I’m going to throw out a guess here and guess that you’re not a hoarder. Because you’re not a hoarder, it’s time to take out your trash. I know what you’re thinking “I take out my trash and recycling every week!”, but have you considered what you’re doing with your digital trash?
Every time you move something into the trash bin on your computer or hit the Delete Key you should be aware that those files don’t just “go away”. When I discovered (far too many years ago) that the files just stay put in the recycle bin, I decided to make a concentrated effort to empty out my recycle bin on a regular basis.
The reason for this is simple THE FILES ARE STILL ON YOUR COMPUTER!!! it’s basically like being charged space for files you don’t want to use. Keeping your trash cleared out is very important because if you have a massive amount of files in your trash bin it’s an invisible way to clog up your hard drive when there is no need. If that wasn’t reason enough for you I happen to have 3 other reasons why emptying your trash on a regular basis is a good Idea.
1) Actually get the files off your computer – When they go in your trash, they are still technically “on your computer”. The only way to get rid of them permanently is to keep your recycle bin clear. Your recycle bin should not be apart of your filing system. Keeping your recycle bin clear means that you completely get rid of the things you have deleted. You wouldn’t go rooting around your own trash, would you?
2) Speeds up your system – Keeping less on your hard drive (even though it’s “in your trash”) can definitely help with the speed of your system. Less stuff on your hard drive, the faster it’ll work. The reason for this is because all computers have a limited amount of space on their hard drives. some of the space on the hard drive is intended for the documents (pictures etc.) that you have to store on your computer, but there is also a chunk of your hard drive which is supposed to be dedicated to running the various different programs on your computer. The more documents and whatnot you have on your hard drive (which includes your recycle bin) the less memory your computer will have to use to operate those programs. This means that your programs will slow down significantly. Emptying your Recycle bin makes it so that the programs can have more memory to run faster and your computer will work better.
3) The sense of completion – There is something to being actually rid of documents you don’t want any more. I don’t know about you, but when I delete a document it means to me that I am actually done with it. if I don’t properly get rid of my deleted items now I’m always second guessing myself as to whether or not I needed them. When you delete a document you want to get rid of it, so actually get rid of it. If you don’t get rid of your documents when you put them in the trash they will just pile up and you will have to deal with a slow computer (see point 2) which believe me, does nothing but causes headaches. More than that, you will have to deal
Emptying your trash is a really simple process. Every computer (be it Mac or PC) has a recycle bin. This is a holding zone where all your “deleted items” go. Unless you have set it up, the Recycle bin is where all your deleted items will stay. They can be auto-deleted in some cases but, again, that needs to be set up in order for it to happen. if you go to your recycle bin there will be an “empty” button that you can press. this permanently deletes from your hard drive any files in your recycle bin. if you delete from here you WILL NOT get the files back. I’m assuming at this point that if you have deleted these files you likely will not need them anyway, but I figured I should mention it.
Part of Organizing your Digital Life is making sure that you take care of every aspect of it. This includes taking out the trash.
Do you regularly take out your trash? Are you going to start now?
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