Spring Cleaning for Your Catering Business: What to Update and What to Keep

As you plan to dust and vacuum your home, it’s also a good time of year to turn your ‘spring cleaning’ energy towards your business. During the transition period between the holidays and busy season, there are usually some lulls in business that present the perfect opportunity to clean shop and freshen up your office for peak season. 

“One of the benefits of spring cleaning is that you discover what you really have and forgot about,” explains Lon Lane of Lon Lane’s Inspired Occasions. “Reorganizing and purging makes room for the new and will allow you to make a list for the Catersource tradeshow. Pruning is healthy and allows you to grow.”

A clear mind and an organized environment are crucial to productivity and motivation, so any efforts you put in now can save you and your team from mid-season burnout when time is at a premium. Here are a few things to consider when spring cleaning your business.

Equipment

This is usually the natural starting point for a spring cleaning session, so use this change to take a full inventory of what you have on hand, as well as what needs to be updated or replaced. Pull out everything in the kitchen, clean it all, then reorganize it in a logical fashion.

“I feel it is very important to deep clean and update all of your offside equipment,” says Adam Gooch of Common Plea Catering. “It is cleaned as you use it throughout the year, but it is good to really break down and clean up when you are slow. It will help the overall performance of the equipment and give a great presentation being nice and shining.”

Lane adds: “Clean out all refrigeration units, cooking units, pots, pans, sheet pans, etc. Then, deep clean your floors, carpets, cabinets, and storage areas.”

Vehicles

You may already have your personal vehicle on the list for cleaning and maintenance, so it’s worth adding your company vehicles as well. Stay on top of oil changes, fluid levels, and state inspections to ensure your vehicles are in top shape for the start of the busy season.

“It sounds simple, but it’s really important for us to do a deep clean on our trucks, as well as make sure they all have gone through routine maintenance,” shares Anthony Lambatos of Footers Catering. “They can get really dirty in the winter and taking extra time to make sure they are looking great in the spring is critical for our brand and how we want to show up at our events during our busy summer season.”

Technology

Spring cleaning isn’t just for tangible items. Take some time to clear out your desktops and email inboxes, organizing files and emails into easy-to-find folders. Digital clutter is counterproductive, so it will feel great to start the new season on a fresh foot. If you use a project management or CRM program, you may want to do some tidying there as well — archive old projects, follow up on your backburner tasks, and restructure anything that needs it.

When all is said and done, your kitchen, office, and mental space will all feel fresh and organized — the perfect way to kick off a new season of events.