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If there is one truth I have learned in my short time in this world, is that there are filers and there are pilers. Most people are very squarely one or the other.

For instance, I am a filer. I like to keep things in nice sensibly organized containers. I like to take disparate objects and group them into a semblance of order. A place for everything and everything in it’s place. Few things make me more content than creating order where formerly chaos ruled. Ask me where anything is and I can likely point you to it easily (“User guide for the TV? Look in the green file cabinet in the blue folder marked Manuals. Oh, it will be towards the back of that folder because the items in there are alphabetical”). When I work, I love to have what I am working on on the desk and nothing else. It allows me to focus and not be distracted by other things.

My wife is the exact opposite of me. She loves piles. Especially, when she is working on a project she likes to have all of her work strewn about. To see it all at once gives her comfort and purpose. I am sure that if I asked her right this moment if there was any order to these piles she would hem and haw and claim that there was, yet I would be able to find in mere seconds a half dozen examples proving otherwise. The only order is the picture she keeps of each pile in her head. Ask her where something is and she can likely find it for you fairly quickly even if she can’t point you directly to it (see, you lack the mental picture and she lacks the patience to paint it for you).

You see, people who are pilers by nature think spatially. When I see a cluttered space or computer desktop, I don’t assume someone who is crazily disorganized and living in chaos. I think, here is a person who could be a piler and is able to find things amongst the clutter because they remember where it is from a spacial perspective on the desktop. They remember in relation to other files, the quadrant of the screen, even what part of the desktop picture it is covering. Piling is not only how they work, it is who they are.

There is a sub group of people I have not yet mentioned. That is the person who is a filer by natural desire but a piler in practice. These folks would love nothing more than to get things organized and “under control” (in quotes because I want to further stress that most natural pilers have things perfectly under control). Things are not that way for them because they don’t even know where to begin. Things are so far disorganized that they are quickly overwhelmed by it.

I got some feedback following the day one post that it seemed like moving the items from the Desktop and into your Documents folder was just a whole lot of “sweeping the problems under the rug”. Could be. It all depends on who you are.

To a filer, that may be true. To them, the problem is not solved until everything is organized to the nth degree. To a piler, if they dared to follow my instructions from day one, well, they would be lost. They would not be able to function working out of anything with inflexible structure or hierarchy. For the sub group, those who long to know where to start, that was it Ð a starting point. For them the exercise elicited a sigh of relief that may have been just the step they needed. From there, should they so choose, they can now get organized in a way that makes sense to them.

There are countless ways to further break this stuff down. Some may choose to group documents and files alphabetically. Some, by date. Some, by topic or project or area of life (Personal, Business, Family, etc.). If it makes things easier for you, quicker to locate, faster to quantify, then you should do it. Some may choose to dump everything into a single folder and let Spotlight, Quicksilver, Launchbar or some other tool do the finding.

But these are all second steps. These are all optional steps. The first step is simply admitting you have lost control and are now assuming the power to snatch it back again.

In previous days, I have talked a lot about the methods, ideas and choices you can use to reduce clutter. Now, I’m going to talk about tools. There are many third party apps that can help you keep your Mac clutter free – far more then I will cover here. I am also sure that for every one of these I mention, I will get feedback on others that people feel I have missed or should be added. That said, this list is in no way comprehensive. Just things I have used and like. Also, almost everything here will cost some money. Good software generally does:

Hazel – This is a great little app. It can watch any folder you tell it to and automatically organize your files according to rules you create. For instance, I have it watching my desktop and any file that is on there for more than two days, and has not been modified in the last 3 hours, gets moved to a “Working” folder I have. It can also do other magic little things like auto empty the trash on a schedule and delete all the associated apps for an application if you move it to the trash.

Appzapper – The uninstaller Apple forgot. This also will clean up all traces (preferences, support files, etc.) when an application is dragged into it. One kind of nice feature is The Hit List which allows you to sort your applications by most recently used (see: day 4) and zap those you don’t use at will.

Yojimbo – Just about any of the “everything boxes” (Evernote, Shovebox, etc.) will work here. The idea being that all of those items that don’t otherwise seem to have a good place can go in here. Heck, even a good deal of the things that do. I store all sorts of things from PDF’s, eBooks, receipts, serial numbers, bookmarks, web archives. It is a tag and fast search enhanced digital shoebox. Yojimbo gets my vote because not only is it the most “Mac Like” to me, but it also does a good job of allowing you to export your data out in the format it was put in (i.e. TXT, RTF, PDF, etc.).

Daisy Disk – There are many apps that can analyze your disk and tell you what is taking up the most space. That said, none do it more elegantly then this. In fact, the darn thing looks so pretty you may not want to delete anything.

So there is my short list. Do you have any you want to suggest?

For someone who is a Mac Consultant by trade and curator of a Mac centric website by labor of love, nothing is more prone to clutter then my Applications folder. Whether it is downloading and installing software to replicate a client’s setup or something to write about here to report to you, it is one of those things I am obligated to do that flies clearly in the face of everything I believe in and espouse here.

Because of this, every couple of weeks or so, I find myself going through my Applications folder and cleaning house. I throw out anything I have installed that does not meet a specific personal need and, while there, taking the time to question everything else as well. The internal dialog usually goes something like this…

Me: Do I really still need Firefox even though I have switched to Safari?
Me Too: Well, I do some web development for clients so I need it for testing.
Me: But can’t I just delete it and download and install it again when I need it?
Me Too: Sure I could but that takes time. What is more valuable, my time or that disk space?

I think you see where this is going. My point being that every need is different and can be apparent and fluid all at the same time. As I have said before, if you need two browsers to get the job done (or three, or four) then it makes sense to have them – but never be afraid to question that decision. In fact, do so as often as it makes sense. For me, and the amount of apps I install on a regular basis, that is once or twice a month. For most, I argue that should be at the very least once a year.

Do it now. Go through your Applications folder. Anything that came with your Mac, leave pretty much without question. For everything else, have this internal Q&A with yourself as you look at every other application you have installed:

Do I need this? When was the last time I launched it? Why? Is there another app that can do the same thing? If I delete it, would it be easy to install again should I need it?

There are no right answers here – unless it is an application you no longer use and have no plans to use again. In which case, the answer should be obvious.

On day one of this series, we cleaned up your Desktop and had you organize your files into the already built in groupings on your Mac. The main goal was to get them off of your Desktop and into manageable bunches. Today, let’s take the time to put some of those items where they ideally belong. Once again, I wish to preface that this series may seem rudimentary to some of you “pros” but hang in there with the rest of the folks (Who knows? You may even learn a thing or two).

Just as Apple has created ready made folders in your “Home” directory to sort like items into, they have made applications to help you further organize and enjoy those files. Photos and Music are two obvious examples (iPhoto and iTunes). Here is how to handle these:

Photos

If you moved any photos into the Pictures folder of your Home directory on day one, consider adding those to iPhoto (Choose Import to Library… in the File menu). This is really where photos belong. Once they are in iPhoto you can safely delete the originals from your Pictures folder.

There may be some images you wish not to have in iPhoto. For instance, lots of people I know who do design work keep ious images for ideas and inspiration. There are a number of 3rd party tools for that very thing that I won’t cover here, but I will challenge you to add those to iPhoto instead.

If you don’t want certain photos mixed in with the family photos, no problem. After adding these, select them and choose “Hide Photo” from the Photo menu. Then, create a new Smart Album (File: New Smart Album) and set the criteria to “Photo is Hidden”. Now, these photos will only show up when you click on the Smart Album. This tip is also good for all of those other photos you grabbed off the net that you don’t want to show up when showing off your new puppy… Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.

My point is this, there is nothing that should stop you from storing any photo you wish to keep in iPhoto and not keep any stray ones around elsewhere.

Oh, and here is an iPhoto pro-tip: You do know that photos you “delete” in iPhoto don’t really delete but get moved into iPhoto’s own special Trash, right? Well, now you do. Go to the iPhoto menu and choose “Empty iPhoto Trash” and get back a bit of disk space. You’re welcome.

Music

Similar deal here. That Radiohead album that you downloaded, unzipped, and added to iTunes. Yep, that one. Are you still holding onto the downloaded copy? Even the zip file? Why? Once it is in iTunes, trash the original. If you are worried about having a “backup” have a real backup of everything on your hard drive – one onsite and one off. That really cool mixtape.mp3, that audio interview with the productivity guru, that ringtone of your buddy’s pet bunny sniffing into a mic – stick that stuff in iTunes (File: Add to Library) and then delete it.

Also, just like iPhoto, Smart Playlists are your clutterphobic best friend. Create a new Smart Playlist where the criteria is “Playcount is less than 1”. These are all the things in your library you have never listened to. As I see it, you have two choices here – Hit the play button or hit the delete key. Perhaps you might even find some things where you hit the delete key moments after hitting the play button.

Next up…

Tomorrow, we will do a little “getting real” with your Applications folder.

Here is my list of Modest Goals for the coming year. This time, I discovered a theme had kind of grown around the initial list of things I have been jotting down the last few weeks. The theme of doing things “well”, which, when used as an adverb, Merriam-Webster defines as “in a good or proper manner”. This is what I wish to focus on for this year, doing everything in a good or proper manner:
* Eat Well – Continuing the theme of my post of a couple of weeks back (I’ll save you the drumbeating – go read the post), I have committed myself to eating in a manner that is consistent with humane, sustainable, and low-impact practices as much as possible. I am sure I will have my failings at this. For instance, I enjoyed every bit of the baked potato, smothered with nebulous foodstuff ingredients from questionable sources, I had at a suburban restaurant last night – at least while I was eating it. Today, I wish I had made a better choice that was more consistent with who I would like to be going forward. The way to get there is simply one meal at a time.
* Live Well – As part of the above, I want to take better care of my body in general and be more active. I now have the Fitbit to help track my progress. What’s a Fitbit? Merlin Mann provides a pretty good bulleted overview. What I think I like is the idea of having a practically hands off way to get real data metrics on your activities and using that data to set realistic exercise/activity/sleep goals. I have such great shops and restaurants all around me where we live. This is a very walkable neighborhood, more so then even other parts of the city. I plan to navigate it on foot as much as possible. I also want to put the practically new, but barely used, bike I own to greater use.
* Observe Well – We were walking through the warehouse section of our local IKEA the other day, when Beatrix took the time to stop, look directly up, point and yell “Fan!” with the glee only a two year old can muster. Above us was, in fact, a giant ceiling fan – I’d guess at least 20 feet in diameter. As we stood there, heads craned in wonder, looking a little closer, I noticed something even more surprising. The brand name on the fan was Big Ass Fan. That’s right, it’s a real company that makes, well, big ass fans. Despite the near endless chuckle this discovery gave me, it taught me something else more important – Take the time to notice. Delight in the small details that are revealed and, when you think you have seen all there is too see – look a little closer. I plan to do this more from now on.
* Give Well – I want to be more active in the giving of my time, resources, talent, and, of course, money to the projects and people I care about. That means a lot of things, from charity to volunteering to more posting here and the other projects I craft to guest posting on other blogs. I also want to be mindful of my consumption by acknowledging that for everything we take, someone else has to give.

In day one of this series, we cleaned up your Desktop and had you organize your files into the already built in groupings in the Home directory on your Mac. Today, I’m going to focus on two other areas on your Mac that are easily cluttered, and near impossible to ignore – the Dock and the Menubar. Here are some suggestions for how to deal with those:

The Dock

The Dock is a very useful feature of your Mac and it’s purpose is to allow you to launch frequently accessed programs quickly. Frequency is the key here. Certain programs you probably launch everyday, many times a day, or pretty much run constantly from the moment you log in to your Mac. Those are the sorts of items that belong in the Dock.

There are many applications that automatically place icons in your Dock upon installation for programs you may use only infrequently, if at all. Microsoft Office is one example (the 2008 version puts 7 icons in your Dock). Even Apple is guilty of this with the iLife and iWork suites. In addition, many people still keep an icon in the Dock long after they have stopped using the application. I argue that such items have no place in the Dock.

Take the time to look at each icon in your Dock and evaluate with honesty which ones fall into which of the above criteria. Any that fall into the later, click-hold and drag those directly up then release them and breathe a sigh of relief with every saucy little poof.

The Menubar

Like your Dock, there are many applications that put an icon in your menubar upon installation. In increasingly more cases, the menubar icon is the application. And don’t even get me started on the applications that put an icon in your Dock and your Menubar on installation even if in prior versions of that aplication you have told it you prefer one over the other (Droplr, you know I am looking at you right?).

There are some other scenarios I can think of where a Menubar icon may exist for a service that is rarely used. I have seen many people with desktop Macs that are networked via ethernet that, despite not being used, have the Airport Menubar item active. Or Bluetooth when no such devices are being used. Just because Apple put them there does not mean you need to keep them.

Therefore, just like your Dock, it can be a slippery and fast path to a lot of icons for applications and utilities that you rarely use. If you use a Menubar icon for a service or application, keep it in there. If an application has both a Dock icon and a Menubar item that perform essentially the same functions, choose one over the other.

If neither of these is true, why have a Menubar item at all. With many of them, command-clicking and dragging out of the Dock will remove it. Others have it in a preference panel or pane. Still others you simply must quit the application to make it go away.

Coming soon

Tomorrow, we will look at how to deal with some of that stuff you cleaned up off your Desktop on day one. Stay tuned…

Inspired by, and shamelessly riffing on, the wonderful Unclutter Your Life in One Week, the next 5 days will show you how you can apply some quick and simple steps to get your Mac into ship-shape.

We are going to start with cleaning up your Desktop (and keeping it that way). A computer desktop can get cluttered very quickly with files and folders. After all, it is intended to operate just like a real world desktop – a place to hold items you are working on. But, just like the real world, that spot operates best when it is being used to hold only the items you are working on. Luckily, the Mac makes it easy to file and organize these items into fairly logical grouping which will make them easy to find should you need them again. Much of this may seem rudimentary to you but, trust me, there are many that can benefit from this info.

1. In the Finder, go to the “View” menu, click on “Arrange by” and choose “Kind.” This will group items based on the type of file they are.
2. Open a Finder window and navigate to your “Home” folder. One of the nice things about the Mac is that it actually encourages you to organize into some logical groupings. Documents, Pictures, Music… It is all right there ready for you to get your org-fu on.
3. Take the files on your Desktop, now grouped by kind, and organize them into these folders. Place Documents into Documents, Pictures into Pictures, etc. Don’t worry about their final resting place (iTunes, iPhoto, etc.) right now. The goal here is simply to get your Desktop cleaned up.
4. While doing this, think about the things you don’t need to keep and can go straight to the Trash. This includes .DMG files for applications you have already installed. .ZIP files for archives you have already unzipped, etc. If you don’t need it there is no reason to file it anywhere but that circular file in your Dock.
5. A clean Desktop is easy to keep that way. Commit to taking a few seconds at the end of every day to file away items no longer needed at the ready using the steps above. The fewer the items, the less time it will take.

Last year, instead of standard resolutions for the new year, I committed to some small, achievable, and meaningful modest goals instead. I did not want the stress of big and perhaps unachievable missions for the year. I simply wanted to make a commitment to doing a few things a little bit better. Before I publicly lay out what my modest goals are for the coming year (see future post), I will revisit this past year and provide an update as to my successes or failures:
* “I will learn and use keyboard shortcuts more and use the mouse and/or trackpad less.”_ – I have been working really hard at this and would call this largely a success. It is not perfect but I use key commands far more than before, especially in apps I use on a daily basis. I have made a conscious decision to learn the shortcut for any command I find myself doing more than once a day. Also, hiding toolbars and their associated buttons in certain apps has helped because I am then forced to pause a sec before trying to use them and think of the corresponding key command instead.
* “I plan to be much more mindful of the signal to noise ratio of my online life.”_ – Success here as well. I think my RSS feeds are better organized and more regularly trimmed and evaluated for usefulness than before. I have worked really hard to keep Twitter at a manageable level (I am very picky about my follows and regularly tuck and trim that list). Recently, I have been making a real effort to try to meet people in real life wherever possible. I have met some amazing people and had unbelievable opportunities through social networking. Certainly, the signal currently outweighs the noise.
* “Of course, the signal and noise argument cuts both ways. For this reason I will continue to post here according to the following criteria and schedule – Only when I think I have something of real and original value to add to the greater internet conversation.”_ – Yep. And I hope I added even more real and original value at The Random Post and Minimal Mac as well. Same plan for next year.
* “In addition, I will be adding regular and more reliably scheduled content over at my other project, work.life.creativity.”_ – If I had any failure for the year it was this one. I am actually rather perplexed by why it was not quite working on my part. I’m not sure if it was my general discontent with the idea of talking about things like creativity and productivity instead of simply “doing” or “making”. The other founders and I have had some conversation about the project in general and can’t seem to come to terms on where to go or what to do next to breathe life back into it. I sure would hate to see it just die but I’m not sure quite where to start with the CPR.
* “I will continue to seek ways to grow my consulting business into something that can reliably sustain me and mine.”_ – Machine Methods is continuing to grow and I have done a lot of things I am proud of to help that. The majority of my business comes through word of mouth and I have been doing everything I can think of to maximize that while at the same time testing new marketing methods.
* “As is the case with many a couple, Princess Bethany’s resolutions and goals are, by proxy, mine as well. Towards that end, I also will work towards a better appreciation for our home.”_ – Not everything we had hoped is done but many things are and my appreciation has grown. Our new library sure is a nice place to spend time.
In a while, I will post the modest goals I have set forth for this coming year. Stay tuned…

I recently watched a documentary called Food, Inc. While I knew a fair bit about the subject matter through other anecdotes, the film caused me to consider this stuff on a deeper level than before. For those unfamiliar with the film, here is a very basic bulleted synopsis:

• Our nation’s food supply is controlled by a handful of companies with deep ties to just about every level of our Government including those agencies in charge of regulating them.

• They put profit ahead of everything else, including our health, the income and well being of farmers, the safety of workers, and the environment.

• They use chemical and genetic manipulation to manipulate the size of chicken breasts, the growth cycle of livestock, the yield of corn and soybeans (which almost all of our food now contains), and shelf life.

• Our food is increasingly tainted with drug resistant bacteria like E-Coli because we have genetically bread our livestock to easily pass it on.

• Diabetes and obesity is at epidemic rate among children and adults (nearly 1-3 Americans will contract diabetes in their lifetime) due to increased exposure to sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup.

• We, as consumers, vote for this every day with our money. We demanded cheap food and we got it at a cost that was deliberately hidden from us (i.e. the cost of our health and well being). This is OUR fault. We can change it by demanding better and voting with more of our money.

  The movie is available via “Watch Instantly” streaming on Netflix right now. I urge you to watch it.

I was deeply affected by the film and have since been putting a lot of thought into, at the very least, becoming more educated about the food I am eating.

I am lucky enough to live only two blocks away from a really good food co-op that is big into locally sourced food and educating their customers. I have not been using it enough but decided last night to go and really spend some quality time there looking around, comparing prices and asking questions. Here are some things I discovered:

• Most of the beef they sell is from Thousand Hills Cattle Company. It is locally produced, locally butchered, grass fed, and ethically and humanly treated. It is about three times the price of what it would cost you at the average supermarket. The reason: It costs what beef is supposed to cost.

• Most of the chicken and pork (forgot the name of the farm and did not write it down) is also locally produced and ethically and humanly treated. It costs more (about double) but your are getting an immeasurable amount more quality.

• The reason meat at the supermarket is so cheap is because it is fed steroid enhanced grain, raised on barren land, crowded together by the thousands, standing in each others manure, slaughtered by the thousands per day in less than clean or safe conditions by big companies that care only about delivering you what you are paying for – cheap food at a high profit by whatever means necessary.

• Lots of the veggies they sell are locally grown by independent family farms. In the winter (this is Minnesota after all), the number of these decline but the ones that remain are grown in greenhouses. This includes lots of root vegetables, lettuce, mushrooms, and some tomatoes. All origin of food in the section is clearly labeled as to place and/or country of origin. In the case of things grown outside of the region, they still only buy from wholesalers with a commitment to buying from family farms with ethical and sustainable growing practices. Once again, this costs a bit more but it costs what food should cost.

• Not all Milk that says it is “organic” is in fact organic. Just like your meat, make sure that the cows it comes from fit all of the same requirements. The brand at my co-op that meets that standard is Cedar Summit Farms. It is a bit less than double the cost of milk from the supermarket. Once again, this costs more because it costs what milk should cost (do you sense a theme here?).

The bottom line is this:

• Know what you are eating. Become educated about it. If you are shopping at a place where no one can tell you exactly where the food comes from, how it is grown, how the animals are treated, even after death… Don’t shop there!

• Be ready to pay 2-3 times what you are paying right now. Cheaper rarely equals better and this is especially true when it comes to food. Quality food that is safe to eat is more expensive at every level of it’s production. And it should be.

• Eat locally produced food as much as possible from independent and/or family run farms that practice ethical and safe practices. Find a good food co-op that buys from and supports these folks and/or local farmers markets and/or CSA to buy directly. Not only because you will have a better idea who and where your food is coming from but it is less impactful on the environment because it does not travel as far to get to you.

• If you do have to eat out, choose a place that does it’s darndest to adhere to the same standards (example: Chipolte).

I really believe that all of this can change if enough people decide they are done with the way things are, pay a bit more money, and educate ourselves. Here are some links that will help you:

• The Cornucopia Institue – They promote economic justice for family farms but what is really insightful is the reports they produce. Especially about “organics” (not all “organic” is organic).

• Fair Food Fight – A forum and blog community built around this topic. Tons of good information and recipes here.

• Local Harvest – Find where to buy locally produced food in your area.

• Eat Local Challenge – Seriously, I challenge you to eat local as many times a week as possible.

• My Eat Well Pinboard – as I research more on this subject, I will be updating my links here under the tag “eatwell”.

The reason things have gotten this way is because not enough of us have stood up and chosen to eat well. I, for one, am standing. Stand with me. Let’s stand together.

In a few days, the Season of Stuff will officially begin. During this season, we are actively encouraged to get more stuff, buy more stuff, give stuff to those we “love”, and be thankful for the stuff we have.

This Friday, for instance, sellers of stuff will drop prices to all time lows in order to make it easier for you to give and receive this stuff. Of course, this is in the hopes that the money saved on this stuff will encourage you to buy other non-discounted stuff. You know this, of course, right? You cherry pick the cheap stuff and leave the other stuff for the suckers, right? Of course you do…

All of this stuff will generate a bunch of stuff to be thrown away or recycled. Wrapping, packaging, spent gift cards – they all have to end up somewhere. Not to mention all of the stuff we had to build and machines we run in order to make the stuff we give and receive.Then once the season is over, in fact the very next day, comes the inevitable stuff we have to return (for cash to buy stuff if you have the receipt, exchange for different stuff if not).

Just try to remember that there are plenty of ways to deal with this stuff. You can pledge to get rid of an amount of stuff equal to the amount you receive. You can let those who love you know that you do not want more stuff but want something less tangible instead (breakfast in bed, money for a favorite charity, etc.). Ask for specific stuff you really truly need that will add years of value to your life on a daily basis… and stuff. The point is, control the stuff. Don’t let the stuff control you.