Okay, I’m not sure if this actually counts, but whatever. Considering how much time I spend on the computer, it basically IS my habitat. I’m not at home for a few days and can’t unfuck properly there, soooo instead I decided to do some digital unfucking. This is my netbook desktop- which as you can see, was pretty fucked up to the point where I had literally 5 icon spaces left. Yeesh. I generally only use my netbook at school or when I’m going out somewhere, not at home, so this was the result of finals craziness manifesting itself in my space. I moved a bunch of stuff to my USB, or in a place that made sense on the netbook, and viola! There are a couple of things that will be moving when I get home, too, but it’s much improved. I feel saner already. :)
My shame.
All of the advice on cleaning a keyboard online…well. It wasn’t really up to the nastiness that was my keyboard. I don’t think I’d ever cleaned this keyboard, ever. In…what four years? Something like that.
I was wary. Everything out there said rubbing alcohol. This keyboard doesn’t come apart easily, so I was wary of that advice. I checked the Apple website, which advocated a “lightly moistened” lint-free towel.
Yeah, right. Look at that grossness. I turned it off, removed the batteries, and “lightly moistened” a brand-new Magic Eraser (so it wouldn’t be coming apart, as they do). Ten minutes later, a good shake upside-down and a shot of air to get rid of any debris, and BAM. Aww yeah. And I’m typing this on the keyboard in question RIGHT NOW. As you can see, it’s working fine. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
(i’m so ashamed of the state it was in before. I really am.)
murilla Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Take it one square foot at a time. Don’t look at the entire mess, just pick a spot and start there. You may want to treat the cat mess first; an enzymatic cleaner like Nature’s Miracle or Simple Solution or something like hydrogen peroxide can help.
For the computers, find places near you that will recycle electronics. If you’re in the U.S., start here. Many big box/office supply stores also have programs in place.
Good luck, pace yourself, take your breaks, and keep us posted.
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
I organize mine by action/emotion. Like, I have “dancing,” “high five,” “fist bump,” “thumbs up,” etc. Some people organize by source material (TV show, movie, or artist). Whatever system you think will work best. Make the folders first, then just drag and drop into the appropriate one.
ladybugjug Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Good tip!
anniemaggard Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Word. I unsubscribed from about 25 shopping email lists a few weeks ago, and holy crap is my inbox happier now.
wintergirlsummerheart Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Clear ‘em out and start from scratch. When you want to reblog something, post it to your queue or schedule it for another day, but deal with it right then and there.
Take ten minutes and unfuck your browser’s bookmarks. Delete anything you don’t use, make logical folders and drag and drop that mess of links into something more streamlined and easy to figure out.
Asks are silly and don’t allow urls, but I wanted to share this with you, Team UFYH. Here is a magical video. You can use this method to wrap other cords (not-earbud headphones, usb cables, etc). It’s pretty handy.
blissfulle Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
This is relevant right now! The following things are your friends when unfucking digital stuff: folders and clear, descriptive names. Start with the flders you use most often, spend 20 minutes cleaning stuff up (including deleting where appropriate), take a 10-minute break, then move on.
I try to keep my inbox to a number that doesn’t make me panic at the sight of it, and one of the ways I do that is by periodically cleaning house with the delete button. I try to answer as many asks as possible, and generally, if I don’t answer yours, it’s because I had a bunch dealing with the same topic and I answered one, or because it was a tip I’ve already shared (or perhaps don’t endorse/know enough about), or there’s a good chance it got lost because Tumblr likes to eat asks sometimes. You’d think it would feed the servers enough to keep them running.
ANYWAY. Everyone take a few minutes and unfuck your askbox. I have a handful of messages I don’t delete because they’re particularly meaningful, but I think this time around I’m going to screenshot them and save them in their own file because there’s something so satisfying about a big fat 0 next to your inbox.
daggerpen Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Canned air to get any food bits out of the keyboard. Rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to wipe down and clean all non-screen surfaces. They make commercial screen cleaner, but it’s pretty much distilled water and alcohol in equal parts. You wipe it on with a clean, lint-free cloth and it evaporates pretty much immediately.
I do the alcohol thing on my work stuff (keyboard, mouse, phones, um, everything else) a few times a day this time of year since everyone in my workplace uses things kind of communally and we pass illnesses around way too easily. Phones, especially, are really super gross.
cobycockkills Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
20 minutes at a time, then 10 minutes of scheduled distraction. Repeat until unfuckery is achieved.
insipidinspiration Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip!
schroedingerscas Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Since I primarily use gifs for reactions, I have them broken down that way: “dance,” “high five,” “fist bump,” “angry,” “Beyonce” (she gets her own folder; don’t you judge me!), and then I give things descriptive names: PsychDance, RobbNotDoingItYourWay, BeyBoom, etc.
