Bet you didn’t know this was a thing! I first discovered it four years ago, and here we are—STILL celebrating and STILL finding old stuff to clear out. If you thought this was just a personal endeavor, think again! Even though it falls on a Sunday this year, you can still turn National Old Stuff Day into a fun and productive office-wide event the following week.
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Schedule a Clean Your Files (CYF) Day
Make decluttering official with a dedicated office clean-up day! Here’s how:
- Arrange for extra bins for shredding, recycling, and trash disposal.
- Clearly post the do’s and don’ts for each category.
- Ensure all bins are properly labeled and placed throughout the office.
- Notify employees a couple of weeks in advance.
- Send reminder emails and post flyers.
- Encourage employees to dress casually for the day.
- Treat the team to a healthy breakfast or fun lunch.
- Give facilities and cleaning crews a heads-up about the increased volume of discarded materials.
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Gather Surplus Supplies
Chances are, your office has more supplies than it needs. Set up a central collection area where employees can:
- Drop off extra supplies they no longer need.
- Pick up items they can use.
Still have leftovers? Encourage employees to donate to local schools, churches, or nonprofit organizations they’re involved with. Coordinating donations can be a full-time job (been there, done that—no t-shirt), so if someone has a connection, take them up on it. TRUST ME!
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Empty the Electronics Graveyard
Got a supply closet filled with old computers, printers, and cables? Time to purge! If it’s more than three years old, it likely has little to no value.
This is especially true for devices containing sensitive data. The longer they sit, the higher the risk of theft—both of the device itself and the data inside. A data breach could compromise customers, employees, and business partners. According to a 2019 Verizon study, 69% of people said they would avoid a company that suffered a data breach. The financial and reputational costs could be devastating, even leading to bankruptcy.
🔗 Source: Verizon’s 2019 Customer Experience Study
- To protect your company, consider outsourcing IT asset disposal (ITAD). A reputable ITAD provider can:
- Wipe large volumes of data-containing devices.
- Verify the success of the data wipe.
- Properly recycle or repurpose old equipment.
However, not all ITAD providers are created equal. Do your due diligence:
- Review their security procedures for transporting and handling devices.
- Understand their refurbishment and resale criteria—reselling certain items can sometimes help offset the cost of data destruction.
- Ensure they recycle scrap materials in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.
4. Make it an Employee Appreciation Event
Some ITAD service providers offer on-site hard drive and solid-state drive shredding. While many community shred events also accept electronics, devices are usually transported to a facility for processing. This is standard practice, but some employees may feel uneasy about it—so they hold onto their old tech “just another year.”
Solution: Allow employees to bring in a limited number of personal devices for secure disposal.
5. Make it fun!
- Set up a tent in case of bad weather.
- Serve coffee and donuts in the morning, or hire a snow cone food truck on warm afternoons.
Run a contest! Categories could include:
- Heaviest computer
- Dustiest device
- Oldest piece of tech still (somewhat) functioning
Be creative—who knew decluttering could be so entertaining? Clear Out the Old Stuff and Have Some Fun!
If you haven’t already made Clean Your Files Day an annual tradition, chances are employees have been holding onto clutter. With the rise of remote work, people may not want to spend their limited office time cleaning their desks. Additionally, if your company is downsizing its office footprint, decluttering becomes inevitable.
Whatever the reason, take this opportunity to celebrate National Old Stuff Day. You’ll:
Free up valuable office space.
Ensure old data and devices are securely and properly disposed of.
Create an engaging event that boosts office morale.
And most importantly—you might even have some fun. After all, it’s one of Electronics Value Recovery’s core values.