What to store in the cloud and what not to? Here are my thoughts.

Are you scared if your computer dies? I am not.

I organize the data as follows:

1. Very critical and fits in 2GB:

I use Dropbox.

Examples:

Word, Excel spreadsheets. Any finacial date must be password protected and    even encrypted. 

Save only on Dropbox folder. Why Dropbox? Multi-platform: Windows, Mac, IOS, Android    and even Linux. 2GB free. Other choice is Ubuntu One 5GB and all the same platforms.

Disclosure: I use Xubuntu Linux for everything except filing taxes for which I use WIndows    on a dual-boot laptop and I use Android Samsung Galaxy Note 2 5.5" 720p "Phablet".

2. Somewhat critical and fits in 10GB:

I use GoogleDrive.

Examples:

Documents you share with others, Favorite photos or music you always want    to access even from a phone.    

I bought 80GB of space per year under Google's old plan for $20 per yr. All my    photos and video clips go there. There could be better and cheaper choices just    for Photos and Videos.

3. Important but too big to save in Dropbox or Google Drive:

I use external drive + copy on a computer.

Examples:

Photos and Videos not on GoogleDrive such as home video.

Have a copy in data drive and frequently backup to external drive.

   

4. Not that important but nice to have:

I use external drive only.

Examples:

Movies from youtube you download to watch on a plane or your DVD or Bluray movies that you backed up.

If you really like the content, have 2 copies on 2 external drives/

5. Strictly temporary and small files you can get again.

Just fine to leave them in your Download folder.

6. Strictly temporary and big files you can get again. 

Examples:  

 

.iso files of software you paid for or free. Moving data around or sharing with others.
Put them in a directory on the external USB drive called Temp.