Moving To A New Workspace

I’ve often heard the expression “nothing clears out the clutter like a move or a fire”, and I feel fortunate that my opportunity to de-clutter comes with a move.  I’ve accepted a new position within the National Offices of the organization I currently work for, and will be moving my physical workspace to a different building.

So over the past few weeks I’ve been packing up boxes to move to the new cubicle and noting what my thought processes were as I made decisions about what to take and what to discard.  As just one example, I had an overhead bin filled with binders from trainings I’ve taken over the past 7 years, and I have carted them around with me because I figured they were a useful resource that I could reference when I needed to.  But truth be told, I hadn’t cracked those binders open since I moved them into the overhead bin with my last move!  I was also reminded that the theories behind these trainings had by now evolved into new theories, and any material I might want to reference could be easily found on the Internet---so why keep those binders around? 

Even with that logic it was still hard to completely discard the binders, and I will admit that I saved a few summary pages from a few of the binders into a file folder.  The material now takes up about a half-inch of space in a file drawer instead of 4 feet of shelf space, so I figure I’m still coming out ahead.

I was amused to realize the volume of office supplies that had accumulated in my desk drawers—from extra pens and pencils, file folders, chart pad pens, post-it notepads, and rolls of tape to paper clips and fasteners—you name it, I probably had at least one in a drawer.  I packed up just one of each and returned the extras back to the supply room, and vowed to not accumulate all that clutter in my new space. 

I also limited the number of personal items I chose to bring along.  I didn’t eliminate all the pictures and knickknacks I had on my desk and walls because I can’t function in an environment devoid of personal touches; however, I substantially reduced the desktop clutter for my future workspace.

Then there was the question of paper files.  I started that de-cluttering effort by discarding the paper copy of all meeting agendas and minutes for those groups I had supported since I would be leaving electronic copies of all that material behind.  For the file folders that represented work in progress, I removed all miscellaneous notes and versions of the documents except the latest version, so my successor would not be confused over which version was which.  I also discarded all of the files I had created for temporary purposes which had somehow found permanent residence in my file drawer.  All told, getting rid of that paperwork opened up another 3 feet of drawer space.

In clearing out my electronic clutter, I’m applying the same general principles---deleting all but the final or latest version of documents and deleting outdated materials. I figure someone else in the organization has a copy of these materials if they are ever needed.

Lastly, I plan to re-read the book “Organizing Your Workspace” by Odette Pollar while on my 2 week vacation so when I return to work in my new workspace, I’ll have fresh ideas about how to organize the material I unpack.  Who knows?  I may even discard more items at that time.  Onward!

Dot Snow - dot.snow@kp.org - 23 May 2005