Comments on: Keeping your computer desktop tidy

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:48:10 +0000

@Hallie ~ I save screenshots all the time. I use the “grab” application, which can be found in the “Utilities” folder in a Mac. I use it so much it is permanently on my dock. I click on “capture” at the top of the screen and then click “selection”, which lets me outline exactly what I want to save. You just move your cursor over the information/photo you want until everything is encased in the “box”. Then, when you save the file, you can specify where you want that particular shot saved. I have several, including Genealogy, Home Decor, Work Ideas, etc that live on my desktop under the umbrella “Laura”.

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:42:10 +0000

@Roberta: Just google “Mac Icons”. Some of the best are at Pixelgirlpresents.com, interfacelift.com, etc. Just download the icon to a folder on your desktop. When you want to change the icon, click on the folder you want to change, then go to “File” and scroll down and click “get info”. Now go to your “Mac Icons” folder and choose an icon. Click on that icon, then under “file” click “copy.” Go back to the “get info” area and click on the small icon on the upper left side. The area around it should be outlined in blue. Then go to “file” and click “paste” and your new icon should take the place of the simple file folder that was there. If you have any trouble you can look it up on the internet, which is how I learned. Good luck and have fun!!!

By: Hallie

Hallie — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 23:43:50 +0000

How do you specify where to save screenshots (so they’re not automatically saved to the desktop?) In my case, I have a Mac. Thanks in advance.

By: Tony@WeOnlyDoThisOnce

Tony@WeOnlyDoThisOnce — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 21:54:46 +0000

I love these posts, thank you so much. I mean it! I love instapaper but I have yet to do half of the stuff you mentioned here. SO excited to get started!

By: Roberta

Roberta — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 21:32:34 +0000

How do you make/get desktop icons like those and the ones Laura speaks of? Would love to make my desktop more “me.” I use Camouflage on my Mac. It doesn’t help me clean my desktop – it just hides everything so when I’m working on something new , there’s nothing in the background. Thanks for this post – will follow up on many of your suggestions.

By: purpleBee

purpleBee — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 12:00:34 +0000

Very useful for home computers. But not so useful for workplaces with strict data storage rules.

By: Laura

Laura — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 01:35:17 +0000

Love your desktop icons. I use them too. My genealogy is a four-leaf clover (because I’m part Irish); my personal file is represented by a black sheep, because it’s cute; my household stuff is a castle and my daughter’s stuff is represented by Perry the Platypus (from Phineas & Ferb). My cookbook is a basket of apples.

I change them around often, just for fun.

By: Rob Wilcox

Rob Wilcox — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:50:24 +0000

Great article and definitely a breath-of-fresh-air-in-the-right-direction. I’ll certainly be taking heed of the ideas given in the article.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:06:40 +0000

Great post! Thanks for sharing.

http://www.stardock.com/products/fences/ My husband told me about this product and have used it for a few months now and love it especially to assign places for my current activities for clients. =)

After the current activity is over, I move the file to a more permanent place on my server. The desktop should be used for current projects.

By: Steve Koterski

Steve Koterski — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:18:33 +0000

Good article. Since you use a Mac, I suggest you look at the app Hazel. This app is to files what Mail rules are to emails. You can set Hazel up to move the files from your desktop to either the trash or to a folder. You can also check to see whether a file is at least a day old before doing so.

One rule I set up for my downloads folder is to assign a color label to files that are less than a week old. Files more than one week old and less than a month, and the label is removed. More than a month old and the file is moved to the trash.

Hazel is also good for cleaning up excess backup files automatically created by some apps. For one app I use, each backup file was 5MB — and I had around 40 of them accumulated. Now Hazel keeps that under control.

By: jim

jim — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:30:24 +0000

i use this program at work and find it very helpful for sorting out various projects etc

http://www.stardock.com/products/fences/

plus the double click to hide all icons is great when sharing my screen on a presentation or what not.

By: eccoyle

eccoyle — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:15:43 +0000

I often have to resave a file as a different format solely for the purpose of emailing to someone else so I save these to a “Temp” folder on my desktop. It makes clean-up easier for me because I can just delete everything in the folder at once.

By: Tiffani

Tiffani — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:56:51 +0000

Wow, what a great article and analogy. I cant wait to get home and
clean my desk.

By: Bren

Bren — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:31:53 +0000

I disagree with saving files to the desktop in the first place. Set up your browser to download to your ‘Documents’ directory by default. Then disable icons on the desktop. In Windows, to do this, just right-click on the desktop, and it should be something like ‘view’ and uncheck ‘show icons’. That’s complete instant and permanent visual clutter elimination! All you need to do now is weed out your ‘Documents’ folder from time to time (I like to do this at the end of the day).

Rashelle, I hear you about the trash! I just delete files using shift delete. That bypasses the trash so I never have to empty it!

By: Rashelle

Rashelle — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:24:13 +0000

Great post Dave. I love the analogy you made between working on one’s computer and making pottery. I took a course in pottery once and the number one rule in class was clean everything up…after you finish working! We had to clean our utensils, wheels, catch basins and of course put away the clay.

I do have one thing to add to the post, not to forget emptying out the trash on your computer desktop on a regular basis. It’s amazing how much stuff can accumulate in that virtual trashcan.