This week of the decluttering series, we are going to focus on our digital space. Make files, photos, and apps easier to find when you purge and organize this virtual space. But first, why should we declutter?
Why should we declutter?
Well, humans like stuff. We like a whole lot of stuff and we don’t always like to get rid of it, you know, in case we need it someday. Routinely decluttering our space works wonders!
- It makes it easier to find things and frees up your time – No need to go digging through piles of stuff, you’ll know exactly where things are!
- You’ll appreciate what you have – When we get rid of items we don’t love or find valuable, we appreciate what is left because, as Marie Kondo would say, it sparks joy!
- It frees up your physical space – There’s more room for items we love!
- It frees up your mental space – There’s a reason minimalism is a popular trend. Clutter makes it hard for us to focus and creates feelings of anxiety. Clearing the house helps to clear the mind.
- Excessive stuff can make us feel guilty – Clothing that doesn’t fit, gifts we don’t use, and expensive items that no longer have a purpose all make us feel levels of guilt; no one needs that in their lives. Be gone evil clutter!
- You can make a little cash from your efforts – Sites like eBay, Mercari, and Facebook Marketplace make it easy to unload things we no longer need for a few extra dollars. It’s basically a win-win.
Tips on getting started:
Don’t get distracted by the pretty organizational tools. Bins are cool, and baskets are awesome but when you buy more stuff while you trying to get rid of stuff, it’s kind of counter-productive. This brings me to my next point…
Declutter BEFORE you organize. It can be very tempting to start the organization process but it will be much easier when you are left with items you will be keeping.
Don’t get discouraged. Set a timer for 15 minutes and start there. You can also complete this process a little at a time. No need to purge your whole house in one shot or go through 15 years of files before you’re allowed to get up and pee. Let’s be realistic here. You don’t want to burn yourself out. Set small goals and chip away. Every little bit helps.
Now let’s begin!
For the first week, let’s focus on the digital world. This is a great place to start because you can do it anywhere. From your couch, desk, kitchen table, patio, anywhere! Not to mention, technology is a huge part of most of our lives. So let’s create a little zen in our virtual space.
1. Phone Contacts
Even though I’m sure we all have a ton of contacts on our phones, this is a fairly easy task to tackle. Go through your contacts and if you don’t know who someone is anymore, delete them. If you haven’t seen or talked to them in 15 years, delete them. It’s safe to say, you probably won’t be talking to them any time soon. If they do randomly reach out, it’s okay to say, “Sorry, new phone. Who is this?”
Recommendation: When you add a contact, be sure to list the company or place you associate that person with. This will help you remember how you know them. For example, list the name of where you work for coworker contacts or your child’s school for teachers and staff.
2. Emails
If you are like me, you’ve been suckered into countless subscriptions, most of which you don’t even use. Take some time to unsubscribe from unnecessary emails. Not only will this free up space, but it will also be less tempting to shop those amazing sales on items that you seriously don’t need.
If this seems excruciatingly time-consuming to you, I recommend using the Unroll Me app. You can unsubscribe with the click of a button. You also have the option to roll the email up. This keeps those emails coming to your inbox but it delivers them in one concise email. The best part is that it’s free!
I like working with a clean inbox. It’s calming to me because unread emails typically mean I have something I need to do. To combat this feeling of anxiety, once I’ve read the email and the task is completed, I either delete it or file it away. If you want to save emails, the next thing to do is to create folders to store the emails that you aren’t ready to delete. This way you can stay organized and quickly find the email(s) you are looking for.
Note: I never delete work emails. I store them in folders that correspond with the school year (ie. 2021-2022). Be careful about specific folder categories. Meticulous systems can feel daunting. Try broad but meaningful categories.
3. Apps
Okay, there’s seriously an app for EVERYTHING! Sometimes we download an app and only use it once. That’s okay but if the value is no longer there, get rid of it; especially if it’s a free app! You can always download it again if you truly need it. I love that Apple allows you to delete an app icon but still keep the data and app on your phone. You can access deleted apps with deleted icons using the search feature.
4. Google Drive
It’s easy to accumulate files and information in your Google Drive. Make sure the files are something you need and not just taking up your storage. Once you have purged your files, do yourself a big favor and create folders in your Google Drive. The organization will help you sort and search through a large amount of data.
Tip: Google Drive organizes your folder based on alphabetical order. One way to get around this is to number your folders. So instead of “Birthdays,” you would type “1. Birthdays.”
5. Computer Files
This could be a tough one but it’s worth doing. I like to start with my downloads folder. This is usually the messiest spot but I find that most of the contents are ready for the recycling bin. Work your way through desktop files and other folders, purging anything you no longer need.
Recommendation: Back up important files to an external hard drive or cloud storage. Not only can this free up space on your device, but it will also put your mind at ease; the files will be in a safe and accessible location.
6. Photos
Warning: This is a long process! Especially if you have children and/or have years’ worth of pictures.
Delete those blurry shots and the duplicates. With digital photography, we usually take more than one picture hoping we can capture the perfect shot. This is especially true with group photos. The problem is that we never go back and delete the terrible shots or the 100 duplicate photos we will never use for anything. Pick the best shot and delete the rest.
Trash the screenshots and other photos you no longer need. Sometimes we take pictures to remember an idea or to send in a message but after it is no longer useful, we forget about it and it sits in our albums taking up valuable space.
Doing this manual can take HOURS if not, DAYS! So to help with this process, I downloaded Gemini Photos by MacPaw.
After you’ve pared down the photos, create albums to make searching a bit easier. Categories will depend on your needs. I like to keep an album for important information, like wedding invitations, school calendars, reservations, receipts, and other documents that are useful. Once I no longer need them, I trash them.
Don’t forget to back up your photos somewhere. This could be iCloud, Amazon, or an external hard drive. Whatever works best for you.
What do you do with all of those photos? Physical picture albums are rare these days. With most of our photos on hand, it’s no wonder we don’t take the time to place them in albums with care; it’s a straight-up time-consuming process! I’m making it my goal in 2023 to finish up my family yearbooks. I love the idea of being able to look back on some of these pictures in physical form, rather than scrolling on a phone. More information on that is to come!
Conclusion
Our digital space may not be something we consider when we start our decluttering process but it is a space that accumulates clutter quickly and easily. The best part about this decluttering focus is that you can do it anywhere (and while sitting down). Don’t forget to chunk this up into segments so you don’t become overwhelmed. The trick is to stay motivated and positive! What digital clutter do you struggle with the most? Let me know in the comments or shoot me a quick email.