Cleaning Your Computer Desktop Guide

Now let's be clear there are two desktops here I could be talking about, the one that your keyboard and computer is resting on and the one in Windows with all your icons. I am talking about the latter one. Now, I'm not the most organized person in the world and sometimes I stick shortcuts or files on my desktop because they are easy to get to and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Maybe you haven't purposefully stuck one program on your desktop but it has been cluttered because programs you install like to stick themselves there.

Let's get started. You might have to read a little, do a little, and then read a little more. Right click on your desktop and click properties. This will bring up the Display Properties box. Click the Desktop tab and then click Customize Desktop. As soon it opens you will see at the bottom of the window some text that says Desktop cleanup, just what we are looking for. Clicking Clean Desktop Now will take any icons that you have not used in a while or clicked on and move them to a folder on your desktop. It explicitly says it will not move, change or delete items. What you have on your desktop aren't the actual programs but shortcuts to the actual programs.

If you click next on the Desktop Wizard you are provided with a list of shortcuts along with the date last used. Some of mine even say never. Check which ones you know you don't want a shortcut cluttering up your desktop for. Click next again and then finish. Your shortcuts on your desktop that were directly in view are now in a newly created folder titled unused desktop shortcuts. Isn't that better? If you choose to you can ask Windows to automatically run the desktop cleanup wizard every 60 days. Just follow the previous steps again until you see a checkbox and check it.

If you are like me, sometimes you like to save time and access certain files fast but then later not use them at all so desktop wizard is useful. Sometimes I have things I install and don't use that make their place on the desktop as well that I never touch. Your shortcuts don't disappear, as you can still use them if you enter the unused desktop shortcuts folder. If you want them on your desktop again just go into the folder select which ones you want, cut and then on your desktop right click and select paste.