Pretty, Functional and Virtual

 Some organizing tools really do stand the test of time. This app, which I've now been using for more than three years, is one of them. 

As someone with an I need to see it personal style, I struggle with my desktops -- both actual and virtual. I've made some progress with my actual desk, seeking out containers that match my style and pressing them into service.

But my computer desktop? That's another story.

Last night, I spent a lot of time whipping my computer desktop into shape. Putting things into folders is hard for me -- not actually difficult as it takes about two seconds -- but hard because my fear that out of sight is out of mind is very real. One of the reasons I love my MacBook is the drag-and-drop feature that allows me to pull things easily on and off the desktop. But, in order to do this, the things I want to drag and drop need to be on the desktop.

You see my conundrum.

But last night, I decided I was tired of a desktop that looked like a dumping ground and so I started dragging things into folders. When I was finished, the desktop looked amazing. Several columns of little blue folders all labeled and lined up. There was only one problem.

All the folders looked the same -- except for their labels, of course.

Which was why I'd avoided doing this in the first place.

Although I loved my newly created clear space (my favorite reward for an organizational job well-done), I felt the need to jazz up the desktop a little. I thought for the hundredth time how great it would be if I could color-code my virtual file folders the way I color-code my actual folders. There had to be a way, right? And if anyone would know, Google would.

So I Googled it. And you know what? There's an app for that! And it's FREE!

Check out ColorFolder Master on the App Store!

I could not have been happier.

Ten minutes later, I had color-coded file folders on my newly de-cluttered desk top. I haven't quite worked out which types of folders should be which colors -- although I could give every single folder its own color if I wanted to -- and I hit a little snag when I changed my mind about the color I wanted for one folder, but I found a work-around. And, since I now have the app on my laptop, I can change the folder colors any time I want.

It really is the little things.