7 Steps to an Organized Computer

By Cindy Vanhoff
The inability to find a document, a photo or a piece of music can be a frustration as well as a time waster. When we set out to find something, it's our plan to find that something in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Setting up the computer properly can make things much easier to find.

1. When organizing a computer, you will want to start with broad, overall categories. On my computer they are; "My Documents", "My Pictures" and "My Music". I use a PC.

2. Under "My Documents", begin by setting up Main Folders and Sub Folders. You do this by right clicking on the Main folder, select New Folder and then type in what you want to call the new folder.

Main Folders and Sub Folders will look something like this. (if you would like things to appear in an order other than alphabetical, put a number or character in front of the word)

Business (main heading)

• Admin (sub heading)
• Financial (sub heading)
• Legal (sub heading)
• Marketing (sub heading)

Current Projects (main heading)

• Project 1(sub)
• Project 2 (sub)
• Personal (sub)

Current Projects (main)

• Project 1 (sub)
• Project 2 (sub)

Family

• Member 1
• Member 2

Household

• Bill paying
• Inventory

Archives (make sure categories you place here match the categories you have used in the current section)

3. Under "My Music" you are going to want to create some music categories. There are several ways you can set up your music section. Some examples may be...

By artist

• Van Halen
• The Beatles
• Elvis

By genre

• Classical
• Rock and Roll
• Hip Hop

By mood

• Dance
• Party
• Romantic

4. Under "My Pictures" there are several ways you could go.

By person

• Mom
• Dad
• Daughter
• Son

By event

• Disneyland
• Birthday
• Vacation to Beach

By date (this will be the hardest to search by unless you are great with remembering dates)

5. Now it's time to take some time and do a little (or a lot) of deleting.

Delete all unnecessary and outdated documents.

Delete photos of people you don't know, blurry photos and duplicates.

Delete music that you no longer are interested in.

6. Archive those documents that you still need but don't use on a regular basis. For example, past tax documents, bank statements, credit card statements, etc.

7. Don't forget the Desktop. Clean it up! Keep only things on here that you need quick access to. For example, an icon that takes you to My Documents will be a quick way to get to your documents. Do the same with Pictures and Music, and anything else you use on a regular basis.

Get started today. Start with your most current work. Set up folders for the new documents you create, the new photos you take and the new music you download.

As for the older items, the things that have lived on your computer for quite some time, either set aside a small amount of time each day to get organized or set aside a large chunk of time and take care of it all at once.

Do what feels most comfortable for you to get the best outcome.

Take some time each day to freshen up your computer. Work on Documents one day, Music another, and Pictures another. This will keep you from feeling overwhelmed.
As any Organizing Expert will tell you, group like tasks and like things together! Makes organizing a whole lot easier.
For some great organizing ideas, sign up for my Orgazine at http://eepurl.com/nyj7v

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