|

How to Clean Up Your Digital Files

Digital cleanup keeps your device run quicker and helps you from wasting time looking for files. Once you clean up your digital space you will feel organized and boost your productivity. Read on to learn about decluttering your files on your computer.

Decluttering in Small Segments

Decluttering for me is an ongoing challenge and a habit I work on. I am in the process of decluttering my home with downsizing soon. For me, this is a long process as I do not have large chunks of time to dedicate to just cleaning out our unused items or to minimize how many items we own. Therefore, I need a process that helps me declutter in small increments of time.

If you need help decluttering your home also click here to read my quick tips and tricks.

Digital Cleanup Habits on Computer

This digital cleanup post will provide you with a quick and easy way to clean and organize your digital space and help you from doing a major overhaul again.

Start with Deleting Files

Begin with minimizing what you need to organize. Start with your desktop and remove no longer needed icons or files. Move to your My Documents folder and do a quick glance at files you know you no longer need and delete. These could include a Christmas wish list from 10 years ago or a recipe you downloaded that was awful. If you accidentally delete a file, you can go to your recycle bin, select the file, and chose to move to original location. This file will return to where it was when you deleted it.

Desktop Files

Having a cluttered desktop makes it difficult to find shortcuts to programs and slows down the load time for your computer. If you always save items directly to your desktop, this is a good time to change that habit.

First, I would setup your new folders under My Documents. Go to My Documents and click on New Folder.

Then, create new folders with names that reflect the most common files that you keep. Examples of broad topics below:

  • Recipes
  • Budget
  • Health
  • Work Files
  • Taxes

Next, you will need to create subfolders (folders within folders) to organize your files in an easy to find system. Stay consistent with naming conventions.

  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Entertaining
  • Health
    • Test Results
    • Insurance
    • Invoices
    • Workouts

What are File Naming Conventions?

Once your folders are organized, you can begin moving or saving your files to the folder that matches the file subject. I recommend saving your files with a consistent naming convention. Files can be moved out of folders, and it is a good practice to have the file name as descriptive as possible, so you always know what it is no matter of what folder it lives in.

Below are good practices to follow when naming files:

  • Start with a date, or at least the year and the contents in the name itself (YYYYMMDD_contents of file name – four-digit year, two-digit month, and two digit day, if it is a single digit date add a 0 before single digit)
  • Do not use spaces or punctuation except hyphen or underscore 2024_12_10_Pork_Recipe or 2024-12-10-Pork-Recipe.
  • Short but descriptive files names are best.

Set a Decluttering Schedule

You receive files and probably create documents daily. This is not a one and done event. I would recommend you setup a decluttering schedule to complete every few months. This will keep you organized and save you time and frustration when you are trying to locate a file.

Similar Posts