With Spring just around the corner, you’re probably already making plans to clean out your basement or garage. But did you know the place that might need the biggest cleaning could be your business? Here’s five tips to become more efficient and organized by uncluttering your business.

1. Email and files. If you use an email client such as Outlook or Mail, check your “spam”, “sent”, and “deleted” folders. They may contain thousands of emails dating back years. These can take up valuable disk space and slow down your system. Organize them by date, subject or sender, then highlight and delete the ones you no longer need. Also look through your computer’s folders for files or programs you no longer need or use. There are plenty of commercial applications that can easily do this for you.
2. Contact lists. Go through your contact lists to make sure they are organized and up to date. This is also a great opportunity to reestablish communication with those you haven’t heard from in a while. Don’t be afraid to delete those you have no intention of working with again.
3. Social media accounts. Do you have that Pinterest business account someone told you to create? Assess what social sites are working best for you and that you enjoy using. Close accounts you no longer use and perhaps open a new account with a service that you feel is a better fit for your company.
4. Piles of paper. Go through the stacks of paper in your desk and filing cabinet. Make three groups: what to shred, what to store, and what to keep. Check with your bookkeeper about how long you need to keep receipts and invoices for.
5. Technology. Those old monitors, PC cases, and dot matrix printers belong more in a museum than your office. Many city run recycling centres will take them at no charge to you, letting you free up some valuable space.

Marc Gordon is a professional speaker and marketing consultant. Get more marketing tips on his website, marcgordon.ca and on his online show, marctv.net.