Digital Decluttering: My Process

Following on from my previous post, I've given some thought to my process for the digital declutter, and so I thought I'd post them here.

The digital declutter is basically in five parts, two of which have already been completed. These follow the five 'libraries' that Windows assigns by default, if for no other reason than that's how I've been storing my files for the past several years. And, indeed, since I don't have a better arrangement in mind, and since that one is entirely reasonable, I'm inclined to stick with it.

The five parts are:

• Music: As the name implies, this is the collection of music files (MP3, WAV, etc) on my PC. I tackled this last year, so it's just a matter now of keeping it decluttered.
  
• Videos: Likewise, this is the collection of video files on my PC. This is also already done.
  
• Downloads: The next item on the list, this is a miscellany of files that have been downloaded - be they boarding passes, installers for various tools, or whatever else. My intention is actually to eliminate this entirely - anything that I want to keep should be stored somewhere else, and there should be plenty of files that just want to be deleted.
  
• Pictures: I think this will be next after the downloads. Pictures are tricky to organise, especially when dealing with them years after they were taken. I may well end up only partially organising the existing files, while establishing a fuller filing system for new photos...
  
• Documents: The last area I'll tackle is the "everything else" folder.

The process for dealing with this mess has three broad steps that apply to all of the libraries equally:

1. Before starting, all of the files should be copied on to a safe external storage device. This is an additional backup copy of the files and their existing file structure, to make sure that nothing gets lost in the process. Then take that external drive and put it somewhere safe. (This is actually done for all libraries.)
   
2. That done, all of the existing files should be moved out of their current library location and into a separate folder (Downloads_old, or similar). Care should be taken to ensure that all of the files move to this single location - at present, there are three possible locations for each of the types of files; they need to be gathered together for further processing.
   
3. Finally, work through each of the files in this separate folder. In each case, one of three things should be done: either the file should be deleted, or it can be moved directly to its new home, or it requires some more processing and then can be moved. (For instance, a document might need renamed to something more descriptive.)
   Note that, as with my house move strategy, the action of moving it to a new home can vary slightly in some cases. If the file's final home is in the same library as is currently being processed (for instance, if it's a picture file and I'm dealing with Pictures), then it should go to the appropriate folder in the library. If it actually belongs in a library that has already been done (for instance, if there's a Music file in Downloads) then it goes into the new library in the right place. If it belongs in a library that hasn't been dealt with yet, it gets moved to the correct library, but can be placed anywhere vaguely appropriate - it will be dealt with again later.

As for the final filing system, that will vary by library:

• Music: The 'default' Music folder has only a small number of dummy folders (download points for Amazon Music and the like), and then a link to the 'real' library. This is stored on a data partition, for easy backup. Within that folder there are subfolders for each album (or, where an artist has several albums, a subfolder for the artist and then subfolders by album).
  
• Videos: The 'default' Videos folder contains only a link to the 'real' library, stored in the data partition. Within that folder there are then subfolders by content type, and then within that subfolders for specific content.
  
• Downloads: The intention here is that everything will be cleared out of here, leaving only the 'default' Downloads folder. This will be used for short-term storage, being regularly cleaned out as files are either moved elsewhere, or just deleted as they outlive their usefulness.
  
• Pictures: The intention is for the 'default' Pictures folder to contain only a link to the 'real' library, stored in the data partition. There may be a short-term need to store other pictures here, but only until they are properly sorted. Within the 'real' library I plan to have a subfolder for Photos and another for Other pictures. The Other pictures will then be sorted by topic, while the Photos folder will have subfolders by year. Then, within each year there will be subfolders by month, and inside those folders for specific events. (As noted, it may be tricky to identify some events, which is why existing pictures may only be partially sorted.) Where an event straddles a month or year boundary, the event will be placed according to its start date.
  
• Documents: As above, the intention is for the 'default' Documents folder to contain only a link to the 'real' library, stored in the data partition. There may be a short-term need to store things here, but only until they are properly sorted. Within the 'real' library, I plan to sort by topic, with fewer top-level topics than at present (largely because I'll have a top-level RPG folder, rather than one folder per game).

Obviously, it is expected that all of this will take some considerable time to work through. Indeed, I don't ever expect to get all the existing files absolutely and completely sorted. If, however, I am able to establish a filing system for new files (especially Music, Videos, and Pictures), and can stick to it, that will be a major win.