"The magic of decluttering the workspace really fascinates me. Recently I was reading Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and the idea of decluttering struck me."
My workspace before decluttering
The magic of decluttering the workspace really fascinates me. Recently I was reading Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and the idea of decluttering struck me. I also watched some of her YouTube videos where she went to offices and homes to help them declutter their environment. The end result is transformational. From a place you can’t even have a place to stand to a clean, organised and tidy place, it really inspires me to do something.
I decided to declutter and transform my workspace in the office. My workspace is generally neat but there were too many things and I could not find my stuff efficiently at times. I also felt that things were not organised strategically because I got to move around the workstation to get the things I needed. The last thing is I knew there was too much junk hidden in the drawers or under the table that I should get rid of and I was always too lazy to do something about them.
So in this blog post, I want to share how I declutter my workstation and most importantly the benefits of having a clean and organised workstation. I hope you can start taking action to have an organised place to work in.
9 steps to decluttering the workspace
Set the time aside to do the task.
Decluttering takes time. It will not be done in one hour or so. I scheduled about three days of about 3 hours to slowly declutter my place. As a teacher, the best time is during school holidays when not many people are around. You have to schedule the best time for yourself to declutter your workstation.
Prepare some trash bags
To be successful in decluttering, you need to be prepared to throw a lot of things. Sometimes, you need not throw them, certain things like books, clothes and toys etc can be donated to a charity. Whether you want to dump or donate the items, prepare some trash bags in hand so that you can easily toss the items into the bags.
Prepare cleaning equipment like rags and water
Once you start clearing the space, you will see some hidden dust on the table, drawers or shelf. It will be good to stand by a small pail of water and a rag to clean those areas. If you want more convenience, you can prepare disposable wet wipes for cleaning. I promise that you will love the newfound space after decluttering.
Clear one category at a time
Here comes the exciting and tedious part. You have to start decluttering one category at a time. In your house, it could be clothing, followed by books etc. For workstations like mine, the biggest category is the documents. What I did was to bring out the papers and put them together and sort. Those that were more than 2 years ago, I either tossed them in the trash bag or shred them using the shedding machine if there was confidential information. I also had a quick look at the content and thought, “Will I need it in future?” If the answer is no, the paper is going to land in the trash bag.
At this point, I want to remind you to have a ‘ruthless’ mindset in decluttering. If the item is not going to be touched in one month, chances are, you are not going to use it so might as well throw or donate. If you are unsure, perhaps you can take a photo of the paper and keep it as a digital copy.
Recycle unread magazines, publications, and annuals
“If you didn’t read them last year, you’re not going to read them this year.” This is what I told myself. I had many publications sent from the ministry and many past year school annuals. So what did I do? I bundled them together and took them down to the paper recycling bins. How about notes that I took from conferences or seminars? I took photos of them and made them digital. It is easier to retrieve them if I tagged them properly in my digital notebook.
This step alone can save you a lot of working space.
Clean up the cup of pens on your desk.
I had a cup of pens and markers. To be honest, I only use only one or two and most of them have dried up. I decided to test all of them. The ones that are dried up? Go. The ones I don’t like and never use? Go. That leaves me with an uncluttered collection of pens that I will actually use which actually are not more than five. An additional tip is to place the cup of pens at a strategic location when it is within your reach so that you access them easily when you need something to write.
Hidden electronic gadgets and accessories
Another category that I had was old electronic gadgets and accessories. I think you may have them as well. These are what I found:
Old JVC video camera
Old Cannon brand digital camera
Charging cables of the gadgets
Spoilt calculator
SD card
Rusty thumb drive
Computer mouse
Some of these things are still functional, for example, the JVC video camera. The rest are not serving me anymore. I knew that even if I kept them, they would still be there one year later.
So I bundled them together and put them aside.
Later the week, I found an e-waste bin and ‘donated’ them. As for the JVC video camera, I posted it on Carousell, an online reselling website, and to my surprise, I managed to sell it for $49. I took it as being paid for decluttering.
My handycam was sold for $49
If you have electronic items that you want to get rid of, do dispose them in e-waste bins. These companies that process e-waste do all the work for you, from picking up the equipment to ensuring it’s recycled properly or disposed of following local and national regulations. So do be mindful of this step and help the environment.
Sentimental items
As a teacher, I received many cards and notes from my students during Teachers’ Day. Marie Kondo suggested leaving the sentimental items to the last before deciding what to do with them. I followed her instructions.
I really love these cards and notes and can’t bear to throw them. Fortunately, I found a lovely looking box and put all the cards and notes in the box and keep them in a drawer. Those items that are bigger and not in good shape, I decided to dispose them to save space.
Reconfiguring my workspace
With the newfound space, I decided to reconfigure my workspace to make it more efficient for me. Some of the guidelines that I used are:
Easy on my eyes and my posture
Easy to retrieve things that I need
Easy to maintain
Minimalistic look
To solve point one, I bought a Dell monitor from Lazada and installed it on my desk. After connecting to my laptop, I used the duplicate function so that whatever I am working on the laptop, it reflects on the monitor. The bigger screen helps to make text bigger so that I don’t have to strain my eyes and bend forward with bad posture to stare at the laptop.
I also bought a keyboard to type instead of using the keyboard from the laptop. The typing is so much more comfortable.
Next, I placed my stationary and post-it notes beside the monitor so that I can retrieve them easily to take notes or write some reminders.
Lastly, I placed a three-layer to serve as an in and out tray and to put my recycled paper there for my doodling or quick note-taking.
I love my new workspace!
2 Months Later After Decluttering
I want to share the effects of decluttering after two months. I think it is important to share the effects so that it can motivate you to do something to your workspace.
Improved comfortability
With the newly configured workspace, I feel more comfortable at work. There is more open space and a more comfortable environment can lead to greater productivity. If my colleague comes to discuss things with me at my workstation, we can view the information on the monitor and discuss. It’s so much more comfortable talking now. I also love the clean and decluttered look and I look forward to working every day.
Increased productivity and creativity
Building from the above point, with improved comfortability, I found it easy to tackle those things that I tend to procrastinate such as starting a new project or planning for the coming weeks. I also found that replying and clearing emails are a lot easier and faster. Whenever I have problems to solve, I found that I have more inspiration and creativity because I have more space, I can easily retrieve any tools that I need and I can talk to my colleagues for ideas.
So on the whole, I feel more productive and accomplished everyday.
In conclusion, an organized workspace is more than just a pretty area; it can have effects that benefit you on a psychological level, too. In other words, learning how to organize your desk office or cubicle at work can lead you to results that make you feel good. Don’t take my word for it, try it yourself.
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