How do I tar and zip my files so I can transfer them all at once?

The easiest thing to do is to put all the files you want to transfer in a single directory.

Once all files are in the directory type: tar cf dirname.tar dirname

To shrink the file size a little more type: gzip dirname.tar

You will now have the file: dirname.tar.gz

When the file is transferred to its new home you will type: tar xzvf dirname.tar

The directory will now be in place with all files in it.