Quill’s Guide and Checklist for Office Spring Cleaning 

Spring is just around the corner and now is the time to start getting prepared. We all know how easy it is for your workplace to become cluttered over the winter months. When the sunlight starts shining in from the windows (finally!), you can see just how dusty and disorganized things have gotten. 

But fear not. This spring-cleaning season, we’re giving you a checklist and special tips to help you get the whole team involved in freshening up your workplace.  

When does spring cleaning season start? 

Of course there’s no rule about when you can begin spring cleaning, but the season is typically considered to be between March and May. Those longer, warmer days should bring the sunlight and energy needed to motivate your team. 

Office spring cleaning tips and checklist 

Let’s get started. 

1. Start with office desks 

This is the easiest part for everyone to help with. Send around a message letting your team know it’s time to clean and organize their desks and you’ll be putting out supplies to make it easy. You can even add some fun by setting aside an hour of the day to do this together, and encourage a Supply Swap for employees to trade supplies they don’t need anymore. 

We highlighted some office storage tips in a recent post that may help you brainstorm. In general, these are the items you’ll want to have available: 

• File folders 
• Cable clips and wraps 
• Desk and drawer organizers 
• Labels 

A little investment in these supplies will go a long way in having a more organized workplace all year long. Plus, employees will appreciate the effort and consideration. 

2. Clean office computers & computer accessories 

With such frequent use, screens and keyboards are bound to get dirty. In fact, research by the University of Arizona shows that the average desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. Yikes! 

Regular cleaning with the right tools is your best defense. A computer cleaning kit with wipes, spray, and a microfiber cloth is a good start. A canned air duster helps with those hard-to-reach places like between keys on the keyboard. Equip your team to clean their own set-ups. 

REMINDER: Never vacuum your PC. It can create static electricity that can damage the internal components and crash your computer.

3. Don’t forget about the printer – and to stock up on paper 

Even in a digital world, printers are a mainstay of many workplaces. Pick a few key people who have an eye for detail to take on the task of cleaning your printers. 

If you regularly use a thermal printer for receipts or shipping labels, a thermal printer cleaning pen can be a big help. These special pens are great for removing ink, dirt, and other contaminants from the printhead. It’s a small thing that can save you from poor quality prints and downtime correcting printing issues. 

Your inkjet and laser printers will need some cleaning as well. Cleaning the outside is simple; just use a dust cloth or slightly damp cloth to remove dust that could get into the printer and cause damage if left there. This can be done weekly.  

Cleaning the inside of your printer, however, is a little more detailed and only needs to be done every four to eight months, depending on how much you use it.  

Steps to clean inkjet printers 

Cleaning the inside of an inkjet printer requires paper towels, cotton swabs, and rubbing alcohol. Here are the basic steps: 

• First, remove the ink cartridge. 
• For nozzles, wipe off any excess ink. 
• For the printhead, dip a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any excess ink or dust. 
• Let everything dry. 
• Reinsert the ink cartridges or replace with new ones. 

Steps to clean laser printers 

Cleaning the inside of a laser printer requires a dust cloth, paper towels, cotton swabs, rubbing alcohol, and a canned air duster. Here are the basic steps for this type of printer: 

• Turn off and unplug the printer. Give it a few minutes to cool down because laser printers can become very hot during use and you want to avoid any injuries while cleaning. 
• Open the printer. For wires, use a dust cloth to gently wipe them off. 
• For toner guards, look for any excessive toner buildup. Decide if your guards need replacing or just a good wipe-down with a paper towel. 
• For rollers, use rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab to wipe them off. 
• For the fan, a canned air duster is ideal for blowing out any dust that has accumulated. 

Once your printers are clean and ready to go, don’t forget to stock up on copy and printer paper. 

4. Clean your breakroom and kitchen  

Your kitchen and breakroom are where people gather. Have them gather to clean them, too. You could turn on some music and have everyone take a task and you’ll be done in no time. 

Here’s a to-do list to get everyone moving. 

Do a fridge cleanout 

Home-packed lunches that were passed over for a burger and fries instead? A lonely piece of cake from last month’s birthday celebration? It’s time for these stragglers to go.  

Once everything’s cleaned out, you’ll want paper towels to wipe down the fridge shelves and drawers. It will be smart to stock up on these for the rest of the tasks ahead anyway. 

Clean the floors 

Pull out the broom, dust pan, mop and vacuum cleaner and get that floor sparkling. 

Clean the windows 

Nothing like streams of sunlight to illuminate dust and fingerprints on your windows. Just put out some window/glass cleaner and paper towels and your team will be all set to get them clean again. 

Clean countertops, tables and sinks 

The places where food is directly prepared and eaten will certainly need some attention. Multi-purpose cleaning chemicals, disinfectant wipes, and rubber gloves will set your team up for success. 

Take out the trash 

All this cleaning’s bound to lead to a few bags of garbage to take out. Don’t forget to get some extra trash bags before cleaning day. 

5. Last but not least, the bathrooms 

Nobody likes to clean the bathrooms, but everybody appreciates a clean bathroom. Make sure you have the right toilet and bathroom cleaners – and someone who’s up to the task. Pick up a couple air fresheners as well for a finishing touch. 

Fill your freshly clean space with new breakroom and office supplies 

Reward your team for helping get the spring cleaning done with breakroom snacks and drinks for all. You can count on Quill for all your cleaning supplies, breakroom supplies, and you can buy everything you need in bulk to make it even easier.  

Reap the benefits of a clean workplace

It will take some motivation to get started, but stay focused on the many benefits of a clean, organized workplace to keep pressing on.

Just to name a few:

• Make a better first impression on customers or clients
• Boost employee morale
• Create a safer work environment
• Reduce the spread of germs

Happy cleaning! Keep up with more checklists like this and other business resources on the Quill Blog.