Keeping it lean n mean

Welcome mustafap :)

With regard to your existing data (on an external drive or whatever), I for one don't believe there's necessarily anything wrong with hanging onto your old digital photographs, or for that matter emails that may have 'sentimental value', provided you know you'll look at them at some stage. Once you have decided what kinds of data are ok to hang onto, getting rid of the rest is simple-Just sort your stuff by date (in windows explorer just click on the 'Date modified' column header), select everything before a certain date and delete it. The rest you have at least consciously decided to keep.

For your new computer, here are just a couple of suggestions:
1. If you have a reliable, always on connection use web applications where you can.
2. Go to www.portableapps.com and see if you can shift to using some applications portably. They can just be run from a folder, and when you want to remove them it's a simple case of deleting them, no rubbish left over on your hard drive or in your registry.
3. When you come across an app you think you would like to install, add it to a list (similar to a 30 day purchase list) and if you still think it's worth the effort at the end of your list period then go ahead and install it. Chances are you'll realize you can't be bothered ;)
4. For data (documents, photographs, etc) that you don't need to hang on to forever, treat them as you would GTD inputs and action items. Try to only have one place for these items (e.g. your My Documents folder). Treat this folder as an Inbox, and review it on a regular basis, deleting or archiving (in an archive folder) items you no longer need, actioning those you can and schduling reminders for things you must action at certain times. The point is to prevent a massive list of files building up in arbitrary locations that make it impossible to find any one thing that you need.

Oh and one golden rule from someone that plays the role of IT do-all monkey for way too many family members: Don't ever install icon packs, screen-savers or any other 'free' stuff advertised on big flashing banners on your webmail site, please :)

Congratulations on your new computer and your decision to start fresh :)

Some tips for peace of mind:
- Go through your files in the same way you would go through your home to unclutter it. Spend 15/30/whatever min a day, or spend a weekend if that suits you better!
- Create an "archive" on your computer for the things that you want to keep for the future, but you are very unlikely to open more than once a year. That way they don't clutter up your system. Be careful not to make it a "maybe" place where you chuck every other thing. This is not a digital junk drawer, but a storage box for precious things :)
- Invest in a backup strategy. Preferably something dead simple, to make sure it gets done. It can be as simple as setting reminders for yourself to connect your external drive once a week before you go to work/sleep. When you have this habit down, get started on off site backups. You may also want to consider automatic backups to a NAS or online service (Mozy/S3/similar).
- I second FlintZA's web app suggestion. del.icio.us is great for simplification and keeping your bookmarks browser/computer agnostic.
- Don't print, don't save, bookmark. Preferably using del.icio.us :)
- For things you do save, FlintZA's suggestion of a centralized location for everything that enters your computer is excellent. Set it as the default for all applications.
- Just as you want to find a place for everything in your home, find a place for everything on your computer. Use these places when going through your "inbox". And don't hesitate deleting things you can easily find again with google and re-download.

Good luck :)

I feel I have to add another point, based on what's been said here and by others. An external hard drive is not a backup solution. Hard drives are sensitive to all kinds of damage, which is exactly why backup strategies are needed. External hard drives are potentially even worse since they get carried around and could easily be dropped. Depending on the size of your data and what you want to spend you essentially have three options:
1. Optical media- This is the easiest and probably the best solution for most home users. Get a decent speed DVD burner, some (re)writable DVDs and writing software (the excellent, free InfraRecorder is available as a portable application) and you're set to go.
2. Data tapes- Similar in concept to using optical media, but way more expensive and capable of backing up much larger amounts of data. If you've got the cash to go this route, lucky you :)
3. Online backups- Some of these services have already been mentioned, and if you have a reliable unlimited bandwidth broadband solution they could be great. My concern with these is always that I may not be able to access the service when I really need it (but then South African internet services aren't exactly renowned for their reliability ;) )

Not to enter a flame war here, but an external drive plus backup software is a completely adequate backup solution for regular people. The backup drive is very unlikely to fail at the same time as your main drive.

Optical media for backup is not a good idea IMHO. Unless you buy expensive discs made to last for a long time, the data on the discs can get corrupted over time (in as little as one year).

Sorry but I still disagree with you there grey. Hard drives are extremely sensitive to knocks, bumps and electrical interference compared to optical media and fail more frequently than some people realize. I have lost data in the past due to trusting it to an external hard drive.
While you may be right that it's unlikely (though far from impossible) both drives will fail simultaneously, the point is often to have an archive solution, more than a backup solution, so that you don't have to worry about deleting the data on your PC.

So far I've been very impressed with Mozy. Once you put in the initial time to get everything backed up, it runs quietly in the background at night to update my backup. If I ever need to recover my data, I have several options. There is a restore option through the software on your computer, you can download your files from their website, or you can pay a small fee and have them send you all your data on DVD's. Unlimited storage for $4.95 a month is not bad at all.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I kinda KNOW I should really seek out a web-based backup strategy that works for me. (It's a very regular item on my To-Do list that never seems to get quite to the To-Done... Yikes). I have an unlimited broadband connection in the UK and it would make sense to be able to access stuff while away from home, like I do my e-mail by using yahoo/gmail.

Of course having worked hard on eliminating general everyday pack-rattery I discover I'm a dreadful hoarder when it comes to digital "stuff". Sometimes I know I'm just saving stuff or bookmarking it "because I can". I have a real blind spot when it comes to staying "real" about the amount of info I can process or benefit from. I don't print stuff out very often but I can still do a fair bit of perhaps-style bookmarking.

So as well as working out a sane back-up strategy I think I need to get a whole lot tougher about what it is I am keeping in the first instance. I have started to use a biggish (i.e. not intended to be portable particularly) external harddrive for occasional backups of my PC (in place of burning CDR's) and I have also got a couple of those pen/flash-USB drives for day to day carrying files from place to place. I think I'm getting OLD tho'. I still can't quite believe their can be 4GB of memory on a little stick like that; I can cast my mind back as far as the ZX81 and early Atari's!! My new laptop (still remaining sort of lean and clean so far) has a DVDR so maybe I should think of using that as a backup for the really mustn't lose stuff like photos.