Set up a few top-level folders
Pick folders for the kinds of files you actually keep, for example Bills and receipts, Work, Travel, Personal, and Archive, inside Documents. Add a folder per year inside the ones that grow every year, such as Bills and receipts/2026.
Name files so they sort themselves
A name like 2026-10 Northwind invoice.pdf says what the file is and sorts by date. Our guide to a file naming convention has the rules, and the free bulk rename tool renames many files at once with a preview, in your browser.
Use tags for what cuts across folders
Right-click a file, choose a color tag, or click Tags… to name one. Tags show in the Finder sidebar, so Taxes 2026 can gather files from Bills and Work in one click.
Let Stacks tidy the Desktop
Right-click the Desktop and choose Use Stacks. Screenshots, documents, and images fall into one pile each, and new ones join their pile as they arrive.
Save searches as smart folders
In Finder, choose File › New Smart Folder, set the rules (for example, Kind is PDF and Date added is within the last 30 days), and click Save. The smart folder fills itself; nothing is moved.
Keep it up in five minutes a week
- Open Downloads and the Desktop, sorted by Date Added.
- Move what you’ll keep into its folder; rename unclear names on the way.
- Move used installers and copies to the Trash.
Where Lisorto fits
Lisorto for Mac does the weekly routine for you: it reads each file in Downloads, the Desktop, or any folder you pick, proposes where it belongs and a clear name for scans and screenshots, and moves nothing until you say so. AutoPilot (Pro) keeps the folder tidy as new files land, and one Undo takes any of it back.