[09/25/23]
If you’re like me, you’re very familiar with the struggles associated with a messy desktop. Your entire screen is a chaotic jumble of files – videos, homework assignments, random pictures, and folders with obscure names. You can’t remember where anything is supposed to be, and it becomes a massive pain to deal with. Luckily for you, I have some tips for cleaning your desktop and keeping it that way!
First, move everything into a folder.
When I clean my desktop, I usually begin by moving everything on the screen into a single folder, probably labeled “Desktop” or something similar. This immediately cleans up the look and puts everything into one spot where you can easily sort and organize it.
Next, make folders to keep things organized.
Second, I make folders for each category in which I might want to store my files. I might have one for work or school, one for pictures, one for videos, and one for those miscellaneous files that don’t fit anywhere.
Start organizing!
Now for the hardest part, assuming your desktop is as messy as mine was. Time to start organizing! You can approach this however you like, but I usually sort the files by file type and move them into their respective folders. Then I go through deleting everything I don’t need anymore. Don’t forget to empty your trash bin afterward – this will clear up space on your hard drive!
Other folders.
You may also want to investigate cleaning out other folders, such as your downloads and documents. These can hold a surprising amount of data in them, especially the downloads folder.
If your computer is running low on space, you can also uninstall old programs or games that you don’t use anymore.
Keeping things clean.
Now that your computer is all nice and organized, you should ensure it doesn’t revert to where it was!
Storing files in their proper locations (instead of dumping them on the desktop) goes a long way to keeping them neat. You can also clear your downloads folder whenever you download something from the internet and empty your computer’s trash bin every week or so.