D-BUST Your Computer-Part 1 (Instructions for Microsoft Users)
D-BUST Your Computer-Part 1 (Instructions for Microsoft Users)
by: Janet L. Hall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ D
stands for Delete.
When was the last time you deleted a document or Email off your
computer?
Do you ever go through your folders and files to see if you
really need all those documents or are even using them?
Schedule a date and time to go through your files and delete any
you are NEVER going to use or refer to again. If this "OverHall"
is going to take many hours that you might not have time for,
then try to schedule to do a folder a day or week until you have
everything deleted that is old, outdated, and unused.
If you work for someone, first see if they have a document
retention policy in place. If they don't have a policy; suggest
they develop one.
If you own your own business or just use your computer for
personal matters then YOU need to determine how long a document
is kept.
If you are unsure due to legalities or accounting reasons,
please seek the advice of an attorney or accountant before you
start deleting your documents.
I personally recommend that if you haven't used a document
(printed, edited, copied, or sent) in the last six months that
it is probably safe to delete it. Again, if unsure, ask someone.
If you still don't want to delete but DON"T need it on your
computers hard drive taking up space that you might really need
check the June 2000 issue when I'll write about "T is for
Transfer".
****To check how much Free Space is on your Hard Drive**** ~~
Double Click My Computer ~~ Place Pointer on [C:] ~~ Right Click
on [c:] ~~ Click Properties ~~ Click General
*****************************************************************
****** Okay, how can you check to see how old a document is? I
will explain the process for those of you that use Microsoft. To
those of you that use other systems please refer to your manual
or look (click) around using similar steps or wording to see if
these steps work for you.
~~ Click Start (Usually located on the left bottom of your
screen) ~~ Place Pointer on Programs ~~ Place Pointer on Windows
Explorer and Click
You have now entered into your electronic file cabinet. Here you
can "see" every document, file, and program that is on your
computer.
Your screen will show one of two things:
A simple list of all your folders and documents OR A detailed
list that includes not only the name but the size, type, and
date and time.
*************If you do not see the detailed
list***************** ~~ Locate the VIEWS button in your toolbar
near the top right of your screen ~~ Locate the little down
arrow button next to VIEWS ~~ Click on the little down arrow and
a drop down menu will appear ~~ Click on the Details option
*****************************************************************
**
We'll going to be looking at MY Documents Folder... not really
mine but yours:-)
~~ Double Click on My Documents You will be presented with a
list of all the folders you have created in My Documents and any
documents or files you have saved under My Documents.
Notice the date and time under Modified. Now here is where the
date can fool you. If you backup your folders and files (You do
do backups don't you? I'll be writing about that in March) or
have opened the folder or file or did something with the
document, it WILL NOT have the created date.
To find out the creation date:
~~ Click on the document you want to check on ~~ Click on File
in the toolbar, usually located at the top left of your screen
~~ Locate Properties on the drop down menu ~~ Click on
Properties ~~ Click on General or Statistics ~~ Locate the
creation date ~~ Click OK
Now decide if you need to delete the document or keep it. If you
want to delete the document press the Delete key on your
keyboard and follow the on screen instructions.
*******************Please Remember********************* OPEN a
folder to see all the documents you might have stored there
before deleting a folder!
*************************************************************
You are now on your way to D-Busting Your Computer! Please check
back next month when I will be writing about B is for Backups!
Smiles, not Piles, Janet L. Hall
The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional
Organizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of OverHall
Consulting, and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe to her FREE
organizing newsletter at http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm
or visit her web site at http://www.overhall.com
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