How to Organize Desktop Icons and Files: Creating Main Folders and Subfolders

Documents placed everywhere. Irrelevant program icons found on the desktop. Most used programs not seen immediately. Files missing. Files here, there, and everywhere. Do you know what this means? An unorganized desktop environment.

We all commit this techie crime of just saving files, whether documents, pictures, or program icons, in our computer desktop. For obvious reason, we want to gain instant access to them. But over time, we find ourselves deleting some of them to accommodate newer files. If we do not wish to throw them into the Recycle bin, we simply drag or cut and paste them into different folders in our drives. And when we realize we want to see these files again, we find ourselves in deep trouble. We browse through countless folders with names very similar to one another, wishing to locate them so soon. We can use the Search option, but do we still remember the file name? Soon, we find ourselves screaming, OMG!

However, we can prevent ourselves from overcrowding our desktop environment with so many icons. The secret is simply to organize our files and manage them in your most convenient way. So how do we deal with a desktop with overflowing content? How do we limit the number of files in our desktop and still readily find the files we seek? Here is how:

Categorize all your files. Group similar files together. Sort them according to some fitting categories. You can group all your photos together, music, program installers, videos, and files from your job or office. To do this, create folders, name them, and just throw in all the files that fit to the categories.

Create main folder and subfolders. Finalize the names of the folders you created earlier. These shall be your main folders. Take a look at the drives C and D of my computer.

Now that you have segregated your file, you can sort them according to some subcategories. Let say your “MUSIC” files can be further divided into Rock, Pop, Dance, By Singer, or some other ways. Then create several folders inside the main folder, name them according to your subcategories, and drag and drop files fitted to the folder. You can also create more subfolders within each subfolder if you deem that further subdivision is necessary. Do this to all the files in your main folders.

Take a look at mine.

Choose distinguishing icons for each folder and subfolder. Oftentimes, it is confusing to browse folders with the same look. To quickly catch the folder you are looking for, it is wise to replace the usual “folder” icon with different colorful icons.

 

 

Select folders you like to launch in the desktop environment. The most appropriate would be the main folders and the subfolders whose files you frequently use like computer protection programs and files from your work.

Be in the habit of saving files in their most appropriate area. Now that you have sorted all your files, avoid being unorganized again. Always save files in the most appropriate places. If you are a busy person, you can save all present files in the desktop. After some time, say some few days or a week, relocate these files to the right folders. Just be cautious not to go way beyond that time. Or else, laziness shall strike you and once again, your desktop environment will be overcrowded.