I sort of got temporarily waylaid with my actual decluttering. Our house is about a third Marie Kondo-ed, the rest is pretty tidy but it's not had it's final tidy by any means.
To give myself a break I've been busy on the computer. where I discovered saved emails from 2010 still cluttering up my virtual folders and decided I would be ruthless and zap them to wherever they go when they are deleted.
First I went through the folders deleting things in them, moving some things I needed to more generic folders ... it really helps you be ruthless if you imagine them looking like this and for every one you delete imagine it being a sheet of paper taken off the shelf and thrown on the fire, and then I deleted the empty folders, until the list on the side was half as long as it had been.
Checking through some a little bit more carefully in case they held passwords that I might need to keep or registration details from things I've bought. But in an hour of reading and zapping I've managed to streamline my email folders by half, delete lots of really obsolete things, I mean did I really need to keep receipts from orders from Approved Foods from when I first discovered them back in 2011 ... I don't think so!!
After deleting from all the folders, I realised everything had gone into 'Trash' so I've deleted it all from there too, that led me to 'Empty the Recycle Folder' so now that is clear. I really don't know if all this will have any effect on the computer, but it has had an effect on me.
I find it a little bit strange that getting rid of things that I can't actually touch has made me feel clearer and lighter but it has. There are still a few things to clear but I'm well on my way and it's been a nice change from clearing out cupboards and sorting through actual things.
Sue xx
I am very good at going through e-mails and delete on a regular basis, I also have my three computers set up to scan and defrag on a regular basis, I dont store files on the computers I back up files to an online storage (free) and I also move all files and photos onto an external hard drive, there is nothing worse than losing everything when a computer crashes, I no longer use a computer program for e-mails I switched to google mail so they are not stored on my computer anything important I copy over to the hard drive, I do like a tidy computer it is frustrating and time wasting to be searching through files for something.
ReplyDeleteAfter a mass delete of stuff a disk scan and defrag will tidy up those spaces left after sorting files and e-mails :-)
We do have all important things on an external hard drive, much safer. I don't store to any 'Clouds' or such like since the big hacking debacle. I am keeping things on the personal side to a minimum now and not touching the business things .... I can blame Lovely Hubby then if any business things get lost ;-)
DeleteWe do defrag regularly and I will again once I've finished this clean up.
its a good idea to declutter..but takes so much time! I'm aiming to print out those emails that are really letters, not just odd chats....
ReplyDeleteMy printer has been switched off to stop me from printing out any but the most important things. This paperless society we live in really isn't is it!!
DeleteIt's a nice idea to have a few letters saved on paper though if they are special :-)
I am terrible at keeping my computer clear, it is one of those jobs I keep meaning to do!
ReplyDeleteComputers just sit there looking all innocent though don't they, and it does eat up time once you start doing it ... as I've found!!
DeleteI clear mine as I go, putting useful ones in files, but I do sort files as well. I also have a programme called You Unin-Staller, when shows how often you use downloads, I check it a few times a year and get rid of anything I'm not using.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of that, what a good idea.
DeleteWe housekeep our computers and pads as often as possible. Apples don't have a defragment button, so I guess they do something with it themselves. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI don't use a computer much, mostly my phone and camera. Delete all my email regularly (every day) via phone. My big issue is the photos, have made a backup on an external harddrive, but l need a system as there are thousands. Pam
ReplyDeleteSue, I officially dub you the "Queen of Decluttering". You are really sticking to this project, even cleaning out your computer files. I notice that I have some things in weird places, so locating them is a bit of a challenge. If I would just take the time to move them into better places, it would save me in the long run. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHonest, i just posted on De-cluttering and then go back to reader list to check and the next one down is your post. Great minds think alike.
ReplyDeleteI need to do this thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI really, really need to do mine..
ReplyDeleteYou should feel proud. I don't even want to think about all the emails I have to delete!
ReplyDeleteSft x
You should feel proud. I don't even want to think about all the emails I have to delete!
ReplyDeleteSft x
My pc is always the last thing I declutter. In fact my work one is the worst.
ReplyDeleteX x
I've just done a similar exercise, very therapeutic, its an area of de cluttering that isn't obvious but good to do, everything here is stored on an external hard drive and online storage. I learnt the hard way 3 years ago, never again :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sue this is definitely what I have to do.
ReplyDeleteI did do some deleting on my iPad so that was a start!
From Margie in Toronto - must be something in the air today - just finished doing this on my office computer! I'm usually good at deleting daily but a lot of this stuff was saved items on projects from the past few years and no longer need to be kept - so - over 600 emails deleted and then trashed! I'm going to devote at least another half hour tomorrow to cleaning up my current in-box - a number of things to be saved - BUT - I really just need to keep that final email with the trail of back and forth bits - the first few in the trail can all be deleted!
ReplyDelete