- Make online learning and socially distant socialising easier with a clear screen
- Just as you should wash your hands to avoid the coronavirus, you should clean up your desktop to stay calm and in control
A clean slate is surprisingly calming.In America, every day seems to be a “National Day” for something: hot dogs, rubber duckies, dressing up your pets. Some of them are silly, some of them are important, most of them are unheard of outside the 50 states.
But one that we think everyone should celebrate, especially at a time when so much of life is online, is National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day. We looked around for the best tips to help you clear up your computer desktop, and make one part of your life less stressful.
1 Use folders – and sub folders
If your desktop looks like someone spilled confetti on it, this is the most important step. Start by creating one folder and moving EVERYTHING into it. This way, you only have one icon on the desktop.
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Then create a few, clearly labelled folders on your desktop, and sort all those files from the single folder into them.
From then on, make sure anything you save “to desktop” is going into one of those folders.
2 Delete old files
You probably have loads of things you’ve downloaded to share or save elsewhere, but left on your desktop for a long time after you used it. Delete them!
Or if you can’t bear to throw anything away, create a “probably deletable” folder. Drag in anything that you probably will never touch again so they’re not cluttering your screen.
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Set an alarm on your phone or calendar. If in one year’s time you have not opened that folder, just hit delete!
3 Customise!
A lot of people find that, if they put a photo of friends or a favourite actor, or an inspiring quote, they want to be able to see it clearly on their desktop. Then they are less likely to cover it up with lots of folders.
Maybe you’re a Star Wars or Blackpink fan, or love a quote from a favourite author. Use that as your background, and you’ll be more careful about keeping things on your desktop.
Find a sectioned wallpaper that suits your aesthetic and organisational style. Image: wallpapercave.comYou can also download “sectioned” wallpaper, so that you can put folders in different “sections” of your desktop, and keep things looking organised.
4 Move short cuts
Sometimes when you install or download a program or app, the short cut goes straight to your desktop. You leave it there, because it’s easy to find. But it’s only easy to find if you have a few things on your desktop!
Clear up some space by pinning short cuts to your start menu or, if it’s something you use every day, to your task bar at the bottom of the screen.
5 Schedule a regular clear-up
Keeping a clean desktop is a bit like keeping your room tidy. If you only do it once in a while, you’ll have a very long, difficult, boring, depressing job in front of you.
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But if you do a little bit of tidying regularly, you might never have to celebrate Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day again!
Set an alarm once a week or once a month to do a little “housework” on your desktop. Clear up your downloads, and delete anything you don’t need, then breathe a sigh of relief.