Get a Grip on Your Gigabytes! National Clean Out Your Computer Day is Feb 12

It may not look as cluttered as your closet…it may not seem as out of control as those file cabinets in your basement. But most of us have computers that are stuffed with useless files, old emails and who knows what else. Tuesday, February 12 is National Clean Out Your Computer Day—so take control! Here are some easy ways to get a handle on that hard drive.

• Have your computer files mirror the ones you use to file paper. That will make it easier to find things on – and off—line.
• While most things on your computer will be archived, also, create a “Working” file to put all that random stuff you’re currently dealing with.
• Organize and update your bookmarks. Choose the “Organize” feature to create files with names that group your bookmarks in a logical fashion.
• Clean up your hard drive by deleting working drafts of old documents, outdated information, empty or duplicate files. If you need to save anything for legal reasons, either print out hard copies or save them to a backup drive first.
• Organize your email by first deleting all spam and outdated messages. For those you need to keep, set up files by client, project or product name, or by subject. And while we’re talking email, make sure you have the most current anti-spam and anti-virus software installed on your computer.
• When you get new emails, immediately do one of four things:

1. Reply immediately
2. Delete
3. Forward immediately if appropriate or
4. File in the right folder