Getting a break from work to spend time with friends and family makes the holidays one of the working class's most anticipated times of the year. Nonetheless, you still have to prepare your office for the holidays because your team will return in a few weeks. 

You want to avoid returning to a truckload of unsettled accounts, unmet deadlines, impatient clients, and dirty, disorganized office spaces. For your office to be genuinely holiday-ready, there are some essential activities you need to put in place before your team exits the building for the season. 

This guide provides tips to help you manage your energies and time to prepare your office for the holidays in ways you didn't think mattered. These tips will help you relax and enjoy your holidays without any worries. 

Tips for the Holiday-Ready Office

1. Organize your paperwork

If you use a lot of paper in your office, the end of work for the year can be an excellent opportunity to sift through and organize your paperwork. Sorting documents can start from the desks and then progress to the storage room and stationary inventory. Your team can sort the papers under ‘action and file’ or ‘throw-out.’ This will not only reduce the mess around the office but can also be therapeutic. It will help you resume the coming year with a ‘clean bill of papers.’

2. Deep clean your office

Deep cleaning your office space during the holidays has several advantages you would want to benefit from. Holiday cleaning in the office has to be thorough, so the maintenance cleaning when the office resumes in the New Year will be easy. It will also help you declutter and clean out some items you wouldn't want to carry into the New Year. Some areas needing the most attention include work areas, break rooms, kitchens, and restrooms. Getting a professional cleaning company like Clean Tu Casa will make this easier for you.

3. Take care of the computers

Your computers likely contain the heartbeat of your organization, so you have to give them a little more attention before leaving for the holidays. You can begin by unplugging them from a power source, then do an initial wipe-down with a clean, soft cloth. Dampen the cloth with clean water to wipe away tougher smudges. The keyboards will also require patting down before cleaning with the damp cloth. Ensure the computers are dry before turning them back on.

4. Tell clients about your holiday plans

Keeping your customers in the loop shows respect and keeps you from dealing with disappointed customers when work resumes in the New Year. You can send customers emails or other notifications about the close of work for the year while wishing them happy holidays. If your office plans to run at a lower capacity, you can outline what services will be available and which ones will not. Your customers will never forget this thoughtful gesture.

5. Clear any backlog of work

As the year draws to a close, your team must take the time to clear everything on their plate before leaving for the holidays. It could be a website update, a catalog review, an improved inventory tracking system or some help with your marketing, or even an office file cleanout. Doing this would ensure that your team returns to a pressure-free environment next year and will optimize their productivity from the get-go.

6. Hire temporary, seasonal workers.

This is one of the best ideas to help your office maintain function while everyone spends time with family and friends. Hiring temporary workers will help you deal with the holiday rush. They'll be the ones to hold the fort while the regular workers go on with their holiday festivities. Hiring these workers will require planning because they will need some training to integrate into the workings of the office. This decision will help your office run at a lower capacity while many of your competitors close down for the year.

7. Check and clean AC and heating systems

You will be away from the office for some time, so checking and cleaning the air conditioning and heating systems is imperative. You can proactively call a maintenance company to check the condition of the systems and fix any issues that could cause a malfunction. They can equally clean the AC vents and filters, so your team returns to a comfortable office next year. 

8. Clean out the fridge and food cupboards

It is vital to do this close to the last workday before the holidays begin. No one wants to return from the holidays to meet rotting food in the office fridge. You can avoid this by gradually clearing the food from the refrigerator beforehand. This will allow you to thoroughly clean the fridge and switch it off to save energy while everyone is away. Also, cleaning the food cupboards and pantry will prevent waste and keep away an army of ants and a few hungry rodents. They are the kinds of holiday guests you do not want to entertain in your office.

9. Make plans for deliveries

You must factor in the deliveries you have scheduled to arrive during the holidays. You don't want your closed office getting flooded by deliveries no one will receive. One of the best steps to avoid this is to delay the planned deliveries or cancel them altogether if they are perishable items. Another option is to set a reminder for the delivery and make the necessary provisions for receiving the delivery upon arrival. Your temporary workers can come in handy with this one.

10. Close the blinds and curtains

Closing the blinds and curtains will help keep out dust and dirt from filling your office. It will also allow your office to stay temperate during the cold season so that all your electrical equipment will not suffer adversely from the elements. The blinds and curtains that braved the weather in the trying times can be washed immediately after the holidays. 

Bonus: Hire a cleaning company

You can never go wrong when you hire a cleaning company to take your cleaning worries off your mind. However, you will need to prepare your office by ensuring access to all the areas that need cleaning. It would help if you did a little tidying up and decluttering to enable the professional cleaners to do their work without having to wade through a ton of stuff.

Clean Tu Casa provides the best deep office cleaning and office organization services in Metro Atlanta. You can look through our office cleaning checklist to set your expectations. Take that load off. Call in the best today.