By making the effort to clean up your office space you will feel more organized and less stressed at work. You would be amazed at what a relief it is to look for something and be able to find it easily! No more wasting your time, creating an even bigger mess, and finding an important document in the last place you check. Time to get organized!
First off, get rid of what you do not need. Pull up a garbage bin and get rid of old post it notes, eliminate all the trash that has built up inside your desk, and wash your dirty mugs!
Next, time to organize. Have a pen and pencil holder on your desk filled with writing utensils, highlighters, scissors, etc. This way when you are on the phone with a client and need to write down a number you’re not scrambling to find a pen. Add folders to your filing cabinet and organize accordingly. Label or colour co-ordinate so you are able to quickly retrieve a file when necessary. Get rid of old files that are no longer of use to you.
Keep what you need close. For instance, the things on your desk should include your computer, a photo, a pen, and notepad. Everything else can be put away in your desk. Think minimalist! Sort your junk drawer by buying dividers. This will keep your desk drawer neat and tidy.
Finally, clean up your desktop. Organize files into appropriate folders, and eliminate all of the clutter absorbing your screen!
Cleaning Your Office
By making the effort to clean up your office space you will feel more organized and less stressed at work. You would be amazed at what a relief it is to look for something and be able to find it easily! No more wasting your time, creating an even bigger mess, and finding an important document in the last place you check. Time to get organized!
First off, get rid of what you do not need. Pull up a garbage bin and get rid of old post it notes, eliminate all the trash that has built up inside your desk, and wash your dirty mugs!
Next, time to organize. Have a pen and pencil holder on your desk filled with writing utensils, highlighters, scissors, etc. This way when you are on the phone with a client and need to write down a number you’re not scrambling to find a pen. Add folders to your filing cabinet and organize accordingly. Label or colour co-ordinate so you are able to quickly retrieve a file when necessary. Get rid of old files that are no longer of use to you.
Keep what you need close. For instance, the things on your desk should include your computer, a photo, a pen, and notepad. Everything else can be put away in your desk. Think minimalist! Sort your junk drawer by buying dividers. This will keep your desk drawer neat and tidy.
Finally, clean up your desktop. Organize files into appropriate folders, and eliminate all of the clutter absorbing your screen!
Emergency At-Home Treatments for Water-Damaged Documents
Handling documents with light damage
When possible, prop books up on a vertical plane and fan pages out as best as possible to allow the air to dry damaged documents. You can enhance the drying process by placing paper towels between pages, which has the added benefit of keeping pages from sticking together. This method should be reserved for pages with limited damage that are suitable for handling.
It is important to isolate mouldy documents as soon as possible, even if the growth is light. Mould can spread very quickly to other books and to the environment, causing further damage and presenting health hazards. As a result, they should be disposed of in appropriate areas clear of carpets, tablecloths, or other adsorbent surfaces.
Handling documents beyond home-drying solutions
Sometimes your only option will be to call in professional help. Still, you must store the damaged documents appropriately, or risk creating more work for restoration professionals. If possible, move any damaged documents onto solid, non-absorbent surfaces. Colourfast finishing is ideal for this purpose, but anywhere that prevents moisture from gathering under the documents will do.
Most importantly, do not make attempts to replicate professional freeze-drying practices. Freeze-drying is an effective process to stabilize material, halt mould growth, and prevent any further damage, but amateur efforts are often disastrous. Though the kitchen freezer may seem like an ideal way to offset further damages until help arrives, its inability to flash-freeze documents means that ice crystals will form and cause further damage.
Prolong the Life of Your Pavement
1. Sweep regularly
Sweepers form the front-lines of a proper pavement prolonging program, and are the most basic and low-cost strategy of damage prevention that you can invest your time in to. Having a maintenance person sweep or blow the area regularly keeps your pavement clear of any hazardous debris. Broken glass or loose aggregate may cause damage to the paved surface or to client’s vehicles. This type of regular manual maintenance also functions as a routine overview or evaluation of your property, exposing any damage masked by dirt or debris so that proper action can be taken.
2. Minimize heavy loads
It is important to make the effort to minimize the amount of time that heavy-duty vehicles like garbage or delivery trucks spend on your pavement. It is possible to be proactive about keeping these larger loads off of your paved areas without impacting the ebb and flow of your business. Try to intercept deliveries on the outskirts of your lot, where deterioration will reflect less on your business. You can also place your garbage container near the roadway so that collection trucks need not drive onto your pavement.
3. Control your drainage problems
Large amounts of standing water on your pavement should be taken as a serious warning sign. Though most associate potholes with trauma, they are mainly caused by water reaching the pavement’s subsurface base course. To prevent new potholes forming, consider installing inlet or under drains where needed.
4. Fill cracks as soon as possible
Take the initiative take care of cracks as quickly as you can. Unfilled cracks result in accelerated water deterioration as they are blasted during rainstorms, and flooded during routine drainage processes. Crack fill can be purchased commercially and installed without the help of a contractor.
5. Invest in cleaning
Regardless of its structural condition, dirty and stained pavement is a poor reflection of your company. Professional cleanings are much more effective than manual cleaning efforts, employing mechanical brooms, ride-on sweepers, blast cleaning, and pressure washing services.
Fire Damage
There are simple steps to reduce a fire from breaking out in your house with number one being; have fire alarms installed on each floor in your house and make sure they are tested at least every month. Since you cannot see, smell or carbon monoxide it is important to have the detectors to warn you of danger.
Have a fire extinguisher and an escape plan in-case a fire does break out while you are at home.
After a fire, Open all the windows to ventilate the house, take photos of damaged areas and make a list of items that have been damaged. Do not try to clean up yourself, as you can cause more damage to your home. Call a professional company like Steamatic to assist you with fire damage restoration.
Cleaning Hard Surfaces: Alternatives
You can create your own home made surface cleaner by mixing 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in a spray bottle. Vinegar is a great and versatile product for household cleaning. Odorless after it dries, colourless and it is a natural deodorizer.
Baking soda is also great for cleaning surfaces around your home. Sprinkle some onto a moist sponge and put it to work. Baking soda is especially great for bathtubs and sinks.
To clean glass surfaces make a mix of 1 cup rubbing alcohol, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. This can be used to clean chrome fixtures, mirrors, windows, and for that shine on your ceramic tiles.
Another alternative is to have your surfaces cleaned by professionals. For floors that experience heavy foot traffic, look into Steamatic Cleaning Services where they are able to transform and renew your floors.
Cleaning Hard Surfaces; Alternatives
You can create your own home made surface cleaner by mixing 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in a spray bottle. Vinegar is a great and versatile product for household cleaning. Odorless after it dries, colourless and it is a natural deodorizer.
Baking soda is also great for cleaning surfaces around your home. Sprinkle some onto a moist sponge and put it to work. Baking soda is especially great for bathtubs and sinks.
To clean glass surfaces make a mix of 1 cup rubbing alcohol, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. This can be used to clean chrome fixtures, mirrors, windows, and for that shine on your ceramic tiles.
Another alternative is to have your surfaces cleaned by professionals. For floors that experience heavy foot traffic, look into Steamatic Cleaning Services where they are able to transform and renew your floors.
Identifying Illegitimate Duct Cleaning Services
While cease and desist orders are being sent to these businesses on a daily basis, these reactive efforts are only so effective. It is important to educate yourself on some of the more common scams so that you can be proactive. The following tips should help steer you clear of shady businesses
1. Beware of businesses advertising with uncommonly low prices through mass mail or classified listings. These companies often change their tune once they have secured your business and entered your home, where falsified mould tests are sometimes used to leverage thousand-dollar removal fees.
2. Check your chosen company out. Before scheduling your appointment, take a moment to validate them with the Better Business Bureau. You will have access to reviews and ratings, and will be able to see whether or not they have been accredited by the BBB. Be mindful of your spelling, as many illegitimate companies will closely parody the names of more reputable businesses in hopes of tricking customers into a false sense of security. You can find this Reliability Report tool here: http://www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews/
3. Get a second opinion. This is especially true if you are confronted with news of potentially dangerous mould. The cost of mold remediation treatment can be daunting, and investing in a second opinion will be only a fraction of that expense, with the potential to save you a lot of time and money.
Identifying Illegitimate Duct Cleaning Services
While cease and desist orders are being sent to these businesses on a daily basis, these reactive efforts are only so effective. It is important to educate yourself on some of the more common scams so that you can be proactive. The following tips should help steer you clear of shady businesses
1. Beware of businesses advertising with uncommonly low prices through mass mail or classified listings. These companies often change their tune once they have secured your business and entered your home, where falsified mould tests are sometimes used to leverage thousand-dollar removal fees.
2. Check your chosen company out. Before scheduling your appointment, take a moment to validate them with the Better Business Bureau. You will have access to reviews and ratings, and will be able to see whether or not they have been accredited by the BBB. Be mindful of your spelling, as many illegitimate companies will closely parody the names of more reputable businesses in hopes of tricking customers into a false sense of security. You can find this Reliability Report tool here.
3. Get a second opinion. This is especially true if you are confronted with news of potentially dangerous mould. The cost of mold remediation treatment can be daunting, and investing in a second opinion will be only a fraction of that expense, with the potential to save you a lot of time and money.
Sidestepping Common Home Restoration Mistakes
1. Moving forward without a plan
The investment required during the planning phase often feels like a wasted portion of the budget. Intoxicated by visions of additions and a finished product, amateur renovators often see little value in plotting out existing features and conditions on paper. However, as the old idiom goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Tradespeople often approach a job with an eye for the path of least resistance, and are not responsible for considering their works’ impact on the project as a whole. Without plans directing installation teams, you are leaving everything to chance. An errant HVAC worker may plop their air-handling system in the middle of an unfinished room whose space you had intended to use.
2. Mishandling hazardous materials
Asbestos and lead paint are two common materials encountered during restorations that put health and the environment at risk. Though their use has been discontinued in contemporary builds, they continue to be present in many older homes, particularly those targeted for restoration work.
Asbestos is found in mastic pastes, insulation, and tapes produced in the 1950s. These products remained in circulation for over three decades, and were later found to cause scarring of lung tissues that often leads to lung cancer.
Lead paint was used heavily in home construction from the 1880s to 1920s. Lead poisoning can cause a myriad of gastrointestinal issues and neurological issues.
In both cases, the best and safest method of disposal requires encapsulation to prevent any spreading of contaminants.
3. Neglecting leakage
Dripping faucets and rusty pipes get plenty of attention as homeowners have become justifiably worried about mould. Air leakage is often dismissed because it poses no real physical threat. However, neglecting to handle air leaks can seriously impact your home’s energy efficiency, with most professionals able to improve efficiency by 50-75%. Many professionals will use blower-door tests involving high-powered fans to depressurize a home and pinpoint leakages, which can then be treated using closed-cell spray foams.
