Spring brings many joys… days are longer, flowers are blooming, the outside world is no longer dead and brown. It’s the season to come out of hibernation, take in the fresh air, and remove the grime that has accumulated over the long winter. Spring cleaning has been a tradition for centuries. It originated in the days when homes were heated by fireplaces, so the arrival of spring was the time to air the house and clean it of all the soot.

As decades have passed, this tradition has continued, even though few homes are heated by wood in the twenty-first century. People use the warmer weather to wash the drapes, wipe down the baseboards, deep-clean the carpet, and scrub the bathroom grout. It’s the time to throw out the junk, freshen up the house, and revel in the newfound cleanliness… a cleanliness that is not only relegated to the home.

If you’re like most Americans, you spend more of your waking time at your office than you do at your house. So why not make it as inviting as possible? Take the time this season to evaluate your shared office spaces and spruce them up—your colleagues will thank you. Use this list for an easy and effective way to start the process.

  1. Dust Off Old Technology
    Think about your conference rooms and how much technology is in there—cameras, phones, cables, microphones, and more. Did you know that it only takes twenty minutes for a thin layer of dust mites to settle on flat surfaces? That means that if people are not using the technology, it is quite literally laying there collecting dust. Spring is the best time to evaluate your conference rooms to determine what is still being used, and what hasn’t been touched in months.
  2. Remove the Trash
    Unfortunately, not everything that your company currently owns is still needed. Just like you must declutter the closets in your house, you must also declutter the conference rooms in your office. If it hasn’t been touched in six months, take it out of the space! If it can be used in the future, store it somewhere out of sight. If it is no longer useful, donate or trash it.
  3. Repurpose What Works
    Would people use that camera if it was in a different room? Are all those cables collecting dust in the closet when they could be used to create small huddle rooms? Take inventory of what you want to keep and determine where it makes sense to place them. Just because equipment isn’t being used in one place doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be useful somewhere else.
  4. Freshen Up Your Spaces
    Just like you open the windows at home to let the fresh air in, you should do the same in your office! Even if your conference rooms are windowless, there are other things you can do to freshen up the space. Consider painting the room a different color or changing out the chairs to some that are more comfortable. Even small changes like adding a potted plant can make a huge difference in the space.
  5. Determine Your Summer Strategy
    Once you spend a few hours (or days) spring cleaning your spaces, make sure that effort doesn’t go to waste. Now that you have an idea of what still works and what needs replaced, take some time to research new products. Now is your chance to eliminate redundant technology. For example, if your company has a video conferencing platform, you can likely eliminate your audio conferencing platform. If your employees are tired of seeing cables all over the conference room, eliminate multiple pieces of technology and replace them with the Dolby Conference Phone.

No one really enjoys cleaning, but it doesn’t have to be a dreaded activity. With these tips, you can easily refresh your spaces and create a more welcoming environment for employees, without costing your company tons of extra money.

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