Declutter to Make Space for New Opportunities

November 19th 2024

As 2024 winds down and we look ahead to 2025, attracting new business opportunities is likely at the top of your to-do list. Creating new revenue streams, finding new clients, and building new products are just some of the ways you can generate more business next year.

But before you start bringing in new business, set aside some time to clear out the clutter that is no longer serving you. Believe it or not, taking action to get rid of physical clutter can have a major positive impact on your business.

Benefits of Decluttering

In addition to the positive energetic boost many New Age practitioners say accompanies clearing out clutter, there are several other benefits of decluttering:

Save time

The less stuff you have to sort through to track down a misplaced object or document, the less time you’ll waste on a daily basis. Stephanie Winston, author of The Organized Executive, says that managers waste about an hour a day looking for things; that’s 12.5 percent of a 40-hour week!

Save money

Extrapolating from Winston’s hour-a-day wasted looking for lost things, that equates to more than $8,000 if you’re paying yourself a $65,000 annual salary. 

On top of all that lost time, there is money spent replacing that thing you’ve been searching for. Can’t locate your calculator? After a certain amount of time looking, it’s likely you’ll just place an Amazon order to deliver a new one tomorrow. But all those duplicates add up and can cost you serious money.

Finally, losing track of bills also costs money. According to Harris Interactive, 23 percent of adults claim they pay bills late and incur fees and penalties because they lose them. Business owners who pay bills late can see their buying power decline and the cost of borrowing money increase.

Save space

The more extra stuff your business owns or stores, the more you’ll pay for space, either to squeeze in more equipment or more storage. Conversely, the more clutter you can clear out, the lower your space requirements and the more money you can save. 

Do you really need an entire room filled with filing cabinets, for example? If not, can you repurpose that space to prevent your company from outgrowing it too soon? Look for ways to reclaim space previously taken up by stuff from which your business isn’t benefiting.

And if you do clear furniture, décor, and old office equipment out, you can claim a tax deduction if you donate it to an eligible nonprofit. That way you’re also reducing your tax bill come April.

Improve focus

Clearing out unneeded items in your office can have a positive effect on your ability to concentrate. Fewer visual distractions improve the ability to focus, according to Psychology Today.

If you can see all the potential benefits of decluttering but aren’t sure how to begin, follow these steps to get started.

First steps

No matter how bad your clutter situation is, you can make a serious dent by following this advice:

Start small. Pick a small space to work on, rather than getting overwhelmed by tackling too much. For example, clear out a desk drawer or the top of a filing cabinet rather than attempting to clear out your entire office in one fell swoop. Keep the task manageable.

Single touch. Commit to touching each item only once. It has been said that clutter is caused by delayed decision-making, so when you pick up something, decide what needs to happen to it and then move it there. If you’re going through paperwork, for example, does that paper need to be filed, tossed, shredded, handed off to someone else, or acted on? If action is required, set it aside in a pile or file for that purpose. Otherwise, put it where it belongs or give it to someone who can take care of it.

Digitize. Where paper is concerned, consider digitizing it to be able to find it faster in electronic form and reduce the amount of space it takes up. You can purchase a physical scanner or download a scanner app to your phone to convert hard copies to electronic form.

Keep going. Once one space is cleared, move on to the next.

Decluttering is never really done, since there is often more debris and litter that can be eliminated. Make decluttering an ongoing process; you could make it a quarterly task. 

And as new items enter your workspace, commit to removing an equal number of items to keep clutter at bay. That means every new book, notebook, or pair of scissors requires that an existing one be removed. The same goes for furniture, wall hangings, and other décor items.

Clearing clutter from your office or workspace will make it easier to find things, prevent spending money on duplicates, and improve your ability to focus and think strategically – all of which will help you become a more successful business owner.