Keeping Clean at Work

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I work as a Security Guard and we are expected to be, among other things;
1 - In a white uniform. Not one that's turned yellowbrown from being not cleaned in a long while
2 - Not smelly
3 - Not keep food around in drawers
So a patrol supervisor dropped by and... long story short I had an "episode" and now I'm off work on sick leave for a month. The company has been very understanding given all the mental problems I've thrown their way over the years. Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on how to keep up cleanliness at work, as clearly this is a problem for me.

Wash your uniform on its own so it doesn't get dyed by other things in the machine. Learn to iron. Cotton shirts might be a better deal that synthetic materials. In the UK a lot of police forces are changing white shirts for black polo shirts because they stay smarter for longer.

You don't need people here to give you advice on showers and deodorant, do you? Keep a clean uniform in your locker in case you get into a struggle with anyone you are trying to arrest and it gets dirty or damaged.

Don't keep food where food doesn't belong. No one will thank you for feeding the mice. Is there a fridge in the break room?

Also, for white shirts, wear an undershirt w/short sleeves. It will absorb your body oils and odor and be a shield taking that "body oil yellowing" that any white shirt will get over time.

Use stuff with a detergent in the laundry that counteracts body odor (not just perfume the fabric...yuck).

Use a deodorant that is as strong as possible that is not offensive in odor to you or others.

Get enough shirts so that you can wear a fresh one each day without having to do laundry too often (I have a weeks worth), the same would apply to the undershirts mentioned above.

Wash the white items together (without any coloured items), using a detergent that is designed for white clothing (not designed to preserve colours).


If you have special care items of uniform (that need dry cleaned etc.) then it will be more difficult.

The other suggestions are good, but I just wanted to add that you could get into a cleaning routine. I schedule 1 hour every week to clean my desk at work, that way it pops us on my calender to remind me and every week I straighten up a little so it doesn't get out of hand. If you do the same thing every morning also, it's easy to not forget to put deodorant or something, because you put it right after you brush your teeth, which you do right after the shower, etc.