A disorganized computer is a problem – especially for students.  You can speed up your computer, find things faster, and lower your stress level by getting your computer in order. Just like a file cabinet or pantry, a computer works better if there is a place for everything and everything is in the right place.  Here are steps you can take to get your digital world organized.

First and foremost, back up your files regularly. Many of us don’t think about this until our computer crashes, and it’s too late. Think of the things you absolutely want to save – photos, documents, etc. You can save these in a number of ways. You can archive them onto a CD or DVD. You can copy them to a flash drive that plugs into one of your computer’s USB ports – that way; you can make changes to files without having to transfer them back to your computer. Be sure to label your CDs, DVDs, and flash drives to identify the information on each one quickly. I have one flash drive just for photo files. If you have a lot of files, you can back up to an external hard drive. I have found that backing up my files to an internet-based repository is a great way to ensure they are safe if my computer is damaged or stolen. It also allows me to access files from other computers and my smartphone, and I can share certain folders when working on a project. I prefer DropBox to store my files. http://www.dropbox.com

After you have a backup system in place, clean out unwanted files. Every time you are on the internet, your computer picks up cookies and temporary files that take up space and slow your computer down. Each web browser has its way to clear out these files, called the “cache.” If you don’t know how to clear your cache, click on your browser’s help button to look it up.

If you have a lot of website bookmarks, see if you want to keep all of them. I often bookmark something for a project and then never use it again. Each browser has a different way to delete bookmarks. The Help button is your friend.

Another place for computer clutter is email. If you don’t keep up, you can accumulate hundreds, if not thousands, of unnecessary emails. Move unwanted emails to the trash or recycle folder. Be sure to check your Sent Mail folder as well. Then, set up folders to organize emails you want to keep.

Next, clean out your document files. I’ve set up folders in My Documents to keep everything organized as I would in a file cabinet. You can set up folders for each class you are taking and folders for personal items. Look at your photos and delete duplicates and unwanted images. Do the same with music files.

Finally, empty your Recycle Bin by right-clicking the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and then clicking Empty Recycle Bin.