Organize Your Programs and Files

Consolidate files using folders

As simple as it sounds, the best way to keep your PC – and your work – organized is to group things together. Store all of your word processing documents in My Documents so you can find them easier. You may even want to sub-group documents together by class or department so you can refer back to work you did earlier.

Create a central download folder

With all the software out there, keeping track of everything you download can be a headache. Just as most people group their MP3s together, it's a good idea to put all of your program downloads in the same folder. Not only does this save you the trouble of looking all over your hard drive for the installation files, it also lets you know if you've already downloaded something.

Uninstall programs you don't use

Accumulating software is easy, but having a lot of games and applications on your PC can very quickly fill up your hard drive and make running the programs you use every day more difficult. Shareware and other downloaded software often is used only a few times, then it just takes up space on your hard drive. Reclaiming that space is easy.

  1. Click on Start and open the Control Panel.
  2. Select Add or Remove Programs. The list may take a few seconds to open completely.
  3. Once the list appears, find the program you’d like to remove and click on it. The box will be highlighted and extra options will appear to the right.
  4. Click on the Remove tab and follow the directions laid out by the uninstaller program.

Clean up your desktop

Trying to find what you need on a messy desk can be frustrating. The same is true of the desktop on your PC. Getting rid of shortcuts and icons you never use can make your life just a little bit easier. Windows XP has a desktop cleanup wizard, but you can do it yourself. Just drag any shortcuts you don’t use to the Recycle Bin.

It’s also a good idea to store all files and folders in the My Documents folder to keep your desktop neater and your files better organized.

If you use certain files frequently and want to be able to access them quickly from the desktop, you can create a shortcut on the desktop while leaving the original file in its folder. To do this, right click on the file or folder, highlight Send To, then choose Desktop.