In my part of the world, it is officially spring, and with spring comes spring cleaning. I love when I’m finally able to open the windows and air out the house. I also get the urge to purge all of the things. I clean through drawers and closets and toss away whatever we don’t use or need. It feels so good to make a little extra space!
The same thing is true digitally! Sometimes I look at my digital scrapbooking files and I get overwhelmed. I could NEVER use every kit I have downloaded or every template, heck, I don’t even like some of them anymore!
I know it’s hard to delete files, especially files that you paid for – but if you think of it like your closet it might help. You know that pink shirt that you bought last summer on clearance because it was so cute? That pink shirt that still has the tags on it because you never did get around to wearing it….it’s OK to throw that in the donation bin or trash it. If the same story is true with a kit, trash it. It’s OK.
In the screenshot below, you’ll see I have a folder with about 200 kits in it. If a kit is marked with a green dot, it means I bought it but I haven’t used it. A yellow dot means I’ve used it (whether I got it free or paid for it). As you can see, I have a TON of kits that I have never even used.
I am going to go ahead and sort this folder by Date Created –
And I can see all of my kits from the oldest to the newest. Since 2009 both design style and scrapping style have changed, as well as the pictures and memories I have to scrap. So many of these kits are probably ones I will never use. This is a great place to start looking at kits to ditch.
I can also see all of the ones that are yellow, meaning I’ve used them, and look to see if I think I’ll ever use it again. Even deleting a few kits can make your stash feel fresh again!
Another great tip for saving space is to delete the duplicate files. When you download a collection from a designer, typically you are downloading several folders of files (papers, elements, alphas, add ons). Each of these folders typically contain a preview, a TOU and sometimes additional informational files. There is absolutely no need to keep multiple copies of these files within a collection. For me, just the main kit preview is enough, and a single copy of the terms (and, if it’s a designer I go back to, I don’t even need to keep a copy of their terms with every kit I download). Sure, a teeny tiny text file doesn’t take up a lot of space – but if you have 200 of them – that file space adds up big time!
And lastly, I’ll mention templates quick – most template designers include multiple file types of their templates (PSD, TIFF and PNG for sure, sometimes PAGE files) – pick the one file type you use and delete the rest. All of those extra files really add up in terms of the space they take up on your computer.
Do you have any other tips for spring cleaning your digi-supplies?
Great suggestions, Manda. I’m one of those who has a super hard time deleting any of my digi-stash. You’ve given me the courage to try again!
How do you make the colored dots on your folders? I would like to do that too. I’m thinking I may delete most of the solid papers in kits. How many solid pink papers do I need? I can change colors easily too, so all the different shades are not really necessary. Same with dots and stripes. But yes, it is hard to ditch things you lived when you bought them, but never seem to use.
OH! how brave of you, I used a paper from 2009 recently which I hadn’t used before. I’m too scared to delete, although when searching for something I delete web and TOUs, so I suppose I am making a little space!
I would also like to know how you identify your files in the way you have.,
I’d also like to know how you added the colored dots. Do you have a Mac or a PC?
Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for all your helpful tips at what one can do to free up hard drive space. I have most of my files in a main folder with the designers’ name for each designers’ kits. The ones that are for specific holidays I store on an external hard drive with separate main folder names for the holidays. I do make a shortcut and place that in the main hard drive designer’s folder. I just can’t seem to delete any of the files yet and I do have many that were for specific ages of my grandchildren that are totally no longer used for them.
I do have a question that I have wondered about for some time now and maybe someone out there could answer. Can the designer files we have be passed on to a family or extended family member when we die and are no longer here to use them? I have always refused to allow anyone outside of my home use any of my digi files and have encouraged them to go to the designers’ stores to get them because for me to do so would be violating the privacy laws and that would be the same as their stealing and my enabling them to steal. If they are in my home and want to use my computer to do something I have said okay to that.
I believe Manda can add the colored dots via her Mac software.