It seems obvious, but when your computer is getting slow, or not as fast as it used to be, or maybe when you can’t see your desktop for all the files dotted around, it needs a clean. Thank goodness for National Clean Out Your Computer Day. On the second Monday in February, we are all encouraged to give our devices a bit of attention, and not for scrolling through your socials. Let’s find out a bit more about what the day means.

What Is National Clean Out Your Computer Day?

It’s not long after the New Year, but enough time has passed that those resolutions have long died in their appeal. Enter something productive that will actually make life easier – National Clean Out Your Computer Day. This can be taken literally, and you can wipe down the outside, or do something that will be more beneficial for the longevity of the device, like cleaning the hardware.

Always make sure the power is off before taking it apart and be sure to be mindful of where everything goes. You’ll want to dust off the motherboard, give the cooling fans a once-over so they can do their job properly, and make sure the dust that is causing your laptop or PC to overheat is not building up.

The first National Clean Out Your Computer Day was a concept from the Institute of Business Technology back in 2000 and has been going strong ever since. Now, people all over the world take this day as a sort of annual cleanout, to improve the speed and health of their computers.

How To Observe National Clean Out Your Computer Day

It all starts by getting involved. The computer isn’t going to clean itself (although one day they might!), so be sure to designate some time on the second Monday in February for your computer. Clean it inside and out! Although you might not feel like this is going to make a difference, it is prolonging the lifespan of the device and will see it running smoother and more efficiently as a result.

We’re all for the physical cleaning, but don’t forget to clean it in other ways. By this, we mean getting rid of old files, deleting things you do not need, and maybe even removing anything on the hard drive you haven’t used or looked at in a while.

It is also a time to back up your files. Everyone should do this intermittently, making sure they do not lose anything important along the way. The popularity of the cloud as a storage space makes it easy to do so, or you can go the old-school way of using an external hard drive.

Not only does this keep all of your files organized and make your computer easier to use, but it improves the speed. When the hard drive is not so full, it doesn’t have to work so hard. The same goes for removing dust – a computer is less likely to overheat and can operate a lot easier.