For an office with active paperwork, define a cleared-surface rule and let authorized employees move records. Keep approved waste in clearly designated containers, not beside files. Mark desks that must be skipped entirely. Review inaccessible areas separately from incomplete cleaning so the office can fix the underlying access problem.
That’s the standard a building should be held to. If you’d rather have it in writing, tell us about the space — we walk it and come back with a scope of work and a price, usually within one business day.
Draw the boundary around information, not people
Start with a walkthrough of the work surfaces rather than asking which departments are confidential. A reception desk can hold sensitive paperwork, while a locked records room may have an empty floor that is available to clean. For each location, decide whether the whole desk is excluded or only the portions covered by documents. Add file carts, open shelving and papers left on guest chairs to the map. Do not rely on a note saying “be careful”; it leaves someone else to decide what care permits. The practical instruction is specific: leave papers in place, do not open drawers, and clean only the clearly accessible surfaces agreed in advance.
Make a cleared shelf a staff-owned appointment
If files occupy a shelf continuously, schedule a brief internal clearing window before a planned cleaning visit. The records owner moves the files to an approved secure location, leaves a visible empty shelf and returns the material after the surface is ready. Avoid putting file boxes on the floor in the cleaning route or stacking them on another desk that was supposed to be cleared. Choose one manageable section at a time so the office can keep track of where everything went. This arrangement creates access without turning cleaning staff into records handlers. If nobody can clear the shelf that day, record the deferral and choose another date.
Give discarded paper an unambiguous destination
Have the office decide which papers enter ordinary recycling and which follow its secure destruction process. A folder on top of a wastebasket, a box labelled with a former employee’s name or a pile next to a shred container is not enough evidence that disposal is authorized. Put rejected printouts into the correct designated stream before the visit. Identify containers that only the records or destruction provider may open. If the cleaning route includes moving an approved closed container, specify that task separately from emptying it. When reviewing the visit, record that a surface was blocked by paperwork without photographing or transcribing the contents.
Published scope and the limits of this guide
The published JAS scope says: “Weekly or monthly maintenance” — Read the source service page
Cleaning access is not permission to sort, transport, photograph or destroy records. This planning guide does not make a confidentiality certification or replace the organization’s information-security policies.
Related decisions before you schedule
Separate blocked surfaces from work that needs correction. Cleaning quality records
Plan temporary access to shelving before adding a detail task. Office detail-cleaning scope
Put exclusions for files and drawers in the work instructions. Written scope boundaries
Frequently asked questions
Should all desks be cleared every night?
Choose a rule the office can actually maintain. A planned rotation for cleared shelves may be more workable than a universal promise employees cannot meet.
Can a cleaner move a closed file box?
Do not assume closure means permission. Have an authorized office employee move records unless a specific handling task has been reviewed and agreed.
How should an inaccessible desk be reported?
Use the desk identifier and a neutral reason such as “surface covered by active papers.” Keep document titles, client names and images out of the routine cleaning note.