Most of us will store files on our computer. It might be a “desktop” computer, a remote server, or storage “in the cloud”. It might be your mobile device. In any event, each file will have a name, and there will probably be a tree-like folder structure to separate the files into categories.
We typically have many files — these may include text files (such as copies of letters, emails, receipts, forms, and so on, in a variety of different possible formats) and media files (including photos, videos, and music). With the large amount of data storage available nowadays it is tempting to forget the amount of storage being used, or where particular files can be found. After all, if a file goes missing and a search doesn't find it, does it really matter?
I would suggest that it does matter. There is an environmental lens on this — storage has a cost. The electronics requires some minerals that are rare, leading to potential scarecity, and possible effects of mining to retrieve those minerals which are difficult to locate. A computer requires power, and generates heat, and this has an impact on global warming.
There is a security lens as well — old files may well contain sensitive information that has been forgotten about.
There is also a more down-to-earth matter, which is being able to locate files and then process them in an appropriate way.
A healthy file system which allows you to “curate” your files and folders easily goes a long way to addressing the above issues, and making life simple for yourself. Let’s look at a number of actions you can take.