Spring Cleaning 2.0

This week I celebrated an anniversary of sorts.

I find it difficult to believe, but it’s been three years since I officially joined the ranks of the 30 million or more folks who work remotely at least once a week.

And, as I’ve noted in this space, there are advantages and drawbacks to having a home office. Although considering the winter we endured in New York this year the positives of working from home easily outweighed any negatives.

For example, it was far more convenient to shovel snow and chip away at ice blocks the size of Greenland during the day than having to do it at 7 pm in the evening as I previously had to when I commuted to New York City and returned home exhausted. As you can image, an hour of shoveling at the end of a long day didn’t rank very high on my to-do list.

But with the onset of the vernal equinox which arrived last Friday evening, also comes the annual drudgery known as spring cleaning.

In past years, the late March-early April cleanse was more or less tackled with a catch as catch can philosophy. If I got to it, fine. If I didn’t then there was always next week.

But 2015 will be different and perhaps all of you who manage CPA practices are way ahead of me on this one but I’ve organized and prepared a detailed office checklist.

I have separated office supplies from work-related materials and assigned each of them a priority code.

To wit: my computer is now three years old, runs Windows 7 with an Intel i5 processor. Not to mention it has a 17-inch screen which makes passage through airport security an exercise in weightlifting and wedging it my briefcase an act of spatial contortionism. After sharing a bottle of expensive Italian wine with my CEO recently I convinced him it was time for a change. I’m happy to report that next month a new Microsoft Surface 3 is on its way with my name on it.

Next, my ergonomically designed work chair also celebrated its 3^rd birthday, a milestone marked by the peeling covering off the arms and a decided softening of the back. 

Coincidentally, my local Staples location is having a 30 percent off sale on all office chairs.

Done!

The most difficult part will be to transform my office from a 1960s-style newsroom with papers and publications stacked like grain silos across my desk, to more of a paperless and sterile environment. It will come down to a matter of what goes into the circular file and what can be stored or scanned.

That, quite honestly, may take some time as some documents date back to 2012 and beyond.

I promise to issue a progress report right after tax season.

Now if I can only find my checklist – I know I left it on the desk.