Image by denharsh

Spring arrived this past weekend and while snow is actually still falling in some places, its still considered a good time of year to do some cleaning.

While most of us associate spring cleaning with washing the windows and vacuuming under the couch, consider taking some time to tidy up your business too. Not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas.

Match your marketing materials
As your business evolves, so should anything you’re using to promote it. When’s the last time you spruced up your brochures, promotional swag, website, or even business cards?

Clean off your desk
A cluttered work area can make for a cluttered mind. If you’re like me, there’s a good chance that you will never need to refer to more than half the paper you’ve got stacked in front of you. Do yourself a favor – make sure you have a digital copy, then recycle.

Dig through (and organize) drawers
People LOVE to hide things, which is why no matter how good your intentions were last time you organized your drawers, you’ve probably got a good mish-mash of pens, glue sticks, and paperclips where your post-it notes are supposed to be. When this happens, not only do you get frustrated that you can’t find post-it notes, but you probably also spend more on office supplies you already have, but can’t find.

Purge the extras
Are you holding on to an old computer, monitor, printer… whatever? If you don’t think you’re going to use it again in the future – and I mean actually use it within the foreseeable future – get rid of it. Sell it, recycle it, or give it to a family member. Losing the clutter will take a weight off your shoulders and free up space for… more post-it notes?

Check your statements
Do a quick review of your receipts and bills. Is there anywhere you can cut back or get better deals? A friend of mine cut her electric bill in half when she realized her and her partner didn’t need to heat their whole building and could use smaller, more efficient space heaters for their own offices.

You probably have that little list that’s been building in the back of your head for a while – take some time now to knock off a few of your to-dos. You’ll be surprised how much weight it’ll take of your shoulders.

What’s your best spring cleaning tip? Tell us in the comments!