10 Clutter Hideouts to Help
Organize Your Computer.
Uncover the 10 clutter hideouts to help organize your computer. Focusing on each hideout will get you closer to a well organized machine!
The first step to organize your computer is to eliminate unnecessary files. But why bother with computer clutter? I know it doesn't feel like an urgent matter, but you probably spend a lot of time on your computer. Wouldn't it feel nice to work on a clean computer where you can easily find files instead of sifting through mounds of electronic clutter?
Benefits from organizing your computer:
- Find files faster
- Set the stage for successful file organization
- Improve computer processing speed
- Free up hard-drive memory
- Create a healthy organizing habit
- Save time by being more efficient
Computers are in some ways easier to declutter than other projects. With a simple click of a button, the item is deleted and you can set up the computer to do most of the work for you with simple searches and scheduling of tasks.
Although Clean Your Computer Day is celebrated the second Monday in February, you don't have to wait for this day to get moving. Organize your computer when your brain needs a break and you want to be productive.
NOTE: If you share a computer with a family member, it is important to only focus on ways to organize YOUR computer and its clutter. Their stuff is hands-off to you! Encourage them to go through this process with you, or on their own. Trust me, this will save a lot of heart-ache down the road.
In this article we will explore to following areas to organize your computer:
- hard drive
- software
- internet files (favorites)
- photos
- music
- time management software
- desktop
- documents
- PDA/Phone
OK, let's get started.
1—Your eMail
Since you are probably in your eMail the most each day, is a great place to start and organize your computer!
Did you know that on average, 50% of most people’s eMail can be deleted, 30% can be completed in less than two minutes or delegated, and 20% can be deferred to your calendar or to-do list?
Begin by sorting your eMail inbox by date and go through the oldest mail first. You will probably be able to delete most, if not all old mail. If there are eMails that still require some action, flag them and place the next action on your to-do list.
Don't forget to look in the folders you created for reference eMails or projects. When is the last time you accessed some of these? Either purge some of the eMails in the folders, or the entire folder themselves.
eMail hideouts we often ignore are the Sent, Junk, and Deleted folders. I set up my computer to automatically delete Junk older than a day, Deleted older than a week, and Sent older than a month. I recommend setting up your computer to do most of the purging for you. Check out your own browser preferences and set them to self-purge.
2—Your Hard Drive
If you have Windows XP, use Disk Cleanup to free up space on your hard drive. Disk Cleanup searches your drive, and then shows you temporary files, Internet cache files, and unnecessary program files you can safely delete. You can chose to delete some or all of these files. You can also schedule Disk Cleanup to automatically clean out unnecessary clutter. Now that is an easy way to organize your computer from now on!
To open Disk Cleanup, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup.
3—Your Software
This is for your personal computer/s ONLY! You don't want to get in trouble at work for deleting something that is important!
I bet if you go through the software on your personal computer, you will be amazed at how many came preloaded that you have NEVER used! Don't forget to look at the ones you have loaded too, but no longer need. This can range from games, free trials, programs you have updated, or programs you didn’t like. Take a look to uninstall and delete the ones you don’t use. Keep in mind other family members when making decisions about the software.
I am pretty good at keeping up with my computer software, however, I was just able to delete 8 programs from my computer! So, take a look and see what is hiding!
4—Your Internet Files (also known as Favorites)
Internet Favorites is a major clutter magnet for websites you have visited once upon a time! If you just have one long list of websites, it is nearly impossible for you to find what you are looking for when you need it. Take time to create folders for particular topics. For example, you can create a "Get Organized" folder and store resources you get from this site in it. Keep in mind you can always rename the link to something that makes sense to you when you search for it later. Once you delete the web links you no longer favor and create folders for the links you still use, it will be easy to maintain and find these resources quickly.
If you already organize your favorites, go through one folder a day (or even a week) and use the powerful delete button to rid your folders of unused links.
Next time you decide to store a website in your favorites, ask yourself “Where will I find this website when I need it again?” This is the location you need to store it. If you said, “Oh, I would probably just Google it again,” then don’t bother storing it in your favorites.
I also created a "Check It Out" folder. As someone recommends a site, but I don't have time to explore it, I place it in this file for later when I have some down time. Now they are all in one place.
5— Your Photos
Now that many of us store our photos electronically on a computer, it's easy to keep duplicates and poor quality photos...hundreds at a time. Don't do it! Each time you upload your pictures, keep only the best photos that capture the essence of the moment you wish to keep. Make this a practice each time you upload your pictures to save valuable computer memory and maintain a clutter-free electronic photo album.
Sort through older existing photos by earliest date first, keeping only the photos that still bring a smile to your face. Give yourself permission to delete all but one of the 15 pictures of the amazing sunset. Trust me. You will enjoy the picture more when it is one of a kind!
Make sure to back up your remaining photos on an external hide drive, so your updated collection is saved.
6—Your Music
Now that computers can be an “all in one” entertainment center, it is easy to collect music we don’t even like that much.
I created a playlist in iTunes to house songs I haven’t played in the last year. As I work on the computer, I play these songs and delete the ones I don't like. I can also move the songs I DO like into other playlists (folders) to make sure I listen to them more often.
You can incorporate this into your normal music listening time. Place your music on shuffle and when you come across a song you don’t care for, delete it! It is that simple to keep your music collection updated and clutter free!
Sort your music by song name to find duplicate songs and delete all but one.
Again, make sure to back up your music on an external hide drive, so your updated collection is preserved. You don't want to go through all this effort only to lose your work.
7—Time Management Software (ie: Contacts, ToDo’s, Calendar, Journal, Notes, etc.)
It is time to clean out each section of your time management software.
Contacts: Go through your Contacts and delete the people you no longer have intentions of keeping in touch with, people who are no longer business contacts, resources you no longer use, or people who give you an uneasy feeling every time you come across their name. This makes room for new people and resources to enter your life! (I know it doesn’t really take up space in your address book, but energetically it makes a difference!)
Projects: Do you have tasks or projects that are either complete or no longer interest you? Delete or archive them.
Calendar: Archive information from past events either for the previous year, or even up to the previous month. Look at future calendar events. Can any of them be deleted?
Journal & Notes: Do you have outdated notes or journals? They can range from directions you no longer need to shopping lists, etc.
8—Your Desktop
This tends to be the “catch all” for the computer…kind of like the kitchen counter. What is the purpose of the Desktop for you? Current projects? Websites to checkout? Articles to Read? Quick access to software?
Make specific folders for those reasons and transfer the files to those folders. At the same time decide if you really need the file. This cleans up the desktop so it is manageable again, and keeps things accessible!
9—Your Documents
Start with the oldest files by searching for the ones that have not been opened or modified in the last year. You can do this for the entire computer or specific files, such My Documents. Quickly glance at the files and see if any require a deeper look. Delete the ones no longer needed.
Follow these instructions to search for files by modification or access date:
Windows users:
Click Start, click Search, click All files and folders, click When was it modified? select Specify Dates, choose Access Date or Modified Date from the drop down menu, choose date range (example: from-2002 to-1/2006 ), click Search
Mac users:
Open Finder, select File, select Find, for Kind choose Last Opened, for Any choose Before, add last year's date.
To see individual file information right-click on the file and then choose properties. You can see when the file was created, last modified, and most recently accessed.
Prevent future Document clutter by creating document shortcuts (or aliases for MAC users). This allows you to have the same document in several different folders without having multiple copies. You will always have access to the most updated information for that document, no matter where you open it! For Windows users, to create a shortcut, right-click on the file and select shortcut. On MAC’s, right-click on the file and select create alias.
10—Your PDA and/or Phone
Your PDA is a mini-version of your computer and has similar clutter challenges. Take time to go through and delete unused programs (some are locked and can’t be removed), documents, music, etc. While you are waiting for a meeting, take this time to delete old contacts, to-do’s, and calendar items. The changes will be reflected on your desktop next time you sync.
Go through your phone and delete old phone numbers and contact information. You only want updated info at your finger tips! Free even more space by deleting photos and games.
Transformation TIme!
By now you understand the process of clearing the clutter before you jump in and organize your computer files.
I suggest you choose one clutter hideout at a time to really do it justice. Set your timer for a set amount of time. Clearing your computer can be very addictive and you don't want to look up at the clock and see that an hour or two have gone by. (wink)
At the very least, set a yearly date with yourself on the second Monday in February to celebrate the Organizing Holiday, Clear Your Computer Day! Use this time to re-evaluate your computer clutter and practice what you learned here.
It is also important to clean the computer from dust! Read How to clean computer components.
Related Articles
How to Organize Your Computer Files--Coming Soon!
How to Organize Your eMail--Coming Soon!
Where to Recycle Computers--Coming Soon!
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