actually taking up. Or how much time your employees spend wandering around searching for items.

The first thing to do is designate one specific area for storage. And if you are afraid that you’re your lateral cabinets just won’t fit in one area, try stacking them in front of each other and putting them on tracks.

More than likely the tracked lateral file cabinet system will give you more than enough room. And since you are using your existing file cabinets, you won’t have to take the time to re-arrange your files or spend a bunch of money on a new storage system.

2. Start Small with Just Your Desk or Cubicle

Changing the storage for your whole office might be too much for you to take on right away. So just like with setting small goals instead of one big goal, you can focus solely on your immediate work area to start.

If you have a large pile of papers on your desk, work to organize them into folders. Designate the items in the folders based on a system that works for you. For example, you can have one folder dedicated to items that need immediate attention, and when you’re done with them, put them in another folder for completed items.

You can even store the folders in compartments in your desk drawers, which is yet another system for grouping items together. This works especially well if loose paperwork isn’t your problem, but stacks of folders are.

3. Use Mail Sorters for Organizing More Than Just Mail

We’ve talked about this one before, but it’s so good, it should be mentioned again: use mail sorters for more than just mail. While they are excellent at storing and organizing mail, the sorters can be used for a variety of other things – organizing marketing collateral, storing forms, storing office supplies, etc. The list goes on and on.

The reason we keep advocating mail sorters is because they are so easy to adjust for multiple types of items and have a labeling system so you know what’s on each shelf with just a quick glance.

4. Get Your Boxes Off the Floor

It may seem like there’s no reason to bother properly storing boxes in shelving, but that’s just a lie we tell ourselves to not have to deal with them. The reality is that storing boxes stacked up on the floor creates many hazards:

• People injuring themselves to lift heavy boxes
• Boxes getting crushed under the weight of heavy items
• Tripping hazards when the boxes aren’t put back in place
• Possible water damage from boxes being on the floor
• The risk of mice or other insects having easy access to your boxes

It really doesn’t create a pretty picture. With the right box shelving, you can easily install it with just a couple of tools. And then you just need a few people to help you load the shelves. It will be worth your time when you’re not facing the loss of important client information or a workers’ comp claim.

As you can see, getting your office organized doesn’t have to be a painful task when you have the right strategy. The idea is to get creative with the storage systems you use and to start small. Once you do that, you’ll be organized in no time!