Storage Space Cleaning Party!
Storage spaces regardless of their size and shape are in need of constant attention. Although we’d like to tidy them up once and walk away – unfortunately they need TLC. Regardless of shape or size, they can become a dusty area with the occasional cobweb or spider!
Set Your Goals
At your harm reduction program, your storage area for supplies should not be a place where you dread to tread. So, regardless of what it looks like at the moment, visualize your storage space being as organized and clean as possible. In your mind’s eye, create the most efficient lay-out within the actual parameters of your available space. Picture areas mapped out and labelled for each supply. Consider your storage area receiving consistent attention, just like other important spaces in your building.
Remember, many of the products you are storing have been sterilized. So, if your boxes are covered with dust, or sitting on a damp floor – these things could compromise the quality of the supplies. Temperature and humidity control are important too, so that supplies don’t freeze or overheat. You also need to be mindful of expiry dates, so use ‘first in first out’ with expiration dates facing so they can be easily read.
Plan an Afternoon
Use your best judgement, how many hands will you need to turn what you have, into what you want, in a single afternoon? Talk with your team and develop a plan. Share your vision for the storage area to make sure it works for the whole team. With approvals in hand, set the date and gather the materials you’ll need to make it happen.
Some of us are old enough to recall the song, “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” Well, if you have to roll up your sleeves and do this, why not make it fun? Gather your posse and crank some tunes. During an afternoon of moving boxes, sweeping, mopping, wiping down walls, sanitizing shelves, organizing, labelling, and everything else you’ll be doing – it’s time well spent team building!
-Sticky (OHRDP)
