Clear the clutter

If you're like me, spring cleaning is often something you aspire to but find a bit daunting. But without periodic decluttering, we can end up with a lot of stuff we no longer need. When it comes to data storage, avoiding cleaning leads to file sprawl, needless and frustrating duplication, and sometimes even storage limits.

Here's a four-week approach to spring (or otherwise) cleaning and file organization, with practical recommendations that make the entire process easier:

Week 1: Inspect–take stock of what you have, asking "Do I still need this?"
Week 2: Organize–determine best storage locations for content you plan to keep; copy and move things as needed
Week 3: Delete–confirm that your moves were successful, then delete the originals
Week 4: Simplify–determine your best organizational structure and process moving forward

This column will focus on Weeks 1 and 2. A follow-up column will cover Weeks 3 and 4.

Week 1: Inspect

• Where are you storing things?
• What do you have in each location?
• Do you still need it?

Over the course of this first week, try to get a handle on what all you have in IU cloud storage (e.g., Microsoft OneDrive at IU, Google at IU My Drive, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Kaltura).* To make the process a bit easier, sort your content by when it was last updated, by how large it is (especially if storage is limited), by file type, or by when it was last viewed. Get started by clicking on the column heading for which you'd like to sort.

Week 2: Organize

This week is all about making sure things end up where they belong and copying then moving content accordingly. Begin by determining whether your files are individual (personal) or institutional (university)–the IU Knowledge Base has a useful overview.**

** As part of this process, consider whether any of your locally stored files and folders should also be backed up to one of these locations in the cloud. If your laptop dies, will you lose any content? And, if you leave IU, will your colleagues/collaborators have what they need to continue work without interruption?

At this point, you'll probably need to further sub-divide and label your folders as something along the lines of "Individual to Keep," "Institutional to Keep," "Individual to Archive," "Institutional to Archive," "Individual to Delete," and "Institutional to Delete."

Review your options for storing individual files and institutional files based on particular features. Make sure your files are in the correct place. If not, make a copy of those files, and move that copy to the appropriate location. For the time being, keep the original files in their original location, re-labeling your folders (e.g., "Individual to Keep in Google") or keeping a record of where you moved them.

Why not delete now? You'll want to ensure all your files transferred correctly and are usable in their new location. By preserving the originals (at least a little bit longer), you'll have a chance to verify that things ended up where and how you wanted.

What's next

Need help with determining whether something is individual or institutional, or with the process of copying and moving (not to mention backing up) your content? Ask your IT Pro or contact your campus IT Support Center.

And stay tuned for our follow-up column featuring Weeks 3 (Delete) and 4 (Simplify)!