3 Reasons You Should Keep Your Desk Clean in 2022

Who says the holidays have to end in December!? Did you know this week there is a very important holiday worth celebrating…National Clean Your Desk Day on Jan. 10, 2022! We know this is one of those “every day is a national day of something” holiday, but still it’s a good excuse to clean your desk. Still not motivated? Here are 3 reasons you should keep your desk clean and tidy and some tips to help you get started. 

Why You Need a Clean Desk

1. It’s good for your health

When we talk about having a clean desk, we aren’t just talking about clutter—we’re talking about germs and bacteria. According to a study from the Australian Swinburne University of Technology, keyboards can hold large amounts of bacteria. Research by the University of Arizona found that the average desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. 😳  That’s just gross.

What should I do? Don’t worry, you don’t have to keep typing on something grosser than a toilet seat! Just grab a disinfectant wipe and gently wipe the surface of your keyboard. Make sure it isn’t too wet and avoid products with bleach, since they may damage the keys. Bacteria is more likely to grow if multiple people use the same equipment, so if you are sharing a desk you might want to clean with disinfectant spray more regularly.

2. A clean desk means less stress

A cluttered desk means a cluttered mind! You might find it harder to stay focused on work if your workspace is cluttered and filled with scattered papers, pens, or even trash. Research shows the average person can waste 4 hours per week searching for missing information they need to do their job. Clutter can definitely be a major stressor in our personal and professional lives, so it’s important to do what we can to pinpoint stressors and do our best to eliminate them.

What should I do? Letting your desk mess build up into a cluttered disaster over months and months and then finally one day cleaning it all off is not a good long-term solution to keeping a clean workspace. Instead, try to do a daily clean in your work area so the mess never becomes an overwhelming and unmanageable mountain. Setting aside five minutes at the end of every work day to do a quick sweep of your workspace can help you stay ahead of a mess. If you keep this habit, you’ll probably find that you really only need 1-2 minutes everyday to clean everything up and put things away.

3. Better security

Do you have sticky notes with important information scrawled everywhere and stuck to different parts of your desk? Including sensitive information, like passwords? Now, this opens an entirely new can of worms if your desk is your current storage plan for important passwords and documents. Privacy is important for clients! You don’t want their personal case information out for the world to see. As you’re probably already aware, if papers are just lying around for anyone to find, that is a huge security risk and could put you at a higher risk of getting hacked.

What should I do? First, it’s important to keep all of the important documents you need. If they are hard copies, invest in a secure file cabinet and create an organization system to help keep your area clean. Keep in mind, the industry best practice is to keep documents stored safely using cloud technology. If you struggle keeping documents organized, you should consider looking into cloud-based document management software that will help you keep important information safe, secure, and all in one place. If you are looking for more tips about storing documents, check out our free eBook here.

Now that you know why having a clean desk is a good idea, are you ready to celebrate National Clean Your Desk Day? Let us know in the comments below how it went for you! If you’re looking for more resources about maintaining your workspace, check out our blog post “9 Must-Haves You Need at Your Desk Today” here.

Canopy is a one-stop-shop for all of your accounting firm's needs. Sign up free to see how our full suite of services can help you today.