In order to ensure that your office is as clean as possible, it is crucial for your janitorial closet to be properly organized. Especially if your facility, such as a hospital or large office complex, sees a large volume of traffic each day, it is essential for your maintenance crew to follow a strict cleaning schedule. This is most easily accomplished when the janitorial closet is organized properly. This allows your maintenance team members to locate the products they need without wasting valuable time.

In many offices, the primary focus is on making sure public areas are presentable; the maintenance closet often gets overlooked in these situations. This can lead to spillage of dangerous chemicals and other accidents that could put workers in harm's way. It is essential for companies to regularly check the state of their janitorial closet. One of the most often overlooked factors when it comes to janitorial closets is the size of the space. There should be plenty of space for all products and equipment that your maintenance staff needs. Additionally, your maintenance workers should be able to freely move around the closet without colliding with any sort of equipment.

In any office's maintenance closet, material safety data sheets (MSDS) are the most crucial items. There should be one of these documents for every chemical product that is ever used by your maintenance staff. These sheets include a plethora of information, including the correct procedure for using a chemical product, what steps should be followed if an emergency occurs while using it, and any hazardous materials contained within the cleaner.

Your company's maintenance workers should have to read every MSDS in your facility and must memorize the information regarding chemicals they often use. Also, every MSDS should provide the proper disposal steps for a given product. Your maintenance staff should be trained in how to get rid of any chemicals that have special instructions.

You should apply the information provided in MSDS to make certain that your office's maintenance closet is a well-arranged as possible. For example, some chemical products are required to be kept in areas that are a certain temperature to ensure they do not explode, combust, or become ineffective. This information will be listed in every product's MSDS and can be used as your organize your maintenance closet. If, for example, you find that large amount of your facility's chemicals need to be stored in a cold location, it may be prudent to buy a refrigerator for the janitorial closet.

Your office's maintenance closet should also have a first-aid kit in a prominent location and a phone that workers can use if an emergency should occur. Every MSDS will list a 24-hour emergency phone line that your workers can call if an accident happens with a given product. You may want to write down the phone numbers for particularly hazardous chemicals and list them next to the phone.