Saved stuff - irrelevant with time

Spring, summer, winter... all season are good for 'spring cleaning' - whether cupboards, trunks of sporty gear, inbox or harddrive.

I got this really neat little goody from Lexar two weeks ago. It is a plug-and-stay backup drive, the Lexar Echo ZX Backup Drive. Looks like a flash disk, only smaller - much smaller. I've got the 8GB one but they go up to much bigger sizes - like 128GB!

The idea behind this little gem is that you tell it which folders you want it to backup and then it does it automatically while you work on the files or when you plug in the unit again. You don't have to manually update the files on the drive, it does it automatically. Yes, it's an echo drive. For me, it is really handy to back up those files that I use and amend regularly. Ja, I have an external HDD but I don't back it up very often.

The software is on the unit. You unwrap the packaging, plug it in and run the .exe file. It asks you which folders you want it to keep an eye on. Done. You can also password encrypt it too.

I see the role of this Echo drive as being for current projects. My external HDD is great for completed projects and photos and other data that needs to be saved.

One thing though... although the packaging says 'Always-ready, plug-and-stay backup solution', I wouldn't recommend the 'stay' part, afterall, it is a back-up drive. My friend told me of a lass he knows who had her laptop stolen; and her drive was plugged into it. So, remove it when you leave the office, go to a meeting or go to bed and put it in a place separate to your computer. When you plug it in again it will automatically update the folders you've designated.

Now, the problem is that this little drive has been a catalyst for a bit of a spring clean and folder reorganising. I've got some projects that I'm currently working on (in their own folders, which I have targeted to the drive) and there are random spreadsheets in various locations (folders, desktop) that need to be backed up regularly. So, began the cleansing and organising to put those assorted files that are important and that I regularly use in a single folder I can target to the drive (you select folders, not files, for backup).

It's entertaining to look through the files I've saved. Funny and inspiring creative images, downloaded knitting patterns that I'll probably not get around to attempting in a year of public holidays, PDFs guides to this and that, tutorials...

The thing is that these files, including emails in my inbox, become irrelevant with time. For a few weeks I may want to hang on to an email for a snippet of information that I may refer to later. Five months down the line I find myself deleting it all. Same with the files. Same with cupboards and hoarded stuff. I'm really good at sifting through stuff for both myself and other people; I'm a ruthless discarder and passer-on.

Two and a half years ago when my external harddrive was stolen from my home, it really grated because it was an old drive worth maybe R50 (they didn't take the cable) but on it was more than 10 years of data. My old university projects, lots of photos from adventure races and of friends and family, articles that I'd written, various evolutions of AR.co.za... It wasn't often that I accessed the drive for old files, but they were there and they were mine. Do I miss any of the files now? Nope. Sure, there were photos on it of friends and family members now long gone, but I remember them in my mind and don't need a digital image to give them substance.

Losing current files and emails really hurts.

Whether items are digital or material, it's just stuff that really does become irrelevant with time.