Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day, a day to encourage everyone to make their desks cleaner, more clutter free and, most important, healthier.
 
"A messy desk says a lot more about a worker today than [it did] a decade ago," says Matt Morrison, Communications Manager for Kaivac. "That's because more offices have 'open' office plans today, so we can see each other's work spaces."
 
And a desk can give a definite impression of a worker.
 
According to a 2012 survey by Adecco USA, a national staffing and recruiting agency, nearly 60 percent of American workers admit they judge coworkers by how clean or dirty they keep their desks, and nearly half are "appalled" by how messy some colleagues keep their desks.
 
In addition, according to Morrison, "Studies now indicate a messy desk can undermine [worker] productivity."
 
In honor of National Clean Off Your Desk Day:
• Set a specific time each business day to tidy and organize your desk, tossing items no longer needed and filing those that are not needed right away.
• Do not make piles; find places. Making piles of paperwork, for instance, does not reduce clutter, it makes clutter. Establish desk and office "zones" for different work projects, books, paperwork, files, etc., "and try and store these items on shelves or somewhere off your desk."
• Avoid eating at your desk. Using desks as a dining table not only soils them but can increase the amount of germs and bacteria on them.
• Clear desks each evening so custodial workers can hygienically clean them.

According to Morrison, instead of office workers cleaning their own desks with chemical cleaners, "they should clear their desks and allow custodial workers to clean them using squeegee based flat-surface cleaning systems. These technologies are fast and effective at removing harmful germs and bacteria that can build up on [office] desks."