Quick and Easy Ways to Clean Your Home Office

Trying to concentrate in a cluttered, dusty home office can be a difficult task.  But finding the energy and motivation to clean after working for hours can be even harder.  Try these quick fixes to get your home office looking clean and dust-free in no time.

1. Dust all the electronics. Electronics can gather dust very quickly, but you need to be careful when cleaning them. To be safe, use a microfiber cloth or electronics wipe; these will get rid of all traces of lint without scratching any surfaces.  Avoid using glass cleaner, especially on your computer screen, as it can destroy the antiglare coating.  Instead, turn off the screen and lightly wipe it down with your cloth.  Afterward, dampen the cloth and clean any dirt off the rest of the monitor or laptop, and do the same with the mouse and printer.

2. Remove stains from your desktop. Leaving the bigger items in place, remove anything light from your desk, including files, the phone, and the keyboard. If you have a sealed wooden desk, fill a spray bottle with equal parts water and white vinegar, spray your desk, wipe it down with a sponge, and rinse.  If your desk is made of a washable material such as laminate, you can use an all-purpose cleaner instead.  To remove sticky stains, spray either the vinegar-water or all-purpose cleaner on the stain and let it soak for a few seconds.  Then scrape the stain off with a credit card before wiping down the surface and rinsing.  To remove ink stains, use a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol and then rinse with a sponge.

3. Clean your keyboard. An item that can harbor many germs, it is important to clean your keyboard regularly. Unplug it and hold it upside down over a trash can, then tap the back to loosen up any crumbs trapped under and between the keys.  To remove dust, go through all crevices with a paintbrush and then wipe the surface of the keys with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol.  Allow the keyboard to dry for about 20 seconds before plugging it back in.  If you have a laptop, remove as much dust as you can with the paintbrush, or buy a bottle of compressed air at your nearest office store.