We see so much in the media concerning hoarding and hoarders these days, People filling up their homes with far too much stuff in order to compensate for less than perfect lives.
It’s a common to joke about having a messy desk and work area being fine, so long as you know where everything is.
The reality is different. You don’t have to be a member of the neat police to know that tidy spaces are more relaxing and easier to work in.
With the digital age it is so easy to have a spacious home with room to breathe and have a huge collection on digital storage.
The problem is that having is one thing, but needing and being able to use, is quite another.
When a hoarder has been helped to de-clutter, they will often be heard to say, how each layer removed is like another weight lifted from their shoulders.
The mind is far from simple and just being aware of a digital hoard, such as thousands of music, movies, text and images files, can also weigh heavy.
Out of sight is not out of mind at all. Just because the desk, room and the home or office is tidy, does not mean all is as it should be.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. The modern digital age allows us to do what a few short years ago would have been impossible.
You can now own and store entire runs of magazines and comics, movie collections and full TV series.
The freedom is wonderful and the advantages great. However, it is too easy to store something because it’s available and might come in handy one day.
Having a larger collection or a digital archive is one thing, but having endless files tossed into folders and forgotten when the next must have thing comes along, is pointless.
Keeping digital files should be about clarity and ease of use. It should be about having the ability to find any file within a very short time.
A collection or archive becomes a digital hoard when it is uncared for. Too many people spent their time collecting and no time organising.
The easy way out of this problem, is to have checked files and folders and moved files, made new folders and renamed others.
Deleting duplicate files can often save space and this makes it easier to see what is there. Get a filing system in-place. They’re used because they work.
And yes this is the voice of experience. I had a huge digital hoard at one time. I still enjoy having archives, but now I only keep things of interest and everything is to hand.
I learned the hard way. I took a long time, and it amazed me at how many duplicate files and images I had. My choice of folders made little sense either.
Making simple changes, deleting files which would never be needed and placing others in areas which made sense, gave me the ability to be in control.
Now it’s your turn, ready steady go!