Product Showcases

Clear the Clutter

"When we throw out the physical clutter, we clear our minds. When we throw out the mental clutter, we clear our souls."
  ---- Gail Blanke

While conducting business we accumulate a lot of stuff. Before we know it, we are working in a midst of clutter. Too much of this stuff and we find it overwhelming and overbearing. This kind of clutter is not conducive to creating a good working environment for you or your team members.

There are those that say if a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind, then an empty desk means an empty mind. This is not always true. In fact, there are some business leaders that wouldn't dream of beginning a project until the desk and office is cleared of all clutter. Of course, there are those who prefer to work amongst the mess of a desk. Both sides would agree that if you know that clutter hampers your productivity--- get rid of it.

"My doctor said I had OCD. I couldn't believe it. I had to call him nine times to make sure."
  --- Judy Gold

Spring is typically the time to do some house cleaning and is also a perfect time to get rid of the excess stuff lying around the office and on the shop floor. Several things happen when you begin to wage war against clutter in your business. The first is that you begin to find valuable materials and unpaid invoices that could bring in some needed cash for your business. This is a good time to get team members to join you in the task to uncovering buried treasure. Both you and your team can find areas of waste and address those issues appropriately.

"There was a man
And some did think him mad.
The more he cast away
The more he had."
  --- Pilgrim's Progress

Secondly, cleaning out clutter is profitable in that it restores the business back to ground zero, where you can start afresh in reaffirming your mission and purpose for the business. Clearing clutter lets you see where you need improvement in some areas and shows you where you've gained traction in others that would not otherwise be revealed due to the disorder.

"Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals."
  --- Donald Rumsfeld

Finally, cleaning up your act sends messages to the team that you prefer an orderly fashion to the work. It is true that some creativity and brainstorming sessions might require that a group work in a cluttered and messy environment, as if pulling all-nighters for a college final exam, but when the project is completed, you expect cleanliness and order for those working and also for any visitors to the shop or office.

Keeping a clean working environment free of clutter gives the sense that minds are now clear to freely create, design, improvise, invent, manage, and produce. Having a clean work area offers a clean slate for the mind as well. All past boundaries and borders are lifted and a fresh beginning is underway.

"Out of clutter, find simplicity."
  --- Albert Einstein