Spring Cleaning Your Salesforce Org

April 12, 2023

The best time to clean up your Salesforce org? Right before it becomes a problem.

Just like clearing out your garage or finally tackling that overflowing email inbox, your Salesforce org can benefit from a regular spring cleaning. A messy org slows down your team, creates user frustration, and makes it harder to roll out new features.

At Redwood Lane, we run org health checks for clients—especially in the spring. Here’s what we look for (and what you can do too):

1. Clear Out Unused Fields

Every admin has been there: dozens of fields created “just in case,” sitting unused. Too many fields clutter page layouts, overwhelm users, and make reporting messy.

Run a Field Utilization Report or use Salesforce’s Field Trip app to identify fields with little or no data.
Work with stakeholders before removing anything—sometimes a field is critical for a small but important process.
Hide, retire, or archive fields to keep layouts clean and user-friendly.

2. Retire Old Automation

Still running Workflow Rules or multiple overlapping Processes? Old automation can cause conflicts, errors, and unexpected behavior.

Audit Workflow Rules, Process Builder flows, and Apex triggers to make sure they’re still relevant.
Consolidate into Flows, Salesforce’s preferred automation tool.
Document what’s being replaced and test carefully before deactivating.

3. Fix Broken Reports and Dashboards

Reports and dashboards are only useful if they reflect today’s priorities.

Review reports with zero or very low usage.
Check for filters, groupings, or fields that reference data you’ve already retired.
Archive outdated dashboards and refresh key ones so executives and users can trust the numbers.

4. Review Permissions and Profiles

Security often gets overlooked in cleanup efforts.

Look for profiles with outdated permissions or unused permission sets.
Simplify by moving toward a Permission Set + Permission Set Group model instead of relying heavily on profiles.
Ensure users have just the access they need—no more, no less.

5. Document Everything

The best cleanup is the one you can repeat.

Keep a simple change log or Confluence page noting what was archived, deleted, or consolidated.
Include why decisions were made and who approved them.
This prevents surprises later and makes future cleanups faster.

Why Spring Cleaning Matters

A clean org is a healthy org. By removing clutter and staying proactive, you make Salesforce faster, easier to manage, and more scalable for future growth.

Think of it like changing the oil in your car—you don’t wait for the engine to seize before giving it attention.