Office furniture clearance involves the removal and disposal of office furniture and equipment, including items such as desks, chairs, filing cabinets, carpets, and so on. It may also include the safe recycling of industrial equipment and electrical goods such as machinery, computer equipment, staff fridges, and other appliances; and the disposal of unwanted paperwork, rubbish, and so on.
If you’re moving out of old offices or clearing some space to make better use of your existing office, it’s well worth considering hiring a company that offers office clearance services, such as Edwards Furniture Solutions, to help you through the process from start to finish.
Office furniture clearance in London requires forward planning and good project management. While it’s feasible to carry out office furniture clearance on your own, you may find that the task is not what you’ve bargained for. Office clearance can be too much for your regular office staff to handle on their own, so it could be worth hiring a company that specialises in doing this job instead.
Here are some useful tips if you want to manage a successful office clearance project:
Identify the items that you want to keep
If you’re moving your London-based business into a new office, then before hiring a London office clearance company, you should come up with a list of the items that need to be cleared.
Create an inventory of your office items and split the items into two lists: what is going with you and what needs to be removed by your office furniture clearances team. Once you have this second list, you will have the right information to get a more accurate quotation and an estimate of the project duration from a prospective company.
Label each item clearly so that any office clearance company can identify which items should be kept and which are to be disposed of.
Map out your office clearance timeline
It’s amazing how much stuff we accumulate over time, even in an office environment. Office furniture clearances can be massive undertakings, so first of all, you should allow enough time to carry out the project. Start your planning as early as possible.
Consider important dates in your planning such as your last day in your current office and when your new office lease begins. Once you have the key dates, decide on a target date for the move and work backwards to create a timeline.
To ensure the most efficient office clearance of the space you’re leaving behind, begin your preparations weeks before the clearance date if possible. Start by sorting, cataloguing, labelling, and dismantling your office items and furniture.
Early preparations can save additional stress and extra costs. Try to include some extra time at each stage in case the clearance doesn’t run to schedule.
Select the right office clearance firm for the job
Once you know what items need to be cleared from your office and have a target timeline in mind, it’s time to choose the company that can best meet your requirements. Here are some of the essential criteria you should be looking for.
References – Ask for recent references from any of the office clearance companies in London that you are planning to hire. Make sure that these references are credible and share genuine experiences of the office clearance company. This will give you an idea on what it’s like dealing with them – did they arrive promptly and as agreed? Were they organised and careful with your possessions? Were they polite, helpful and friendly throughout?
Resources – Check that your chosen office clearance company has the right resources to conduct this service effectively. If they’re moving a large amount of furniture and equipment, do they have appropriately-sized vans? Are they skilled in taking apart office furniture?
Rapport – Ask to meet the team who will be handling the logistics of your office clearance before signing off the contract. You want to know whether the people you’ll be working with are good communicators. Having the right rapport with the team will help the move on the day, especially if any unexpected issues crop up.
Rates – Make sure you get quotes from a number of companies so you can assess the costs of the move and determine which services are the most cost-efficient. Ask for a total project price, but also any breakdown such as whether you will be billed per item, by how many vans or truckloads will be needed, or by time. When comparing estimates, make sure you’re comparing like with like before making your decision.
Decide where your old furniture goes to
An office clearance is a great opportunity to declutter and let go of furniture that you no longer need. You could consider donating your old cabinets, pedestals and other office equipment to charities and recycling organisations. Alternatively, selling your old office furniture to second-hand dealers is also an option.
Your office clearance service might have a network in place already to help you dispose of any items you want to let go. If you have workplace equipment that you want to keep but needs some repairs, a good firm will also know other companies that can handle refurbishment of these items.
Finally, a good clearance service will also be able to advise you on separating your things into distinct categories such as wood, paper, metal and general mixed waste. They can tell you which items can be reused and which could be donated or sold.
Carry out a risk assessment
When planning an office clearance, make sure that all health and safety measures are in place and regulations are adhered to, in order to protect not just your employees but the contractors that you hire as well.
You should consider the following:
Planning – Plan in advance to avoid mistakes or accidents.
Removal company – Your office clearance company should carry out their own risk assessment at your current premises and the new office to identify any issues that may need to be addressed.
Staff involvement – While the removal company will have professionals to carry out the heavy lifting during the move, your staff may get involved from time to time. However, make sure you remind them to leave the heavy lifting to the experts.
New offices – If you are moving into a new office, check if it meets your health and safety requirements. For instance, does it have the right temperature control, appropriate ventilation, and window safety measures in place?
Electricals – Your contractor should be in charge of moving potentially dangerous equipment, but you should ensure that computers, printers, phones, microwaves, kettles, fridges and so on have all been properly disconnected.
Moving day – On moving day itself, arrange for your staff to work at home if possible, or provide them with a temporary office space that they can use. The moving team must be able to do their job without obstruction.
Once everything has been moved, ask for a final report that will list what was removed, where it was taken, and how much was reused, recycled, or sold. Strict regulations govern the disposal of potentially hazardous waste, electrical equipment and so on; and as a company, you are responsible for ensuring that items have been disposed of in the right way. You therefore need evidence that this has been done correctly.
Work With Edwards Furniture Solutions Today!
Looking for a reliable London office clearance company? Whether you are moving to a new office location or seeking to maximise space in your existing office, Edwards Furniture Solutions offers the best removals services available.
We can move your furniture, relocate it and even supply entirely new pieces for your new office. We tailor our services entirely to your requirements and will work within your schedule to minimise downtime in your business.
Get in touch with one of our office clearance professionals on 0208 168 8532. You can also email ed@edwardsfs.co.uk with questions or for more details about any of our services.
Why is it important to dispose of waste from an office clearance properly?
Aside from health issues and effective use of space, proper disposal of waste from an office clearance is important as some items may be hazardous or contain hazardous material. If improperly disposed of, these may leak, contaminating the soil and polluting water supplies. If waste is properly disposed of, on the other hand, any toxic chemicals can be treated and contained safely.
What can you dispose of with office clearance in London?
Office clearances often involve the removal of different types waste products such as old office furniture; IT and excess, broken, or obsolete electrical equipment; and miscellaneous office rubbish.
How do I arrange an office clearance?
Organising an office clearance doesn’t have to be tedious or time-consuming. If you are well-prepared and hire the right firm for the task, getting rid of items for disposal should be simple and easy to do.
First, request an estimate from a professional waste clearance company before you start organising the items for disposal. Next, make sure that you provide a clear arrival window for the collection company. You should also ask the firm to supply before and after photos. Ensure that you are not required to pay the bill until after they have carried out the collection of the items and provided the appropriate certificates or confirmation of safe disposal.
Where does all the rubbish go?
After an office equipment disposal has taken place, non-reusable items are taken to a waste and recycling centre. In some cases, agencies may choose to donate usable items such as furniture and electronic items to charity shops.
When should I contact an office relocation and business storage company?
It’s always a good idea to contact office relocation and business storage companies at the start of a project. If you do this, you will allow a reasonable lead-time for the business relocation to be carried out, book the firm you want to carry out the work, and have the project completed in accordance with your own moving schedule.
What information should I know before getting an office relocation company?
You’ll need to be able to supply the company with all the basic information they will require. This includes the details of the collection and delivery addresses, and an estimate of the number and type of items that are to be disposed of or relocated.
What type of items can you take away?
Good office clearance services will be able to dispose of pretty much anything. Removal of workstations wastes could include office furniture, IT equipment, safes, and any fixtures and fittings such as shelving and wallboards.
What equipment do you come with?
Depending on the nature of the project and the services booked, teams can bring with them cleaning-up agencies’ equipment such as brooms, dust sheets, shovels, storage boxes, large rubbish bags, shoe covers, a sack trolley, vacuum cleaners, and general tools.
Where manual labour or heavy lifting will be required, such as the refurbishment of workplace fixtures, teams can also bring with them appropriate safety and moving gear.
Do I need to be present during a clearance?
Generally speaking, you can let the team carry out their job without supervision. But if there are a mixture of items to be kept or disposed of and they aren’t sufficiently labelled or sorted on the day, then you can be there to offer guidance to the London office clearances team.
How long does a clearance take?
Depending on what needs to be dismantled and removed, a clearance can last anything between a few hours and a couple of days.
Benefits Of Hiring Waste Clearance Service
Nowadays, many companies opt to hire a professional office clearance company in London to save time, money, and stress, and also to ensure that the job is done safely and in accordance with any health and safety guidelines and environmental regulations. Although it might seem on the face of it that a house or office clearance is simple and easy to do, when it comes down to it, there is a lot to think about, both from a practical and a legal standpoint. The benefits of hiring experts are:
You have assurance that any legal issues around disposal of waste are taken into account.
You don’t have to worry about how your unwanted items will be disposed of or where they will end up.
Someone else will take the strain on moving day and you won’t have to worry about waste piling up and taking up valuable space in your commercial property.
You’ll free your own time up to concentrate on your day job.
You can do your part in protecting the environment.
Things To Consider When Moving Offices
Your office contract may have ended or you may be moving to a new space with larger premises; but whatever the reason for your office furniture clearance, there are some important aspects to consider before moving into a new office space.
Unless you own the building you are moving from, you will need to ensure that the office space you’re vacating is left exactly as you found it, so the next tenant has the appropriate room allowance for office stuff they may wish to bring. That usually means that you will have to remove all furniture and fixtures you’ve installed. You’ll also have to empty the space of paperwork, to ensure that none of your company-related information, some of which may be commercially sensitive, some of which may be covered by Data Protection legislation, will fall into the wrong hands. You may also have to dismantle your IT infrastructure as well as other systems such as electricals and pedestals that you’ve installed yourself. With these things in mind, here are the things you need to consider when moving offices:
Make sure that all your business information is secure and protected.
Ensure your requirements are communicated clearly to the company.
Consider the legal requirements for moving office spaces.
Hiring Clearance Companies
Unless you have been disposing of accumulated rubbish in the office yourself on an ongoing basis (which many companies lose sight of), hiring a company that offers office clearances in London can be a valuable investment. Here are some of the benefits hiring a dedicated clearance company can bring you:
Convenience
Health and Safety considerations
Cost-effectiveness
Reliability, efficiency and expertise
Proper recycling of materials
Environmentally-friendly services
Aesthetic reasons (they may handle the cleaning after the space is clear)
Think about the time and effort you and your staff would otherwise have to exert to ensure that everything is carried out safely, while protecting your investments and also taking into consideration other factors such as legal requirements and sanitation requirements in your area.
Relocating can be challenging, especially when there’s a lot of stuff to take care of and to dispose of. For this reason, hiring a company that offers office furniture clearance in London will provide you with the convenience and assurance that when they do their work, everything will be done with care and to the highest quality standard. To help you with this, get in touch with Edwards Furniture Solutions today!
