It's that time of year again. Many companies and organizations encourage employees to spend time spring cleaning their offices, storage rooms and file systems.  Some companies even designate a particular week to devote to cleaning house and provide employees with extra supplies such as dumpsters, shredders and recycle bins.

Lean Office's method of 5S is a systematic approach to bringing organization to any area. These 5 steps can be applied to everything from cleaning out your email inbox to preparing your garage for winter.

The 5S's are:

1. Sort - When in doubt, move it out.
2. Straighten - A place for everything.
3. Sweep - To be Lean, you must be clean.
4. Standardize - Notice the abnormal.
5. Sustain - Make it simple to maintain. 

To experience a successful Spring Cleaning in your office, here are some guidelines to insure you get the most out of your efforts: 

• Designate a specific day and time. Get it on your calendar early and don't be tempted to bump it or reschedule it.
• Have supplies on hand such as extra garbage cans or dumpsters, recycling bins, shredders and storage boxes.
• Encourage employees to ignore the work on their desks, giving them permission to spend time purging and organizing.
• Review company retention policies. These may vary by department but knowing the retention policy of documents in your office will give you guidance on releasing or retaining items.
• Make it fun.  Some organizations provide lunch on spring cleaning days and/or give out prizes and fun rewards for things like "oldest document," "biggest improvement," "most pounds discarded," etc.
• If your entire department is engaged in the spring cleaning effort, take before and after photos of storage rooms and offices.  By posting these photos your entire team will be reminded of the progress made. 

For additional information on Lean Office 5S, check out these articles:

5S in the Office Today

5S for Filing Systems 

When is the last time you checked your credit report? It is recommended that you check it once a year and since we just passed Tax Day, now is a great time to do so. Staying on top of your credit in today's economy is a smart step to take to protect yourself and your credit. If you notice anything unusual on your report, investigate it immediately. Sometimes it takes weeks if not months to clear up stolen identities or misreporting by a credit card company, utility company or mortgage company.

Www.annualcreditreport.com is an authorized website to provide free annual credit reports. Note: none of the additional services offered at www.annualcreditreport.com. are necessary to retrieve your free report.

When requesting your information online, you will need to identify your state and then click "request report." Complete all required fields,  select the credit bureau you would like to access and follow each step.  You will then have access to view and print your credit report.

I recommend choosing to save the .pdf version that is offered as well as printing it out for later review. If you want your credit score, you will be given the option to purchase it. Most people do not need their credit score unless they are in the market to make a large purchase requiring a loan or mortgage. When you receive your credit report, review it with an eagle eye, making sure that all information is reported accurately.

© Audrey Thomas