Are you dragging old mail into the new year? I was determined to empty my Inbox & Sent folders to avoid the cluttered feeling of carrying old messages into the future. It took a while to delete or file each message, but it feels good to be done. As with most clutter, it's easier to keep up with it than spend hours catching up later. Re-doing and re-handling everything -- mail, dishes, papers, errands, it just increases the amount of time lost.

And what about all the time we spend looking for things? A recent article about organization stated we spend almost an hour a day looking for things, retracing our steps.

January is "fresh start" month. Go through your piles of "stuff," and sort by priority. One interesting method is to make three piles and (gasp...) delete the bottom pile, follow up on the middle pile, and use a to-do list like Act, Evernote Jot+, Outlook,or Treepad to track everything in the first pile.

Then pick three tasks every day and accomplish them.

Here's a link to show you we're not alone -- someone is actually collecting to-do lists.

With the latest postal rate hike, more people are getting serious about using email newsletters, like the one you're reading now. If you need help getting started, call Computer Clarity for a training session.

A first class stamp is now 39 cents for one ounce, 63 cents for two ounces. Postcard postage is 24 cents, Priority mail is up to $4.05 and Express mail starts at $14.40 for 1/2 lb.

Mail has its place, but for timely, customized communication to your clients, consider making the switch this year, to a free or cost effective communication tool. When mailing is the right choice, remember to shop at usps.com. You can buy stamps online, calculate postage, prepare packages for Priority and Express mail, and even print mailing labels and postage right in your own office.

In coaching clients with Excel, I regularly see three areas where its powerful features are underutilized.

1. Multiple sheets: Look at the bottom of a spreadsheet and you'll see Sheet 1, Sheet 2, Sheet 3. You can rename those sheets with a right-click, and can have up to 16 separate sheets in a single Excel document. So if you keep a file for each month or year, you could easily put them all in one place.

2. Linking data: Data can be linked from one sheet to another - either to carry a formula through, or to update a 2nd sheet with everything on the first. Why would you do that? Perhaps you want a few columns of data to remain the same, and other columns that always change, such as amounts or inventory figures.

3. Sorting: Excel has fairly powerful database functions. If you try to use the deceptive A-Z icon to sort, you'll soon find a big mess, since it will sort only on one column.

Here are two good sort tips:

-- Click the empty square to the left of cell A1 and you'll highlight the entire sheet.

-- Click Data / Sort and you can sort on multiple levels without scrambling columns.

And remember, if it doesn't look right, you can always click "Edit / Undo."

1. If you haven't purchased a USB Jump Drive or Memory Stick, now's the time. It's the most affordable and convenient way to make quick backups, and keep them with you, for safety. Local stores have them on sale for under $25, and some offer a free Lexar drive with purchase of tax software.

2. That reminds me... why is Internal Revenue called a "service."?

3. After a good backup, right click on your C: drive, click Properties, and choose Disk Clean-up to get rid of all unneeded temp and temporary Internet files.

4. Teach yourself something new on the computer.

5. Set a restore point: click Start/ Programs / Accessories / System Tools / System Restore and create a resotre point. If you computer runs into a software problem, you can set the clock back to the last time it worked right. It will restore system files and settings, but won't alter your data files.

6. Refresh the keywords in your web site and re-list in search engines.

7. Name that font: Trying to find the name of a typeface? See http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/

8. IF a program is not responding, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and you can usually end the offending program without having to reboot.

9. Got a secret? Purchase Magic Folders to encrypt files, hiding them from snoops. Cost is about $60 www.pc-magic.com.

10. Take out the trash (again).

You can hear music from your computer - the wrong kind...

During normal operation or in Safe mode, your computer may play "Fur Elise" or "It's a Small, Small World" seemingly at random. This is an indication sent to the PC speaker from the computer's BIOS that the CPU fan is failing or has failed, or that the power supply voltages have drifted out of tolerance. Although these symptoms may appear to be virus-like, they are the result of an electronic hardware monitoring component of the motherboard and BIOS. Depending on the brand of internal components and BIOS (basic input-output system) you may or may not experience this phenomenon.

If you hear it, though, you may want to have your computer checked or serviced.

Thanks to everyone for the tremendous response to the launch of my book, "Computer Ease." It's available at The Book Stall of Chestnut Court in Winnetka, and major online retailers.

"Computer Ease" was also selected by Forbes.com for their Book Club and received a great review from the Chicago Computer Society, which you can read here: http://www.cclarity.com/computerease/ReviewJan2006.pdf

Helen Gallagher

Phone: 847-998-6240