Like preserving a healthy planet Earth, your computer needs some care to keep running smoothly and efficiently. You can do your part by getting to know your Recycle Bin. Here are a few tips to help you get to know, use, and maintain your Recycle Bin.

The Recycle Bin stores files you want to remove from your computer. Any time you delete a file or folder, the item is sent to the Recycle Bin, and remains on your hard disk until you empty the bin. Until then, you can restore items from the Recycle Bin to their original location.

Reduce: Empty your Recycle Bin.
Since unneeded files take up space on your hard disk until they are permanently deleted, you should empty the Recycle Bin periodically to avoid affecting the performance of your computer. To free up extra space, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop or in Windows Explorer, then click Empty Recycle Bin. All of the files contained in the Recycle Bin will be permanently deleted, so remember to restore any files you want to keep beforehand.

To delete a file without sending it to the Recycle Bin, select the item, then press SHIFT + DELETE on your keyboard. A dialog box will appear asking you to confirm the deletion, which is your only chance to change your mind.

Reuse: Retrieve files from the Recycle Bin.
To review the stored contents of your Recycle Bin, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, then click Explore. This will bring up an Explorer window showing all the files in your Recycle Bin. By selecting an item, you can view the name, original location, date deleted, type, and size for each file contained in the Recycle Bin.

To retrieve or view the contents of a file, simply drag the item to a new location in the Explorer window, or click Restore to return the item to its original location. To restore several files at once, hold down the Shift key, select the files, then click Restore.

Recycle: Customize your Recycle Bin.
To change the operation of your Recycle Bin, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, then select Properties. In the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box, you can specify the percentage of hard disk space you want to set aside for Recycle Bin storage. If you have more than one local drive, you can choose between configuring the drives independently, or using one setting for all drives.

You can also specify whether or not to display the Confirm File Delete dialog box when you send items to the Recycle Bin, or select to have files deleted immediately, rather than being sent to the Recycle Bin.

Keep these tips in mind, and you are on your way to cleaner, healthier computing. Unfortunately, we can't do anything to help remind you to put your soda cans in the proper recycling bin.

Mark Reed hates to take out the trash, but whole-heartedly embraces the concept of recycling.