Saving downloaded files from emails

Is there any way to save files to an external drive? We receive emails with attachments. When we save these files, the only options given are "desktop" and "our external drive". We need to save them to folders, preferably on our external drive. Even if we create a folder on the desktop, we can't figure out how to save the file in that folder directly. The desktop is a mess because it is littered with images.

 

We are using Swishmail (webmail). We right-clicked on the attachment, but it just gives us the option to save as a link. We double-clicked on the attachment as well. And, it just gives us the desktop option. (We could save images from Swishmail to folders on our PCs. We love our Macs and so are hoping that we don't have to return to our PCs. )

 

We're also using Rackspace webmail. Again, we could save to folders with that one as well (on a pc). But, we'd prefer to use our Macs. We receive 20-30 images a day and so you can imagine what our desktop looks like.

Maybe someone has written an app?

 

Ah-ha! I figured out a workaround. I moved a new folder to "my places" in the Finder and now that shows up as a selectable destination. I can then delete that folder and add another to My Places as needed. Will I be "breaking" my Mac by doing that? I mean, I don't know how many "My Places" you can have in Finder.