5 Steps to Removing PC Clutter

By: Demetria Zinga

It's hard enough as it is these days to get organized and then
remain that way for weeks and months down the road. We are all
very busy people, some of us with 9-5 jobs and one hour
commutes, and others of us busy making our lives at home work
for us, with children at tow and a variety of chores to do as
well as errands to run. However, no matter how vastly different
our lives may be, we all run into the same problems when dealing
with organization, and that's: KEEPING organized. need to
develop a system that helps your PC remain free of clutter and
organized. Granted, this task doesn't come easy at first, but
all it takes is a few extra steps each day, done consistently,
that will maximize your results in the long run.

So, let's say you have disorganized files all over your hard
drive that you have difficulty finding when you need them. Your
PC keeps catching viruses out of the blue. You don't know what
to do with all your spam mail. You have extra programs and
freeware on your PC that you don't know anything about, and even
if you did, wouldn't know what to do with them. Here are a few
steps to help you get started in the right direction:

1.)Get rid of any unnecessary files or programs that are on your
hard drive. This requires a little homework on your part. You'll
need to set aside the time to sit down and actually take a look
at all of the files on your PC and delete what you don't need. A
few things to do periodically for optimal performance is to run
a disk cleanup, use your system file checker, and defragment
your hard drive. 2.)Organize all of your files and folders. Once
you've deleted everything you don't need, take a look at what's
left. Is there some way you could organize these in nice
categorical folders, so that it's easier to retrieve them later
on? For example, you could create a few folders underneath your
My Documents folder, and give then names such as: My Journal, My
TV Shows, My Videos, My Business, My Songs, My JobFind, etc. You
could then place all respective files underneath these neatly
organized folders. You can also take advantage of many of the
folders already supplied to you by Microsoft Windows, such as My
Pictures and My Music. 3.)Install adware and spyware programs. I
don't think I need to stress how important it is to run
antivirus and spyware software. I personally like McAffee
because of its wide range of protection services, but Norton
AntiVirus works great as well. 4.)Delete unnecessary shareware
and freeware files. It's very important to keep your hard drive
as clean and organized as possible. Remember that shareware and
freeware can potentially be harmful to your computer (viruses!),
depending upon which source you received your shareware from.
5.)Delete unnecessary emails and take control of spam. By now,
you know to have antivirus software installed on your PC. That's
a must, and will protect you if you should happen to open emails
that have viruses attached to them. Before you open any of your
emails, check to be sure you know the sender, and that there are
no .zip or .exe attachments. Be very careful about opening files
with attachments, especially from senders you don't know.

Hope many of these tips will you help you move toward the right
direction in de-cluttering your PC, now and for good.

-- Demetria Zinga is the founder and owner of
www.faith-media.com, a technology and consulting firm which
specializes in web design and hosting, graphics and print
designs, internet marketing, and e-training. She is also the
founder of www.christianladies.net, an interactive ezine, blog,
and podcast for Christian women.