Where oh where is that file?

Picture this: I was working on my laptop when my daughter called me to help her with an important school project. As I turned to go to her, with my head still on the article I was writing, I tripped over the cord that connected my laptop for recharging and...you guessed it, my laptop came crashing down. Yup...I lost my hard drive and EVERYTHING in it.

Did I tell you I hate computers?!

Well, my hubby came to the rescue and got me a new hard drive and re-installed all my programs. The beauty of starting over (no, I'm not kidding :-)) is that you can organize all your files right from the very beginning. But what if you tend to procrastinate in this department and keep putting off cleaning your computer and organizing your files? If you're a writer, you can appreciate by now how essential it is to be organized, to be able to find your files presto, and to keep a hand on all that research dumped onto our computers.

Signs that your computer needs a good cleaning:

- It's painfully sloooowwww....

- While looking for a file you find your ex-boyfriend's high school book report you did for him way back when.

- It takes two hours to go through your overflowing inbox just to find that request for a guest post.

- You can cook a meal in the time it takes to start up your computer.

So how DO you clean out your computer? Here are some great tips I found on the Web:

How to Keep Your Computer Safe, Clean and Backed Up in 2011

Useful PC Clean Out Tips

Any tips or sob stories about your computer that you want to share?