January 10th - National Clean Off Your Desk Day

When I woke earlier this morning, the calendar announced this is the second Monday in January.  Therefore it is National Clean-Off-Your-Desk Day.  In a world where there is a Hallmark moment for just about everything, I had to smile. 

It's bone-chilling cold outside, and it's foggy.  The weather gal tells us we are unlikely to see the sun before noon.  This is a great morning to celebrate this special "holiday" and clean my work area and get it better organized.

If you are in the spirit of this holiday, here are a few tips to get you started:

(1) You will need a Recycling Bin.  This doesn't need to be a fancy container.  You can use a cardboard box or paper bag.  Place it in close proximity to your desk or file cabinet.  Next to it, place a shredder.  If your desk looks like the one pictured, you may need to transport papers to a commercial shredder near your area.  Otherwise, the volume of shredding would likely kill your own consumer grade shredder in little time.  

(2) Keep the number of your local HazMat team handy.  This is especially important in case you come across that box of Kentucky Fried Chicken you misplaced a couple months ago.  If there are interesting organisms growing within the chicken box (molds, and things that actually crawl), you might have a grandkid that would like to have it for a science project:-)

(3) If the job of cleaning your desk or office seems a bit daunting, because you have let it go awhile, break the cleaning and organization tasks down into phases you can tackle one at a time.  For instance, it may be best to simply clear your desk of files and paper, and put them in the middle of the floor.  Begin sorting the pile into 3 boxes - A box for current or permanent files, which need to be returned to the desk and filed. Another box is used for papers to be shredded or disposed of.  And yet another box for older files that continue to need storing for a while, in a place away from the desk.  Do not return any file folders to your desk or file cabinets, until they have assessed

You will find many files don't need to be in your desk, but still require retention for a while (like escrow files for several years).  I find old escrow files are best retained in plastic file bins, labeled with the year, and stored in the top rafters of my garage.  It is important to get them off, and out of, the desk and work area.

A couple of weeks ago, while out in my garage, I was amazed at how much shredding and trashing I performed.  I had 5 boxes of files, which I was nearly able to get rid of all contents of.  It felt liberating, but was also a little nostalgic going through some of the contents.  I literally watched a decade flash before my eyes, as I reviewed the papers.

Fortunately for most real estate professionals, files are burned to CDs these days, and stored in a more paperless and compact way.  Still, papers do accumulate, and if it takes a National Clean-Off Your Desk Day, to keep us on track, then so be it!