10 Tips on Computer Clutter Clean Up by Eve Abbott, excerpted from her new book, How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain TM

The secret to getting and staying organized is the same as the answer to "How do you eat a computer?". The answer is "One byte at a time!". Set a monthly reminder and use these tips to crash clutter instead of your hard drive.

Do it for you! Even an occasional clean up will reduce your daily frustration.

BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP Backing up your work on a regular basis gives you the security of knowing that even if you do toss something before its time -- you can retrieve it. This makes maintenance a worry free activity. You will be amazed at how much you never refer to again.

Remember, 80 percent of what we file never gets referred to again. I back up my entire hard drive with Norton Ghost onto an external hard drive every week!

EVERYDAY BASICS:
Regular maintainance eliminates wasting time searching long directory lists every time you open a file.

Put an exclamation point (!) in front of any folder or subdirectory that you use frequently so it appears at the beginning of any directory. (ie, !seminars).

Always review temporary (.tmp) files before deleting.

Back-up large unused files (or when finishing a project) to CD Rom.

Make Archive folders in each major directory/folder for sorting unused files and compress them.

QUICK MAINTAINANCE ON WINDOWS SYSTEMS:
Empty the recycle bin.

Delete all files in the Temp folder in the Windows folder.

Right after powering up, do a FIND ALL *.tmp* & delete:
from Start Menu, select Explore, Tools,
Find, Files or Folders.

Run the ScanDisk hard-drive housecleaning program:
from Start Menu, select Programs, Accessories, System Tools, ScanDisk.
After ScanDisk runs, Run Disk Defragmenter (before lunch or a meeting), from Start Menu, select Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter.

ON THE NET:
Use your Internet browser to clear its Disk Cache or Temporary Internet Files.

USE A QUICK, THOROUGH DRIVE CLEANING SOFTWARE LIKE:
Cleansweep, PowerCleaner, Remove-It, WinDelete 3.0 which will:
Remove promotional software (Windows uninstallers won't Find temp files so you can delete after reviewing.
Delete redundant files.
Monitor future installations to enable complete uninstallation.

You'll hae a better day when your computer is less cluttered!

For more time saving tips go to http://www.organize.com

About the Author

Copyright, Eve Abbott All Rights Reserved. The Organizer Extraordinaire's new book "How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain" TM is available online at http://www.organize.com Sign up for more time-saving tips. Enjoy free brain quizzes to help you work at your personal best! Eve's guide is the first book to offer easy, online assessments that will help you make your own personal organizing solutions match your individual work style.