Spring is well and truly here and it's sometimes feeling a little like summer so while we’re all busy sorting out our wardrobes and deep cleaning the house there’s one area we often neglect our digital lives! If your phone storage is constantly full, your laptop takes ages to start up or your inbox has more unread emails than you care to admit then it’s time for a digital declutter!
Here’s how to freshen up your tech and reclaim some space both physically and mentally.
Declutter Your Inbox
That dreaded email notification number doesn’t have to haunt you forever! Start by unsubscribing from newsletters you never read. You can click through each email and unsubscribe or there apps and programmes which do it for you. Next delete old emails you no longer need and create folders for the important ones to keep them in order. I hate seeing a full email inbox, my youngest never clears hers and it makes me cringe when I see that she has thousands of unread emails.
Clear Out Your Phone
How many of your apps do you actually use? Delete the ones you never open, clear out old text conversations and remove duplicate or blurry photos. Transferring pictures to cloud storage or an external hard drive can also free up space. Don’t forget to clear your cache and temporary files for a performance boost! I got a new phone a couple of months ago and it was a great way to start afresh with just having apps that I use.
Tidy Up Your Laptop or Computer
A cluttered desktop is the digital equivalent of a messy room. Organise your files into folders, delete anything outdated and empty your recycle bin. Consider backing up important documents to an external drive or cloud storage to prevent future headaches. I will admit the desktop on my laptop is chaos and cluttered but I do use everything on it.
Sort Through Your Social Media
Spring cleaning applies to your social media too! Unfollow accounts that no longer inspire you and update your privacy settings. If you haven’t changed your passwords in a while now’s a good time to do that too.
Streamline Your Subscriptions
From streaming services to apps and software it’s easy to forget what you’re actually paying for. Go through your bank statements and cancel anything you no longer use your wallet will thank you! For a few months after getting Netflix with our Sky subscription I still subscribed to my account and ended up paying for a few months. Oops.
Refresh Your Digital Workspace
If you spend a lot of time on your computer, give your digital workspace a little refresh. Change your wallpaper, organise your bookmarks and try out a productivity app to keep you on track. A clean, organised space can do wonders for motivation!
Back Up Everything
Now that you’ve tidied up your devices, make sure you don’t lose any important files. Use cloud storage, an external hard drive or both for extra security. You never know when technology might fail you!
A digital spring clean doesn’t just help your devices run better it also helps clear your mind. Less clutter means less stress, so take a little time to refresh your digital life and enjoy the benefits of a more organised, streamlined space.
Do you ever have a digital declutter?
Such good tips and I feel like this is always an ongoing project! Hope you are enjoying your day!
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