Filing frenzy! Organize your documents on your PC
Develop a system to easily keep track of information
By Sandy McMurray
The virtual clutter that fills my hard drive affects the computer’s performance. It’s also a time thief — precious minutes are wasted each day when I can’t find the things I need.
“If you leave too many files on the hard drive, your memory gets low, your disk space gets used up, and your computer starts to get sluggish,” says Janet Hall, a professional organizer with OverHaul Consulting in Port Republic, Md. “Many people think: ‘I don’t have enough room; I need a new computer.’ But sometimes you just need to . . . clear things off the computer.”
Microsoft Home Magazine shows you how to categorize all the different types of files on your computer to save time and hard-drive space.
Construct a functional filing system
Assess and discard old files
Tidy up e-mail folders
Back up files you use regularly
File your web site favourites
Construct a functional filing system
“Many people are unaware that they can create new folders inside Documents,” says Hall. “It’s like a big filing cabinet. You can create your own file folders and give them whatever names you choose. These folders should mirror the real folders in your office or filing cabinet. That way, it’s easy to remember where things are, and you don’t have to decide where to put things.”
You should make the names of your files and folders simple, says Joli Ballew, co-author of Degunking Windows and Breakthrough Windows Vista: Find Your Favourite Features and Discover the Possibilities. “You can create a folder called Taxes inside Documents; then inside that folder make new folders called 2007 and 2008. When you need to find any tax information, you know exactly where it is.”
Quick Tip: To find the Documents folder, go to Start > Documents.
Assess and discard old files
Once you have a good filing system, it’s time to sort through the files and throw out as much junk as possible. How long should you keep files on your computer?
“That’s like asking how long you should keep your bank statements,” says Ballew. “It depends on the person and on your circumstances. I like to keep my computer fairly clean so once a year I back up to CD any files I haven’t accessed in a year and take them off my computer.”
Hall suggests that the only files on your hard drive should be ones you use regularly. “I print new business cards and brochures often,” she says, “so I keep those handy. For photos, letters and other documents that are more than a year old, I make backup copies on a removable disk and then delete the original files. If it’s not getting used, get it off the hard drive!”
Ballew notes that many personal files, like letters, are used only once. Why keep them on your hard drive? “There’s no point in having the Christmas decorations out all year,” she says. “You put them away until you need them again. Computer files are the same.”
Don’t forget that when you delete files they go to the Recycle Bin. You have to empty the Recycle Bin before the files are removed from your hard drive.
Quick Tip: Find out how old your files are by clicking on the filename in Documents. The information pane at the bottom of the folder will show you how big the file is, when it was created and when it was last used. You can also access this information by right-clicking the filename and selecting Properties from the pop-up menu.
Tidy up e-mail folders
To free up even more space on your hard drive, Ballew suggests organizing your e-mail folders. “Many people have file attachments taking up space in their Sent Mail folder. And many people have no idea that you need to empty the Deleted Items folder to get rid of all your old deleted messages!”
Quick Tip: To empty the Deleted Items folder in Windows Mail, click on the Edit menu and select Empty ‘Deleted Items’ Folder. In Outlook, go to Tools and select the same function. This action will permanently erase all the messages in the Deleted Items folder.
Back up files you use regularly
Both Ballew and Hall recommend making regular backup copies of the files and folders on your hard drive. If something happens to your computer, you will have a relatively updated copy of your work.
The frequency of these backups depends on how much you use the PC. “If you’re using your PC a lot, especially with family or business photos, I recommend weekly backups,” says Hall. “And even if you don’t use the computer a lot, I recommend monthly backups.”
File your web site favourites
Internet Explorer comes with its own filing system — Favorites. Whenever you find a great web site, click on the green “+” icon in the upper left-hand side of the browser and select Add to Favorites. This list is your Rolodex for the Internet — a time-saving shortcut that helps you find your way back to the best of the web.
Quick Tip: When your Favorites list becomes so long it no longer fits on the screen, it’s time to clean up. To manage your Favorites list, click on the “+” icon and select Organize Favorites. You can drag and drop sites from one folder to another. If you need a new folder, click the Create New Folder button. Remember that you can store folders within folders here, too.
