office filing tips

Spring Cleaning: 4 Tips for the Green Office

Spring is in the air. We emerge from our homes as the days grow longer and the temperature rises. We tend to our gardens, lawns and backyards. We also begin the tradition of cleaning out our attics, basements and garages. But what about a little TLC for where you spend the majority of hours in a week? Below are some tips and tricks to consider for spring green cleaning your office.

Green Office Cleaning Tip #1 Consider “green cleaning” your technology

- More than 80 new tablets were announced in March alone. Consider using a new energy efficient tablet to save space, increase portability and enable workers to access important information anytime, anywhere.

- If you are using a desktop or laptop, consider replacing your old keyboard with an ergonomic one that alleviates wrist pressure, and promotes proper hand and finger positioning. (Use of ergonomic chairs and other furniture can also improve productivity and morale.)

- Do something green for the environment – recycle old technology such as printers, monitors, and ink and toner.

- Clean it up – blow out dust from all electronic components and wipe down all video displays and touch panels.

- Update your infrastructure – remove any applications that are no longer required on your PC, smartphone, etc. And don’t forget to update your IT library & backup procedures: This is one of the most important pieces of your technology spring cleaning. Organize all computer documentation, software CDs, licenses, hardware inventory, and make sure you have a backup and disaster recovery plan in place.

- Turn off equipment when not in use. It is estimated that 5 percent of all energy use (commercial and residential) can be attributed to phantom energy draw from printers, monitors, computers, charging devices and even microwave ovens with a clock. These devices still use significant energy while in “sleep” mode. Consider using a “smart” surge protector that will turn off specific outlets after a device goes into sleep mode.

Home Office Filing Tips – Expect the Transformation of your ...

To help solve the paper clutter problem, most people use file cabinets. But the next thing we know, they become pointless personal bins of things that we are not sure of. Maybe you’d agree it is time that we consider adopting a filing system that will help us keep the filing cabinet organized and well-kept. Under this easy and happy-feeling system, the organized way, we will surely be more focused and productive while we work. So the key question is — do you need some home office filing tips? Step 1: Collect all the papers that you have around the house. This may include business-related documents, certificates, ads, magazines, bills, personal documents, etc. This step is usually the hardest one, since most are tempted to stop in the middle of the process and read the documents instead. After collecting everything, make sure you just keep those that you really need. The magazines or the other ones that caught your attention and made you want to read them again can be put in a separate container and you can deal with them later. Otherwise, shred and throw away those that are not as important. Step 2: Use a sorting system to help you categorize the files. For example, you may use categories like Banking, Taxes, Home, Medical, Home, Insurance, etc. The categories to use depend on the function of the whole filing cabinet. If your home office is strictly for business use, perhaps Home, School and Car should be included in a whole new filing cabinet. Add subcategories to customize the system more. After doing all the needed categorizing, arrange subcategories chronologically while the categories can be arranged alphabetically for easier reference in the future. Step 4: The system of filing you should choose should be a system that works for you. When you arrange your files in the filing cabinet, make sure you also make an index or a list of categories that you used to help you remember which document belongs to which category and where they can be found.

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