Hello: I’m facing a similar set of concerns. Basically you’re looking at managing the information and technology in your life. It can be daunting. I think you’re starting with a clean slate, which is good. I think the challenge is similar for all of us in this day and age.

I would say as far as newsletters the easiest thing is to just get a junk e-mail, which is what I do. I have far too many e-mails, but my basic paradigm is this: One e-mail account for friends and family One e-mail account for professional purposes One e-mail account for everything else — a kind of catch-all for junk mail, newsletters, etc.

As far as what to download onto your computer, that’s a more challenging question. I think it’s not planned. You end up with a lot of “stuff” on your computer without meaning to, and it’s almost unavoidable. I’m not sure what to suggest except maybe a two-logon system. Maybe one logon is your main logon and you keep it “clean.” So if you run across some download, etc. you put it on your “playspace” logon and mess with it until you decide if it is worthy of going into your “clean” space.

That is still a very cumbersome solution, admittedly. I hope others will chime in, because in this day and age personal IT management is a huge issue, I agree!

I’d suggest using a Gmail account for everything.

If you’re a bit of a pack-rat, all your emails can be archived without (a) them clogging up your laptop and (b) without you thinking that you’re cluttering up your laptop.

Archives are easily searchable, labels are very handy.

This is a good read if you’d like to get a handle on your email;

http://putthingsoff.com/index.php/inbox-heaven/

Thanks for the comments. I use a yahoo account as a sort of web-based catch-all clearing house for various e-mail accounts. Then yahoo took to deleting message from the Inbox if I had them downloaded to Outlook Express which I use on my main machine. I’ve never really gone back to trying to alter settings so that I keep a web-based archive. I do have a gmail account also and maybe I should look into how I can set that up. But I also need to let more stuff just flow through and out of my life. I can keep e-mails and stuff “just because I can” rather than because they really have value or will ever be looked at again.

It’s funny really. I got my first “real” home computer in 1991 and back then it just seemed cool that one could store and keep all this “stuff” so —well — virtually. But as the years go by, and more and more of the world takes to the internet, it’s easy to end up with a dumpster-load worth of written material every few weeks.

I’ve done a pretty good job of streamlining my physical home, passing on many of my hundreds of books, videos and CD’s, streamlining furniture in the house etc etc. But looks like I’ve been fairly sloppy about the computer “stuff” because I don’t have to look at it sitting on my table or floor or in my attic…

more work to be done. I’m severely info-obese!!

argh, yes, I made exactly the same mistake with Outlook Express & Yahoo Mail. I think if you set OE to ‘leave mail on server’ it might (possibly) solve that one.

GMail can be set to archive mail after it’s been accessed via POP3.

If you can do the same with your house (something I’m trying to do…) then you should be disciplined enough to do it with your PC.

Whether that’s setting a monthly reminder to ‘clear up’ various folders (My Docs etc) or making an effort not to accumulate so much digital detritis in the first place.

I know it’s easy to let slide as it still looks like the same box and takes up the same physical space whether it’s completely clean or crammed with stuff.