Any tips for getting my MBP into better shape?

Question

Hey there. I've been following a couple of threads relating to how sluggish a lot of people using Maverick's computers are. I've followed a lot of suggestions and I'm contemplating upgrading to  8GB RAM to try and cope with Mavericks high memory demands. I ran an Etrecheck to give you an idea of how it's currently functioning and would greatly appreciate any advice/guidance.
EtreCheck version: 1.9.11 (43) - report generated 27 May 2014 11:00:05 am AEST
Hardware Information:
          MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010)
          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro7,1
          1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores
          4 GB RAM
Video Information:
          NVIDIA GeForce 320M - VRAM: 256 MB
System Software:
          OS X 10.9.3 (13D65) - Uptime: 0 days 0:22:19
Disk Information:
          Hitachi HTS545025B9SA02 disk0 : (250.06 GB)
                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 249.2 GB (105.66 GB free)
                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
          MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898 
USB Information:
          Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
          Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
          Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Configuration files:
          /etc/sysctl.conf - Exists
Gatekeeper:
          Mac App Store and identified developers
Startup Items:
          FanControlDaemon: Path: /Library/StartupItems/FanControlDaemon
          HWNetMgr: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HWNetMgr
          HWPortDetect: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HWPortDetect
          StartOuc: Path: /Library/StartupItems/StartOuc
Launch Daemons:
          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support
          [loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
          [loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support
Launch Agents:
          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
          [loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
User Launch Agents:
          [loaded] com.divx.agent.postinstall.plist Support
          [running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist Support
          [loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist Support
User Login Items:
          iTunesHelper
          GrowlHelperApp
          GrowlMenu
          Dropbox
Internet Plug-ins:
          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.8.1 Support
          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 13.0.0.214 - SDK 10.6 Support
          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 55 Check version
          Flash Player: Version: 13.0.0.214 - SDK 10.6 Support
          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
          o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.1.18709 Support
          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
          googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.1.18709 Support
          Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
          iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
Audio Plug-ins:
          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
          AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9
          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9
          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
iTunes Plug-ins:
          Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9
User iTunes Plug-ins:
          TuneUp Visualizer: Version: (null) Support
3rd Party Preference Panes:
          Fan Control  Support
          Flash Player  Support
          Flip4Mac WMV  Support
          Java  Support
Time Machine:
          Mobile backups: ON
          Auto backup: YES
          Volumes being backed up:
                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 232.09 GB Disk used: 133.68 GB
          Destinations:
                    Alex - Mac [Local] (Last used)
                    Total size: 298.09 GB
                    Total number of backups: 12
                    Oldest backup: 2013-12-09 14:42:25 +0000
                    Last backup: 2014-04-16 07:23:57 +0000
                    Size of backup disk: Too small
                              Backup size 298.09 GB < (Disk used 133.68 GB X 3)
          Time Machine details may not be accurate.
          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
Top Processes by CPU:
               8%          WindowServer
               3%          Safari
               1%          hidd
               1%          coreaudiod
               0%          FanControlDaemon
Top Processes by Memory:
          176 MB          iTunes
          123 MB          com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
          115 MB          com.apple.IconServicesAgent
          102 MB          Safari
          70 MB          Dropbox
Virtual Memory Information:
          762 MB          Free RAM
          1.61 GB          Active RAM
          926 MB          Inactive RAM
          501 MB          Wired RAM
          308 MB          Page-ins
          0 B          Page-outs
Thanks in advance,
Alex

Answer 1

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Step 1
For this step, the title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
In the top right corner of the Console window, there's a search box labeled Filter. Initially the words "String Matching" are shown in that box. Enter the name of the crashed application or process. For example, if iTunes crashed, you would enter "iTunes" (without the quotes.)
Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Select the messages from the time of the last crash, if any. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
☞ The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
☞ Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.
Step 2
In the Console window, select
DIAGNOSTIC AND USAGE INFORMATION ▹ User Diagnostic Reports
(not Diagnostic and Usage Messages) from the log list on the left. There is a disclosure triangle to the left of the list item. If the triangle is pointing to the right, click it so that it points down. You'll see a list of crash reports. The name of each report starts with the name of the process, and ends with ".crash". Select the most recent report related to the process in question. The contents of the report will appear on the right. Use copy and paste to post the entire contents—the text, not a screenshot.
I know the report is long, maybe several hundred lines. Please post all of it anyway.
☞ If you don't see any reports listed, but you know there was a crash, you may have chosen Diagnostic and Usage Messages from the log list. Choose DIAGNOSTIC AND USAGE INFORMATION instead.
In the interest of privacy, I suggest that, before posting, you edit out the “Anonymous UUID,” a long string of letters, numbers, and dashes in the header of the report, if it’s present (it may not be.)
☞ Please don’t post other kinds of diagnostic report—they're very long and rarely helpful.