Microsoft 365 environments grow quickly. New Teams are created for projects, SharePoint sites appear for departments, Power Platform apps, flows and reports proliferate across the organization. Over time, this can lead to content sprawl, unclear ownership, outdated resources, and unnecessary risk.
Just like physical workspaces need periodic organization, your digital workplace does too. A Microsoft 365 spring cleaning exercise helps organizations reduce clutter, improve governance, and ensure the platform continues to support collaboration effectively.
We’ve created a checklist that provides a practical, cross-platform approach for reviewing and optimizing your Microsoft 365 tenant focused on your SharePoint, Teams, Power Platform, and intranet environments. Whether you’re noticing slowdowns from digital clutter or prepping for something big like a Copilot rollout, this checklist will help strengthen security, organize content, clarify ownership, and keep your Microsoft 365 environment running smoothly.
The Microsoft 365 Spring Cleaning Checklist
Below are 20 key areas to review during a Microsoft 365 cleanup initiative.
SharePoint and Teams Information Governance
1. Identify and Archive Inactive SharePoint Sites
Many SharePoint sites are created for projects, initiatives, or departments that eventually become inactive.
Review site activity reports to identify:
- Sites with no recent file activity
- Sites without active users
- Project or initiative sites that have concluded
Inactive sites should be archived, locked, or deleted according to governance policies.
2. Identify and Archive Inactive Microsoft Teams and
Teams environments tend to grow rapidly as collaboration expands.
Look for Teams that:
- Haven’t had recent conversations
- No longer support active projects
- Duplicate other collaboration spaces
Archiving inactive Teams reduces clutter and helps users find the workspaces that matter.
3. Review Microsoft Teams Channel Sprawl
Within Teams, channel sprawl can make collaboration difficult.
Review Teams with excessive channels and determine if:
- Channels should be consolidated
- Private channels are still needed
- Naming conventions are being followed
A streamlined channel structure improves collaboration and clarity.
4. Confirm Ownership Across Sites, Teams, and Groups
Every collaboration workspace must have a clearly defined owner responsible for:
- Membership management
- Content lifecycle decisions
- Governance compliance
Ensure that every SharePoint site, Microsoft Team, and Microsoft 365 Group has at least one active owner.
5. Review External Sharing Settings
External sharing is a powerful collaboration feature, but it can introduce risk when not governed properly.
Review sharing policies across SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive to confirm that sharing settings align with your organization’s security and compliance policies.
6. Perform ROT Cleanup (Redundant, Obsolete, Trivial Content)
ROT content accumulates quickly and can significantly impact usability.
Examples include:
- Duplicate files
- Outdated documents
- Temporary project files
- Draft materials no longer needed
Removing ROT content improves search accuracy and content reliability.
7. Validate Retention Policies
Retention policies help organizations maintain compliance and manage the lifecycle of information.
Review policies to ensure they:
- Align with regulatory requirements
- Reflect current data governance standards
- Apply consistently across SharePoint, Teams, and Exchange.
8. Modernize or Retire Legacy Sites and Solutions
Many organizations still maintain classic SharePoint sites and legacy InfoPath forms that lack modern capabilities and are approaching end-of-life.
Consider whether sites and solutions should be:
- Modernized to the modern SharePoint experience
- Migrated into hub site structures
- Updated by replacing InfoPath forms with modern solutions such as Power Apps
- Archived if no longer needed
Modern SharePoint sites and Power Platform solutions provide improved user experience, mobile readiness, stronger integration across Microsoft 365, and a future-ready platform for business processes.
9. Review Permissions and Broken Inheritance
Over time, permissions structures can become complex and difficult to manage.
Audit permissions to identify:
- Broken inheritance
- Excessive direct permissions
- Users who no longer need access
Restoring structured permissions improves security and maintainability.
10. Communicate Cleanup Results to Users
Governance initiatives are most successful when users understand why they matter.
After a cleanup effort:
- Share what changes were made
- Provide best practices for collaboration
- Reinforce governance guidelines
Transparency helps build long-term adoption.
Power Platform Cleanup
As organizations adopt Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI, governance becomes increasingly important.
11. Inventory Unused Power Apps and Flows
Unused apps and flows can clutter environments and introduce risk.
Review usage data to identify solutions that:
- Have no recent usage
- Are duplicates
- Are tied to outdated processes
These should be archived or retired.
12. Confirm App and Flow Ownership
Apps and flows without owners can break when employees leave the organization.
Ensure that every Power Platform solution has:
- A primary owner
- A secondary backup owner
13. Review Power Platform Environment Strategy
Many organizations begin with a single default environment and later expand.
Evaluate whether your environment strategy supports:
- Development
- Testing
- Production
- Departmental use cases
A structured environment strategy improves governance and scalability.
14. Audit Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies
DLP policies protect sensitive information and regulate connector usage.
Review policies to ensure they:
- Restrict risky connectors
- Protect sensitive data
- Support compliance requirements
15. Clean Up Power BI Workspaces and Reports
Power BI environments can quickly become cluttered with duplicate reports and outdated dashboards.
Review:
- Unused workspaces
- Duplicate datasets
- Reports with no recent usage
Cleaning these up improves data reliability and user trust.
Intranet Cleanup
Your SharePoint intranet is often the primary digital workplace hub for employees. Keeping it accurate and organized is essential.
16. Archive Outdated Intranet Pages and News
Over time, intranet sites accumulate outdated:
- News posts
- Policies
- Announcements
- Campaign content
Archive or remove content that is no longer relevant.
17. Validate Page Ownership and Review Cadence
Each intranet page should have a clear owner responsible for maintaining accuracy.
Establish review cycles such as:
- Quarterly for operational content
- Annually for policies and procedures
18. Review Navigation and Hub Structure
Navigation is one of the most important elements of intranet usability.
Review:
- Hub site structures
- Navigation links
- Departmental organization
Simplifying navigation helps employees find information faster.
19. Clean Up Intranet Permissions
Ensure that editing rights are limited to the appropriate content owners.
Too many contributors can lead to:
- Uncontrolled changes
- Inconsistent content quality
- Governance challenges
20. Refresh Governance Documentation and Training
Finally, governance documentation should be updated regularly.
Ensure employees have access to:
- Microsoft 365 usage guidelines
- Site creation policies
- Naming conventions
- Security best practices
Training helps prevent sprawl from returning after cleanup.
Turn Spring Cleaning into an Ongoing Governance Strategy
A Microsoft 365 spring cleaning initiative is a great starting point, but long-term success requires ongoing governance and regular reviews. By implementing structured governance and periodic cleanup cycles, organizations can ensure their Microsoft 365 platform continues to support innovation and productivity.
Need help evaluating your Microsoft 365 environment?
A Microsoft 365 assessment can help identify governance gaps, content sprawl, and modernization opportunities across SharePoint, Teams, and the Power Platform so your digital workplace stays secure, organized, and ready for the future.
