Hello, Friends!

810.348.1772
betty@logicalplacement.com • www.LogicalPlacement.com

January 2026 - Help Me Organize my Computer

January is "GO Month - Get Organized" in my industry. We know that getting organized is usually one of the top things that you promise to work on in the New Year.

This month's newsletter will turn to our computers. Have you spent hours in front of your computer searching for a missing file or picture? I know many of you have, right?

Let me help you organize your documents and pictures so next time it will be less frustrating.

The easiest way to simplify your computer work is to treat your computer directory like a filing cabinet. Start with some broad categories such as “home,” “work,” or the names of different family members.

Your next level can be the names of your files, again think of your filing cabinet. Give your file a descriptive name and it will help you find things when you go to search for the file. Some experts agree that your files should have the year in front of it, for example 2026 Budget, vs. Budget 2026.

I find it helpful that if I am working on a monthly item to make my subfolder the year. For example, all the monthly budgets for 2026 will be under a subdirectory labeled “Family Budgets.”

If you have to move a number of files or photos, you can do a Google search on how to do this. I have used the shift key and the left key on the mouse so the items are highlighted and I use the arrow keys to choose the photos and then hit the right key on the mouse and hit “copy” and then go to the folder where you want them to appear and hit the right mouse key and hit “paste”. I'm sorry for you apple users. You'll just have to search for it and don't forget you can also use www.youtube.com and search for a lot of technical items here.

It may take a few tries, but once you get the hang of it you will be happy to have this skill. Otherwise, you can just drag files to the right folder.

When it comes to organizing your photos, now might be a good time to go through your photos and purge/delete pictures that are not flattering, poor quality, and you don’t have to keep 50 photos of the same headshot – make a decision and keep your favorite ones. Remember to backup your phone as well. Many of us have thousands of photos on them and what happens if you lose your phone or suddenly get a virus.

I found it helpful to organize my photos by year and then broke them into categories/sub-folders within the year. For instance, I have Christmas, folders for different trips, birthday folder etc.. so when it comes to grabbing photos for our annual family calendar, I have one place to sort them and upload them to Shutterfly.com. Then I delete them from my phone to free up space.

One thing to remember is also to back-up your home computer! Many of us would be heartbroken and upset if we lost everything on our home computers, especially all of our photos. Some people like to use an offsite backup such as Carbonite.com. Some people use extra thumb drives that they keep in their fireproof safe. Resolve to do something in 2026 so you know that they have been backed up.

I wish you all the best in achieving your organizing goals in 2026! If you need some assistance, I'm a phone call away - 810-348-1772.

Follow me at https://www.facebook.com/logicalplacementorganizing for weekly organizing tips or on Instagram @logical_placement.

Your local professional organizer,

Betty Huotari

P.S. If you would like to share this email with a friend, please pass it along and if they would like to be added to my list, have them send me an email. If you would like to unsubscribe to the monthly news-letter, please send an email to betty@logicalplacement.com.

810.348.1772
betty@logicalplacement.com • www.LogicalPlacement.com

January 2026 - Help Me Organize my Computer

January is "GO Month - Get Organized" in my industry. We know that getting organized is usually one of the top things that you promise to work on in the New Year.

This month's newsletter will turn to our computers. Have you spent hours in front of your computer searching for a missing file or picture? I know many of you have, right?

Let me help you organize your documents and pictures so next time it will be less frustrating.

The easiest way to simplify your computer work is to treat your computer directory like a filing cabinet. Start with some broad categories such as “home,” “work,” or the names of different family members.

Your next level can be the names of your files, again think of your filing cabinet. Give your file a descriptive name and it will help you find things when you go to search for the file. Some experts agree that your files should have the year in front of it, for example 2026 Budget, vs. Budget 2026.

I find it helpful that if I am working on a monthly item to make my subfolder the year. For example, all the monthly budgets for 2026 will be under a subdirectory labeled “Family Budgets.”

If you have to move a number of files or photos, you can do a Google search on how to do this. I have used the shift key and the left key on the mouse so the items are highlighted and I use the arrow keys to choose the photos and then hit the right key on the mouse and hit “copy” and then go to the folder where you want them to appear and hit the right mouse key and hit “paste”. I'm sorry for you apple users. You'll just have to search for it and don't forget you can also use www.youtube.com and search for a lot of technical items here.

It may take a few tries, but once you get the hang of it you will be happy to have this skill. Otherwise, you can just drag files to the right folder.

When it comes to organizing your photos, now might be a good time to go through your photos and purge/delete pictures that are not flattering, poor quality, and you don’t have to keep 50 photos of the same headshot – make a decision and keep your favorite ones. Remember to backup your phone as well. Many of us have thousands of photos on them and what happens if you lose your phone or suddenly get a virus.

I found it helpful to organize my photos by year and then broke them into categories/sub-folders within the year. For instance, I have Christmas, folders for different trips, birthday folder etc.. so when it comes to grabbing photos for our annual family calendar, I have one place to sort them and upload them to Shutterfly.com. Then I delete them from my phone to free up space.

One thing to remember is also to back-up your home computer! Many of us would be heartbroken and upset if we lost everything on our home computers, especially all of our photos. Some people like to use an offsite backup such as Carbonite.com. Some people use extra thumb drives that they keep in their fireproof safe. Resolve to do something in 2026 so you know that they have been backed up.

I wish you all the best in achieving your organizing goals in 2026! If you need some assistance, I'm a phone call away - 810-348-1772.

Follow me at https://www.facebook.com/logicalplacementorganizing for weekly organizing tips or on Instagram @logical_placement.

Your local professional organizer,

Betty Huotari

P.S. If you would like to share this email with a friend, please pass it along and if they would like to be added to my list, have them send me an email. If you would like to unsubscribe to the monthly news-letter, please send an email to betty@logicalplacement.com.