National Pizza Day, National Wine Day, National Donut Day – you’ve probably heard of all of those. But National Clean Out Your Computer Day? Yes, it’s a thing, and it falls on the second Monday of February, so this year it’s February 12. And although it lacks the fun and tastiness of all those other national days, it’s really important! Decluttering files and programs can help your computer run faster and can maximize your own productivity. Plus, updating software, removing unused software, and running a virus scan can help keep your information safe. So, let’s talk about a few things you can do now to save you some time and possible frustration later.

As a reminder, it’s always best to perform a backup before making changes to your computer.

Programs & Apps

Let’s start with the easiest thing: removing unused programs and apps. I say this is the easiest because chances are you have hundreds or even thousands of emails and files, but you might have only a few dozen software programs to review.

  • On your Windows computer, go to Start>Settings>Apps>Apps & Features.
  • Sort the results by size, large to small.
  • Select the ones you want to remove and click Uninstall.

Now’s a good time to check whether updates are needed for any of your programs, apps or even your operating system. Staying up to date will provide you with a better user experience, and it’ll be more secure.

Files

With that done, it’s time to start cleaning up files and photos. Remove the ones you don’t need and sort the ones you do need into folders for easy access. Also, consider their location: would it be better to save them to the cloud, like Microsoft 365, iCloud, or Google Drive? This would give you access to them anywhere, plus the ability to share them easily – not to mention it would free up space on your own device.

You may have “temporary files” on your computer you haven’t really given thought to, but it’s amazing how much space they can take up! Now is a good time to say goodbye to those.

  • On your Windows computer, go to Start>Settings>System>Storage.
  • Click on Temporary Files
  • Check or uncheck things to delete and click “remove files”. This step just helped me reclaim 5.5GB of space!

Email

Next up, the dreaded email cleanup. I confess – I have thousands of emails in my work inbox, and hundreds more in my personal email. Here are some steps that I use to help me declutter:

  • Delete anything you know you don’t need. Block spam emails and unsubscribe from mailing lists you’re on if you don’t need those communications anymore.
  • Sort emails you need to keep or aren’t sure about deleting yet into folders; create rules so that future emails are automatically sorted into those folders when they arrive.

Virus Scan

Next up, launch your anti-virus software and perform a virus scan.

Bookmarks, Cookies and Cache

Browse through your digital bookmarks and organize them into folders so that you can quickly get to what you need, when you need it. Delete bookmarks that you don’t use. Clear your cookies and cache – something you’ll want to do regularly – to improve your browsing experience.

Bonus points if you perform these steps on your other devices too, like your phone, tablet, and smart TV!