170 Spoons

Getting My Documents Organized

WHY? Keeping your files and documents tidy helps you find your stuff easy.

Being organized in life isn’t always my strong suit. Clothes don’t always make it off the chair. Dishes don’t always make it into the dish washer. Paper doesn’t always make it to the trash can.

But my computer files? Oh, they are so organized! I’ve learned a few tips along the way in getting my documents under control and in order. Doing so has made it so much easier to find what I need and find it fast.

Most, if not all, computers have a folder already for you called “My Documents” or just “Documents”. This is your hub for all files you create that are not programs. Here’s the simple difference: if you install a program, let it install where it may. When you are using the program, when you save your files, put them in the “My Documents” folder.

Using this system gives you a good place to start. I know others who hate using this folder system and prefer to save documents in all sorts of other places for various reasons. If the letters “DOS” mean nothing to you, ignore their advice.

Open up your “My Documents” folder and let’s get it organized nice and clean with these tips:

1. Create a folder called “~download”. Yes, include the ~. That way it will always be first alphabetically. When you begin any download from the internet, set this folder as your default. This is a huge help when you have to go looking for those lost downloads! I’ve learned this the hard way.
2. If you have a lot of media files (like photos, videos, songs, etc), create folders for each. I use the “My” naming system like “My Photos”, “My Videos”, “My Music”, etc. I like this system because it puts it all together alphabetically.
3. Don’t leave stray documents in the “My Documents” folder. Find them a home in a folder. This way when you open “My Documents”, you only have a few places to begin looking and you don’t have to sort through a million file names.
4. Create as many folders as you need, but not more than too much. Only you can decide what is too much, but I say it’s better to have a few broadly named folders with more specific sub-folder names.
5. Don’t have folders like “Word Documents” or “Powerpoints”. Instead, I suggest to have more topical folders like “Work”, “Personal”, and “Travel”. I tend to keep several travel documents on hand so I made a folder for them and put them in My Documents for easy retrieval.

There are lots of other things you can do but this should get you started in keeping your files organized.

What are some of your tips for organizing your files? Maybe you’d like to share your story for being stuck in your organizationally challenged documents or how you overcame it yourself.