[arch-ninja]

There's a ton of easy low-hanging fruit along these lines that could be improved. Good example: I have a python script that routinely scans my ~/downloads directory and quarantines anything more than 24 hours old. It then scans the quarantine directory and deletes anything more than a week old. If the data is important, I'll have 2 chances to save it someplace meaningful.

[pfranz]

This may not be directly related to your workflow, but in macOS there's a preference to delete items that have been in Trash after 30 days. If you're more proactive about putting stuff in the Trash (and less proactive about emptying it), that (plus backups) gives a similar behavior. My wife doesn't ever empty her Trash and previously I had written a script that did it.

[jnieminen]

I use the downloads folder to store the interesting pieces. It is fascinating to jump back in time and see what you have came across.

[Arrath]

Same. For example my downloads folder has near every major release version of Starsector, Dwarf Fortress, and Factorio.