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How to organise PC files so they're easy to find – according to a tech expert
Decluttering and grouping files means your most important documents, photos and videos will never go missing again
If you use your computer daily, you’ll know how quickly documents can become disorganised and hard to find. When the file you're looking for is particularly important (and perhaps poorly named), the experience can get frustrating fast.
However, thanks to advice from the experts at Which? Tech Support, you can find a logical home for all your most-used files. By following our walkthrough, you'll declutter your machine and save yourself some stress in the future.
Keep scrolling for our four-step guide to organising your PC files on Windows and Mac. Plus, we've included some tips on how to speed up your computer if you have some extra time.
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Each month, we feature one of the most popular questions answered by our Tech Support team.
Question of the month: what's the best way to organise files and folders?
'I have lots of documents and pictures scattered all over my computer, in lots of different places — some are probably duplicated. It's very confusing, and I don’t know where to start. How can I get this in a proper order?'
Which? Tech Support member
Four steps to a neater PC
1. Start by decluttering your files
Before organising your files, make sure you take some time to clear out any clutter. Not only will you make it easier to find what you need, but you'll also free up space in the process – and that can potentially help your computer to run faster.
Delete unnecessary files – start with those sitting on your Desktop, then work through your Documents, Pictures, Music, Video (Movies on Mac)and Downloads folders. Delete any files and folders you no longer need. If you right-click a file in Windows and choose Properties, you can see when it was created. On Mac, right-click and choose Get Info. You might decide that very old downloads are safe to delete, for example.
Remove duplicates – it can be surprisingly easy to create duplicate files by mistake, making the process of decluttering more difficult. Our experts recommend a free tool called DupeGuru that can scan and delete duplicates for you.
If you're low on storage space but don't want to delete files entirely, consider using a external drive – see our pick of the best external hard drives.
Start with the default folders provided by Windows and Mac, as these can act as your foundation. Work your way through the following areas and settle on which files are going to be stored there moving forward:
Desktop – this should be where you keep files and shortcuts that you access regularly. However, Desktop is less useful if you're dealing with lots of data as it can clog up your home screen and cover your wallpaper.
Documents – the best location to store personal or work documents. We suggest storing office-style files here, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files.
Pictures and Videos (Movies on Mac) – use these folders to store image and video files, such as JPGs, PNGs and MP4s. It’s often best to organise them by events, locations or theme (eg Holiday_2024 > Paris; or Family_Videos > Christmas_2024). You can either use separate folders for pictures and videos or store both in one folder and organise them into subfolders for quick access.
Music – use this folder to store audio files such as music tracks, podcasts or audiobooks. It’s often best to organise by artist, album or genre for easier navigation (eg The Beatles > Abbey Road; or Podcasts > Sports).
Downloads – by default, this is the location where all downloads are saved. You need to regularly clear this folder by moving files to their appropriate locations or deleting any unwanted files.
Folders group similar files together, making them easier to locate.
To create a folder, navigate to the location where you want the folder. Right-click in empty space, then select New > Folder and give it a name. Within that folder, you can create another folder to further organise data.
Example of simple folder structures
Below, we've included a screenshot of a simple folder structure in Documents on Windows. You'll notice that we've created two 'main' folders (Work and Personal) within Documents, both of which contain subfolders to keep things neat.
Of course, these folders could then be broken down further for better organisation. For example, you could have Documents > Personal > Cooking > Desserts.
If you're struggling with a sluggish laptop, it might be time for an upgrade. See our roundup of the best laptops to pass through the Which? test lab.
3. Name your files and folders
It's not the most exciting job, but it's an important one. As you work through your files, make sure you're giving your folders descriptive names – for example, Cherry_Pie_Recipe_2025.docx instead of Doc1.docx.
Our tech experts also recommend adding dates where applicable (eg Paris_10-01-2025.jpg) and, when saving multiple copies of a file, including version numbers (eg Chocolate_Cake_Recipe_v2.docx).
Whatever system you decide to implement, try and keep file names consistent. Doing so will make it easier for you to recognise files at a glance.
4. Move files into their own folders
Once your folder structure is ready, you can start sorting your files:
Drag and drop – click and hold a file, drag it to the folder and release.
Cut and paste – right-click the file, select Cut, then navigate to the folder and right-click to select Paste. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and X to cut, and Ctrl (Command on a Mac)and V to paste.
Select multiple files – hold Ctrl (or the Command key on Mac) while clicking files, then drag or cut and paste them into the folder. You can also use Shift by clicking the first file, holding Shift, then clicking the last file to move several in one go.
If you have particularly chunky files that you don't need regular access to, you can use a file compression tool so they don't take up so much space on your computer.
On Windows, right-click in empty space, then choose New > Compressed (zipped) Folder. Drag and drop your files into the folder. On Mac, select multiple files you want to manage, then right-click and choose Compress.
Next steps: speeding up your PC
Once you've organised your files, it's worth setting aside some additional time to perform maintenance tasks that could help to speed up your computer. We suggest trying the following:
Disable unnecessary startup apps – apps that run automatically whenever your computer boots up can slow down your PC and sap valuable system resources.
Scan for malware – this can cause computers to feel slow, so it's worth running a virus scan to rule out the possibility of an infection. Our tests reveal the best antivirus.
Change your battery settings (if you're using a laptop) – closing down apps, lowering screen brightness and switching to Airplane Mode (when you don't need wi-fi or Bluetooth) all reduce the rate that power drains.
Update your operating system – Windows and macOS are designed to check for updates automatically. You can also update your device manually, if you're experiencing performance problems. Using WIndows 10? Find out more about Windows 10 ending security support.
For detailed instructions on each of the above points and more, explore our expert guide on how to speed up a slow PC.
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