“Out of sight, Out of mind”. It’s an expression we’ve all heard many times. As I continue digital decluttering in the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge, I’m finding this to be true when it comes to the files we store on our computers and other devices. This week, I’m decluttering and organizing digital files and folders.

Are you ready for week 37? Let’s get decluttering!

This post was originally published in September 2021 and republished in October 2024.

What is the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge?

In this year-long journey, we’re tackling one task at a time with the goal of cleaning up and organizing our homes. If you’ve just joined us, no worries. You can jump right in with this week’s challenge. Just check out the first two posts in the series to download your free checklists.

• 52-Week Decluttering Challenge
• Week 1 – Easy Decluttering Checklist

You can get easy access to all previous weekly posts on the main Decluttering page.

Week 37 – Decluttering and organizing digital files

Have you ever spent time searching for a file on your computer? I certainly have and there’s nothing more frustrating!

This week’s decluttering and organizing tips

Before we get to what I got rid of, here are my tips and learnings from week 37.

Create a folder structure

Search capabilities and file naming conventions have come a long way. In the early days of Windows, we were limited to 8-character file names. It was tough to come up with meaningful names and many files disappeared into a black hole, never to be found. Over the years, I’ve found keeping a well-organized folder structure helps me to stay organized and find files quickly.

Before you start decluttering, think of how you want to organize your files to make it easier to find things. With improved search capabilities, you may be able to reduce the number of folders.

Back up your files

This is a task I used to neglect. I used to back up my files on a portable hard drive whenever I remembered to do it, which wasn’t very often. About a year ago, I invested in a family subscription to Office 365. The time it saves and peace of mind it gives me is well worth the $109 annual subscription fee. Now all our devices are backed up automatically, and I can easily transition between my computer and my iPad when I’m working on blog posts.

Decide how much history to keep

For anything time sensitive, like financial records, consider filing in folders by year. This makes ongoing cleanup easier because you can delete entire folders. If you’re not sure how long to keep things, here are a few guidelines.

• Receipts for large purchases – Keep as long as the warranty period is in effect.
• Receipts for small purchases. If it’s a gift, or there’s a chance you’ll want to return the item, keep for one year. Otherwise, delete once you have confirmed with your bank or credit card statement.
• Bank statements – 1 year
• Credit card statements – 1 year
• Tax records – Minimum of 7 years
• Investment statements – When you get a new statement, delete previous versions. If you feel the need to keep some history, keep no more than 2 or 3 years of statements.
• Miscellaneous files – If you think you’ll need to refer to them in the future, keep them. Otherwise, delete them. I got rid of old school council minutes and files from my girls’ elementary school. They have both graduated high school now, so I think it’s safe to let them go!
• Legal documents (wills, birth certificates, passports…) – Keep indefinitely.
• Pay stubs – Delete once you have filed your tax return for the year.
• Property records and home improvement receipts – Keep for 7 years after you sell the property.
• Bills – Delete when you receive the next bill showing payment has cleared.
• Vehicle records – Keep as long as you own the vehicle.

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What I got rid of

I must have done a better job of cleaning up my files over the years than I thought. I deleted a total of 234 files from my computer. It’s a lot, but I expected there would be a lot more.

2024 Update

It has been three years so I’m rebooting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge to see how much I can get rid of in 2024.

As I’m in the middle of launching my retirement coaching business, I had files for it on my personal OneDrive and other files on the dedicated Google Drive I set up for my coaching materials. Part of my cleanup exercise was to move everything retirement coaching related to Google Drive.

In total, I deleted 195 files from my laptop, Google Drive, and OneDrive. I also took the opportunity to reorganize a few files and folders to make it easier to find things.

So that’s week 37 done. Next week, we’ll wrap up our digital decluttering with a photo clean-up.

If you have friends or family members who could benefit from a little less clutter in their lives, please share this post and spread the word!

How do you keep your digital files organized? Tell us your tips below.