How To Organize Files On Your Computer

...or any other storage device. I used to be a total mess when it came to saving files on my devices. Like, I'd drop everything into the Downloads folder and go hunting from there. If I saved a copy of a file, I would soon forget where I'd put it and either save another copy or consider it just lost. It was a horrible system, and I never found anything in a reasonable amount of time.

One day I just got sick of it. I have eight porable hard drives (SSD and platter) and about a million USB drives. I am always needing more space because I never organized anything, and the amount of duplicate files across the storage was through the roof.

Moving Existing Files into a Folder Structure

I have a reasonably fast 4TB NVME drive and enclosure that I used as the master drive. This is plugged into a 4-port USB hub that is plugged into the USB-C port of my computer. The drive is empty and EXFat formatted (not sure if that makes any difference).

I set up my folders with numbering. Below is an example of how I formatted the folders on the drive:

  • [0001] Family

    • [0000] Important Documents
    • [0010] Medical Records
    • [0030] Vacations
    • [0040] School

  • [0010] Financials

    • [0000] Bank Accounts
      • [0010] Account Details
      • [0020] Statements

  • [0020] Home

    • [0000] Mortgage
    • [0020] Insurance

  • [0030] Automotive

    • [0000] Loan
    • [0010] Insurance
    • [0020] Maintenance

  • [0040] Anybusiness, LLC

    • [0000] Documents
    • [0010] Tax Documents
    • [0020] Bank Accounts
    • [0030] Credit Accounts

I numbered the folders so that they never change places, short of manually sorting. Since most file systems sort by name by default, it just made sense to do it this way.

In my case, I have a bunch of different kinds of things that I have downloaded files for. When I began using this method, it made moving the files very easy and simple. I think that the hardest part was to come up with the right folder structure for my needs, and while the above is just an example, when you dial your folders in, everything else just falls in place.

It took me a while. I would say that I worked on this for about a week in the evenings with some good music playing, and a mug or two of coffee. It actually was pretty enjoyable to work on, and there is an almost instant satisfaction and gratification to see things get organized in front of your eyes.

Back Up The Main Drive

Once I had all the existing files that I had on drives sorted on to the main 4TB NVME, I made a backup. I have a second 4TB drive (A 2.5" portable SSD) that I mirrored the main drive to by copying all the files over. This took an entire evening, but when done, I have two copies.

I also use Free File Sync free edition to keep both drives identical. At the end of the week, I'll plug both drives in. The NVME drive is still master, and does a one-way sync over to the SSD to back up all the new files and folders.

Downloading and Adding New Files

I never realized how much I download. On a normal day it might be a PDF or two, the kid's weekly grade updates that are sent out by teachers, or just something I've found on the internet that I save.

When it comes to the beginning of a month, I download a lot of financial stuff. statements, tax-related things, P&L's, etc...

All this stuff needs to go somewhere, so I developed a plan to make things easy.

Three USB Drive Method

I know some people keep their stuff in the cloud. I dont trust it to be a "safe" option for my family and business needs, especially since it seems like certain AI's can access cloud files "for learning purposes". I prefer to keep my data close, and do not use cloud storage for my stuff.

I don't want to carry my main or backup hard drives at all. There's tons of sensitive stuff there. At home, it's not a big deal. The main drive can be plugged into my computer at any time.

I developed a four USB flash drive method for any new files that I download anywhere I am not at home or on my laptop, etc.

For security and peace of mind, all the drives are encrypted using Veracrypt - < href="https://veracrypt.io/en/Home.html">https://veracrypt.io/en/Home.html. I also took it another level by using the Hidden Drive feature where you have a second encrypted drive inside the first (outer encrypted drive). It's worth noting that I always use my own devices. I use my phone hotspot (never connect to my work or public wi-fi), and my laptop hard drive is also encrypted (I use Linux - Ubuntu Studio). It's also worth noting that I do the same kind of folder sorting now for work on the work machine too.

USB #1 - Family Drive

This drive is a transport for all family related things. Medical bills and school related things are usually what end up on this drive. Auto and Home are under this drive since not everything about them is financial in nature.

USB #2 - Business Drive

This holds files related to my business. Again, it's only there until I get home. Then I dump the files during the evening.

USB #3 - Financial Drive

This is used for statements, receipts, Subscriptions, etc. If it deals with personal money, then it goes on this drive.

USB #4 - Everything Else (Mobile Phone Formatted)

This drive is the catch-all for all the other things that I want to save. There's bookmarks, notes (obsidian.md vault files) and a bunch of other stuff on this drive. Some gets transferred, but the Obsidian Vault always stays on this drive. Rather than the whole drive being encrypted, I created a encrypted container just in case there was sensitive things I needed to put on this drive that didn't fall in any of the other drives.

I also used my Samsung phone to format this drive rather than a computer. I wanted to be sure that I could move files between my phone and computer, or at the very least, get them off my phone right away if needed. EDS NG Lite by Sovworks works with Veracrypt vaults on the phone (note: this is a paid app) if I really need to put something into encrypted storage.

All the drives are high-quality 256GB Sandisk drives. I didn't want to take chances on cheap drives for important stuff, especially when it's floating around in my backpack.

Rules I've Created For Myself

  1. Whenever possible, just wait to download a file until I get home and it can go directly on the main drive. USB drives should be used as infrequently as possible.
  2. I always try to boot into a Ubuntu Live USB. This is not really a requirement, but when using a fresh OS that can't be hijacked, my files have the best chance of staying secure.
  3. Always put sensitive stuff in a Veracrypt Vault. If I were to lose the USB drives, or they were stolen, there is really no chance that anyone but a three-letter agency would have a chance at opening the Vaults.

Other methods of file retention that I considered are running a NextCloud Raspberry Pi, but I found that the initial data transfer speeds on a Pi to be too slow. When I can plug in at 10GBPS a second, it's a lot more barable. Also, I am not a developer, programmer, or know much about this, so I have to go with what I know and what works for me.