I am a self-confessed packrat when it comes to saving paper files. Alas, with the technological age, my packrat behavior has carried over into saving every e-mail and computer file I ever created. Recently, an Internet Technology expert advised that I need to periodically clean out unused files and e-mails so that my computer can work properly and I free up space on the “server” as well as speed things up on my hard drive too. I was shocked. I thought that cyberspace and this new computerized world meant that I had unlimited access to “space” where I could store things. Not so.
If you are really afraid of losing old files, but still feel like it’s probably time for them to come off your hard drive—you can put them on a disk or cd and store them. This is as easy as it has ever been and will give you the peace of mind of NOT deleting things you might need, while still optimizing your computer. One can also print off a copy to file a hard copy and then delete the computer file if that will be a reasonable choice.
E-mails are a place where I tend to really get a backlog. I want to save every email in a thread in case I need to retrace my steps. However, I learned that I really need to delete obsolete e-mails—especially those with lots of graphics or attachments that take up a lot of space. Newsletters, advertising e-mails, and ones with graphic attachments are big culprits when it comes to taking up space and slowing things down.
It doesn’t really do any good to just re-name and shift things around. While this may add to your organization, it still leaves these files on your computer or your server. In order to optimize speed and free up space, one has to actually delete files and e-mails. And, don’t forget to empty the recycle bin or trash can on your computer too!
See Also: Can You Work When Your Computer is Down?