8 Tips for (K)eeping An Organized Computer Deskptop Screen

Clutter can accumulate in many places and now, there can also be a lot of digital clutter. Here are a few strategies I use to keep my laptop screen clear of old files and a gazillion programs.

8 Tips for (K)eeping An Organized Computer Deskptop Screen

✺ Pin your most used programs to the Taskbar instead of having them on the desktop. I’ve pinned Firefox, Photoshop, Mail and Spotify.

✺ Pin the File Explorer folder to the Taskbar too. This is a quick way to get access to the folders on your system – like your documents and pictures.

✺ Consider setting the taskbar to Auto-hide, so it only pops up when you hover your mouse at the bottom of your screen. You have more screen real estate that way too.

✺ Keep your desktop free of program icons and folders. As much as is practical for you. On my personal laptop, nothing stays on the desktop except what I’m working on, and that gets cleared weekly – either moved to a folder, or deleted. For work – there are a few regularly used folders and documents that stay on my desktop. Other than that, the only icons that go on the desktop are things I’m working on. It still gets cluttered over time but every few weeks (maximum monthly), I go through and moved to a folder or deleted.

✺ If you do have folders and icons on your desktop, don’t use a busy wallpaper so you’re screen won’t appear so cluttered.

✺ Use a naming convention for folders and / or files.  This makes it easier to search for documents.

✺ Sub-folders are your friend. This keeps clutter to a minimum.

✺ Organize often. Take the time to keep your system working for you. every month, I change the wallpaper on my desktop and use that time to go through an do a little organizing as well.

What does your desktop look like? Organized chaos or clean and clutter free?

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