Cloud Storage for Safety

I know! I know! You've heard it 1,000 times, "BACK-UP!"

But still, there are those out there who simply don't do it (for whatever reason).
However, there are a few ways to keep at least SOME of your data safe in the event of a ... "Hard Disk Failure!"

There are a lot of Cloud-Storage / PC-syncing options out there these days, and one of the best uses for them is as a real-time back-up system. The most common ones out there are:

DROPBOX - 2GB FREE

This was the original cloud-storage/ computer-syncing solution. They started out with 2GB free, and that's all they still offer. That said, they were the first, and their syncing is often faster than the others, making them a good choice for file-sharing too.

GOOGLE DRIVE - 15GB FREE

Google offers it's Drive to all those with a "Gmail" account - If you don't have one yet, they are worth every penny (that's right, it's FREE). Not only do you get the Google Drive, you also get many other productivity utilities, such as Google Docs, and Calendar, etc. 

SKYDRIVE - 7GB FREE

Microsoft's SkyDrive (soon to be renamed after losing a legal battle against British Satellite TV company, BSkyB) offers the most free storage of the lot - 7 gigabytes. This might do for keeping your music, or photo collection safe, provided you don't have thousands of CDs burned to your computer, or you don't store all of your pics in .raw format.

No more "My Documents" folder.

Windows won't really let you delete your "My Documents" folder, as it's part of your "Libraries" filing system (OK, you can delete it, but it may cause problems when installing programs that keep stuff there by default - it's best to leave it where it is), but nobody's forcing you to use it.

Instead, install one of the options above, and then create the equivalent to your "My Documents" inside it!

Tip: Name it something slightly different, so you don't mix the two up, and then keep ALL of your important documents in there.
Even Dropbox, with only 2GB of free storage, should be enough for most document hogs - Various Word, Excel, and PDF files, numerous versions of your resume, invoices & scanned bills, tax returns, etc - It takes a heck of a lot to fill 2 gigabytes with those kinds of files. And they are the ones that could cause the most trouble if you lost them.
As a bonus, if you have two (or more) PCs on which you need to carry these "important files", you won't need to transfer this folder from machine to machine - Simply install Dropbox on each computer, and your files will automatically appear as soon as you connect to the internet.

Personally, I use Dropbox to store passwords on all machines, as well as transferring files to/from my wife's computer. I use Google Drive as my "My documents" folder - My entire personal history is in there, including tax files, research papers, invoices...everything - All accessible from any computer as well as my smartphone. Finally, I use SkyDrive to store and share all my photos. Although I have to admit, the 7GB can get full pretty quickly, especially if you have a decent camera that takes hi-res photos.

Alternatives

Dropbox, Google Drive, and SkyDrive are not the only ones out there.
Other cloud-storage solutions are: Box, Copy, Cubby, CX, IDrive, MiMedia, Mozy, and SugarSync, to name a few.
PCMag has a list of 18 of the best cloud storage, and how much space they are offering.
PCWorld has some great tips on how to Supersize your free cloud storage.

You should STILL back up properly anyway!

Of course, all of these are limited in the amount of storage they give you, and if you're selective about what you put in them, you can keep the things that are most important to you safe. But these will only protect some of your stuff - There is no substitute for a full back-up onto an external hard-drive (or several external hard-drives... in different locations).