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Desktop Question

littlekiwi

littlekiwi

I charge by the hour for anything before noon
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
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10,794
How do you all keep your computer desktop's clutter free? I've downloaded this desktop from @NBK-Design and would love to use it on more than my login screen but my problem is you can hardly see my desktop under the pile of programs, folders and files which means I wouldn't see much of the beauty of it

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Free-Desktop-November-2020.html
desktop_november2020_pv.jpg
 
I use them for my lockscreen. The screen that my laptop has up when it's first switched on, or after it's been in sleep mode etc.

My main desktop is kept simpler particularly along one side to allow for all my icons. One way of doing that is to use a desktop narrower than my screen and tell it not to resize or stretch it - then there's a blank space to either side of it where my icons can go - that feature depends on your operating system and I haven't tried it recently since switching to Windows10.

My icons are normally only for temporary files (to dolists, this week's prayer chart, current inspiration board etc) or shortcuts to ones I need regular easy access to. I don't have software icons on my desktop - I have them on a bar along the bottom of the screen that comes with Windows 10. Before I had that bar I used to just access them from the run command or the start menu. I access my files and folders via the documents menu on the start menu.
 
My most used programs are on the task bar at the bottom of the Win10 screen. I do have 3 columns of icons for other programs on my desktop all on the left side of the screen. I try to avoid putting anything on my desktop. Helps to keep it nice and clean.

Although I use a photo background on my desktop and very rarely change it. In fact, mine is a photo of Pepper and Paige and they have been over the rainbow bridge for 4 years tomorrow! Even when I got this new computer I chose to still use that photo. I love looking at their sweet faces. The photo is such that the icons are over an area that doesn't matter.
 
I think it comes down to how you use your desktop. I only use mine for short-term files (a quick spreadsheet to figure out a particular expenditure, screenshots to upload here in answer to questions, PDFs downloaded to read/refer to, etc.). When it starts to get to about 3 columns' worth, I will clean it out, deleting things I no longer need and filing things I want to keep in their proper homes on my data drive. I never access programs directly from my desktop, so I immediately delete all of those shortcuts whenever they pop up.

Since I access everything through menus or the task bar, and I have whatever I am doing open covering the full screen, I rarely see my actual desktop, so I don't often bother to change what's on there. I have it set to cycle through half a dozen macro/abstract photos that I downloaded ages ago, and it's probably been that way for at least a few years.
 
Yeah.. my desktop is a mess too. I use it to keep stuff that I need to do something with, but it piles up and then I have to go through and organize and clean it up. My home desktop is definitely cleaner than my work computer. My work computer is a giant mess. :giggle
 
Your desktop sounds like my DH's, Jennifer: stuff covering all of it. IDK how he keeps it all straight! Just walking past his open computer gives me hives lol. I don't like having shortcuts/files/etc on my desktop, but I also prefer a solid-black background, so I'm no help whatsoever lol!

Actually, maybe I can help: I only keep files/shortcuts I use on a (almost) daily basis on my desktop. There are 8, including my Chrome and FF shortcuts and the Recycle Bin. Like Kim, I use the menu bar or I just open up my DS folder, which is where 90% of the files I need are located. I pinned PS, Word, Spotify, BackBlaze, and my DS folder to Start. Windows has the option to "Pin" stuff to Quick Access: if you have a lot of shortcuts on your desktop, maybe QA can help.
 
@Tree City my desktop isn’t or should I say wasn’t the most cluttered laptop desktop in my house.....my mums one had stuff everywhere where as I can see my background, just not enough to admire the beauty of a stunning background
 
littlekiwi said:
@Tree City my desktop isn’t or should I say wasn’t the most cluttered laptop desktop in my house.....my mums one had stuff everywhere where as I can see my background, just not enough to admire the beauty of a stunning background
Click to expand...
Maybe you could place your icons in certain spots, so that the background is still the focus and the icons are just, like...idk...little "accessories," if that makes sense? It's such a gorgeous desktop, so I get why you'd want to enjoy looking at it! :)
 
I have a folder on my desktop that I use for short term stuff and I have my recycle bin. I think that's it. Everything else I use frequently is pinned to either my quick access menu or my Taskbar. Like Kim I always use full screen windows, so I don't see or use things on the desktop. I used to keep more there, but putting a favorite photo or background there is part of what got me out of the habit--it drove me nuts to have icons covering the people in the picture!
 
My desktop is usually completely free of icons. The only ones I put on my desktop are screenshots of orders I've recently made, to remind me to watch for them to arrive. I also put the screenshots in my journal and delete them when the item arrives.
 
This is what mine looks like:
zGsrilI.jpg


The shortcuts on the side are:
This PC, Recycle Bin, Downloads Shortcut, Google Drive Shortcut, Semester Shortcut (My school folder), FreeCam, PL2020 shortcut, Video Clips.
Video Clips can be moved, in fact, I'm going to go delete it now. It was there because I was working on a video for school - gone now! FreeCam is the same, it updated recently, so it added the shortcut to my desktop again. Also gone now! My program shortcuts I keep in the Windows 10 sidebar thing.

The folder shortcuts on my desktop are the ones I'm constantly opening (downloads, semester, google drive). I keep PL there to make it easy and convenient to do my PL each week.
I don't often full screen my web window, which drives my husband nuts! But, I like it about that size, about 3/4? Most websites show up similar to TLP - with space on each side anyway. Plus, I use two screens. The other desktop has nothing on it. Just the photobackground. I rotate a new photo randomly to the background when I take one I love. This one is from November. I'll probably switch it out for the cat attacking the tree when I open Lightroom later.
 
Move the clutter from your Desktop .It is a really bad habit many of us got in to when There wasn't so much to fill it up. One sure and easy way to not add to it , is to change your download settings, so the things you download, automatically goes to your downloads folder , not your desk top. Even the silly little sayings , and bits you just " have to save " Most programs has an icon ,and most tools do to, that can live in your tool /task bar. Easier for a good overview too that way.
 
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