Digital Clutter Tips + A Bonus Gift

Hey clutter warrior, this week let’s look at digital clutter!

Whether you grew up typing on a manual typewriter, an IBM Selectric (!), or a computer keyboard, there’s no denying that we are now living in a digital age, right?

‍TECHNOLOGY IS NOT GOING AWAY‍

Like it or not, technology is here to stay.

And even if you’re not a fan of science fiction, it’s easy to imagine a world where machines are running everything and we are the new drones, reduced to doing the evil machines’ bidding.                                                                                                                                  

Fortunately, we’re quite some distance from that dystopian future.

What is true is and a bit more immediate is that, with all of these machines embedded in our lives, we are accumulating an immense amount of digital clutter in the form of old files, emails, and apps. 

Not only does this clutter take up valuable space on our devices, but it can also lead to a feeling of overwhelm and disorganization. 

And in some ways, because these files, apps, images and documents are relatively small when compared to physical things like clothing, furniture, and gardening equipment, they’re easier to dismiss or overlook …

Until you really need to find something or they stop working at a critical moment, like when an important call drops or the GPS conks out, right? 

So here are some quick tips for dealing with digital clutter—and we’ll start by addressing digital files, email, and apps.

DEALING WITH DIGITAL FILES

The quickest way to create some space AND some momentum is by deleting old files. Those could be duplicates or just files you no longer need. 

How To Delete Old Files‍

Go through your Downloads folder, review your desktop (!), and look through any catchall folders you’ve created to where you’ve been parking random items “until you have more time to sort through them.” Now is that time!

As you look through each folder, change your view to BY TYPE and then scan each category of file and it will be much easier to find duplicates and nearly identical copies. Either drag to the trash or just delete any items that you no longer need.

BONUS TIP: Be sure to empty your trash bin afterward to free up space on your device. Otherwise, the files aren’t really gone—and they are still occupying space on your hard drive.‍

Set Up An Incoming Digital Files SOP

Create a simple system for dealing with new files and emails so you don’t just recreate the problem with new clutter. By setting up a few rules for how and when you’ll handle incoming files, they won't pile up and become overwhelming.

DEALING WITH EMAIL

I teach entire classes and each of my books, Unstuff Your Life!, and Calling BS on Busy, have chapters dedicated to reducing email clutter.

So there’s lots I could say about email clutter but the quickest way to start getting rid of the lowest hanging fruit is to get off as many lists as you possibly can. ‍‍

Unsubscribe From Email Subscriptions

Similarly to how you will sort your digital files, go into your email program and sort by SENDER. Once you do this, you may find that you have hundreds or even thousands of emails from one address or one domain—yay!

That makes it so much easier to just select all the emails from that one address or domain and delete them all. You may get a warning query asking you if you really want to delete XXX emails from the sender … and your answer should be yes!

If you have tons of email, you won’t finish this task in one sitting … but if you schedule regular appointments with yourself to do this in 15-minute increments, you’ll see that you will make progress every day until you have finally gotten your inbox down to a manageable size.‍

DEALING WITH APPS‍

Most apps are free and as a result, they are very easy to download.

That often leads to a particular kind of digital clutter.

Think of apps like the 21st-century version of ripping an article out of a magazine to “read later.” It’s super easy to do in the moment and surprisingly hard to budget time for at any moment in the future, right?

So, by all means, feed your curiosity about the latest apps and their promises of making your life simpler and easier … just actually spend 15 minutes with them to figure out if there’s any “there” there. Does the app solve a problem you have or make your life easier … or is it just another digital paperweight taking up space on your phone or tablet?

Organize Your Apps

Start by setting a timer for 15 minutes.

Then, take a quick scan of your phone and/or tablet and delete any apps that you no longer use.

I create a folder for apps I download so I can keep them all together and then test them. 

Once I review the apps, I toss the ones I don’t like and put any that are staying with their siblings in labeled folders. 

Use the 2nd leg of my Organizational Triangle^®, Like with Like, to help you group like apps together. 

Some easy categories are FINANCES, TRAVEL, FITNESS, FOOD, SOCIAL MEDIA, and NEWS. Organizing all the apps you actually use into folders will make them easier to find.

USING CLOUD STORAGE

In addition to using the cloud for your redundant backups, if you have an older device or a lot of files, you may also benefit from storing larger files and folders on the cloud.

But just like off-site storage for physical items, it’s very easy to park it and forget it digitally as well.

And you only really feel the pain once a month when the recurring charge hits your credit card.

So, don’t put things in the cloud you aren’t certain you need to keep—only use this kind of storage for high value items that would otherwise bloat your hard drive’s limited storage space.

Free Up Hard Disk Space with Cloud-based Storage

There are lots of cloud storage services you can consider, depending on your loyalty to a particular operating system or device family.

All of the major players have “for hire” cloud storage these days, including Apple’s iCloud, Google Drive, Microsoft and there are plenty of agnostic storage options like Dropbox, too.

You can sign up for a free or paid account, depending on how much space you need, and then store important files offshore and free up space on your device—after you’ve deleted the files you don’t need.

You could also use cloud storage to backup important files so nothing valuable is lost when a device is lost, stolen or just fails.

THE BOTTOM LINE‍

By taking these steps to start dealing with digital clutter, you will free up space on your devices, reduce feeling overwhelmed, and create a more organized digital life.

If you want more help simplifying and demystifying your digital life, check out Decluttering Your Digital Life, one of our most popular classes at Unstuff University.

For more information, click on the button below!

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