5 Reasons Why You Should Clean Your Computer
Did you know January is Clean Your Computer Month? Sure is. Every time I see that, I experience two emotions.
- Yay! It’s about time
- Boo! It’s going to be so hard
If we could transfer the ‘junk’ in our computer to our homes I wonder how it would look like? Yikes! I don’t want to know. It is easy to let things build up because we don’t necessarily see the clutter like we see clutter in our homes. And it is oh so easy to click download. But we must occasionally empty things out, because:
You would be spending less time looking for files we need. I don’t care how organized or good a system you have. When something gets too large to manage, even a good system becomes clunky.
Your computer would run faster when you clean out the Recycle Bin and clear temporary files, uninstall programs you don’t use, disabling automatic checks and syncing some programs do and remove things like wallpapers.
You would spend less money on storage. External drive or DropBox is full already? How many of those files do you really use? I understand the need to archive and store information you purchased. That’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m talking about is stuff that you download free to read, listen or watch later.
You would be less distracted. Whether is it an audio you had wanted to listen to 2 years ago and never got around to it, an unfinished book that you lost interest in. If you clear them out, they won’t be there to nag you next time you look through your files.
You would feel better about yourself. Like clearing out your home or office, after you do this, you’ll feel relieved and ready to take on the bigger things.
Finally, while you are cleaning, think also about the actual computer itself. Turn your keyboard over in the trash can and give it a good shake. Clean your monitors and definitely clear the dust out of your computer’s fans and USB ports. They accumulate quickly.
Photo by Frédéric della FailleFrédéric della Faille
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I was just talking about this to my husband last night. He wants to install Windows 7 on his Vista laptop and needs to back up first. He says he has 30GB to back up, but I’m certain most of that is videos and audios he downloaded and either never listened to or never will again. Weeding that stuff out can be a real chore, though!
How true on the part about hard work. One way to solve backup issues
is to have a constant backup solution. We use Mozy but generally I
also have a special downloads folder. That’s like the inbox for
everything I download. If it worth keeping then they get moved to some
other folder or drive and are archived there. But at least now when I
have to clean up, I only have to really look at one folder – its a
HUGE folder no doubt 😉 but still easier than looking everywhere. The
one thing I am dreading to do is cleaning out my RoboForm passcards.
There are some in there that just aren’t good anymore.
This is so true, Lynette. I am the proverbial hoarder and with all the free downloads on the Internet, I felt as if I have hit the jackpot when I first got Internet service. Sadly the same happens on my computer as in normal life. For instance, downloading that free recipe book for one day and never using the recipes is the same as tearing out recipes in old magazines to use when I can afford the ingredients. Last year I lost nearly 300GB of photos, work I have done for clients during the past 6 years, funny quotes and beautiful images, internet marketing related e-books, software, and loads more after my external back-up drive died on me. At first it felt as if the world came crashing down on my shoulders, but now, 6 months later, I realise that I don’t even miss the majority of the data because I never used it. Sad about my photos but I still have a camera and can take new ones – and so the whole hoarding process starts again…
Ouch! The photos does hurt. Considering most of my photos are of the
family that would certainly freak me out.
My husband loves to look at storage and tell me of good deals on
drives that are Terrabytes large. But I always have to tell him no
thank you LOL. It’s just like the house. The more I have, the more I
keep but I probably only use 20% of it.