Do you save your documents and spreadsheets into your computers My Documents (or Documents depending on your version of Windows) folder? While this folder is intended for storing an individual users files in one central place, simply accepting the default folder can lead to a disorganized file system where you may have to scroll through thousands of files to find the one you are looking for. Much like a kitchens junk drawer soon becomes disorganized and filled with clutter, your My Documents folder soon becomes unwieldy. A better way to organize your documents is to create your own set of folders and subfolders. You can either start with the My Documents folder and then create different subfolders or you can create your own primary folders such as Personal Documents and Business Documents. In this example, well use the My Documents folder and create a series of subfolders. Start by launching Windows Explorer (right-click Start and choose Explore) and navigating to the My Documents Folder. Once there, either go to File > New > New Folder or click on the New Folder option in the menu bar (depending on your operating system). Alternately, you can right-click a blank area in the My Documents main pane and choose New Folder from the submenu. A new folder appears, aptly named New Folder. Give the folder a meaningful name such as Personal Documents, Business Documents, Financial Data, Recipes, or any other category that makes sense for you. Now, you have a new subfolder within My Documents where youll store documents that fall into that category. This new subfolder can contain subfolders and those subfolders can contain subfolders of their own. You can create as many subfolders as practical. Consider creating a Personal subfolder that contains the following categories: Financial Store you financial documents in this folder and consider creating separate subfolders covering: Banking, Insurance, Taxes, Estate Planning, and so on. Correspondence Store letters and other correspondence in this folder. You can create separate subfolders for Personal Letters and Official Business if desired. Recipes Store your favorite recipes in this folder. Travel If you travel a lot, create a Travel folder and use it to store documents such as travel itineraries, rental car confirmations, e-tickets, copies of condo rental agreements, and so forth. Ideas and Dreams Use this folder to store lists of ideas, journals, sketches, and related documents If you use your computer for your business as well as for personal use, create a separate folder for your business. Like your personal folder, the Business folder can have subfolders. You may want to create subfolders for: Financial, Correspondence, Invoices, and Projects. Again, create subfolders as needed. For example, you might want to create subfolders under Projects for each of your clients or for specific types of projects. The beauty of creating your own folder structure is that all related documents are grouped together and you know exactly where to look for a particular file.About the Author:
Celeste Stewart writes for Filetonic.com where you'll find a huge File Extension Library and loads of free computer advice. You can even write in and "Ask a Tech Jock" for specific answers to your computer questions.
