How to Organize Digital Clutter

We ditched traditionalism to embrace digitalism, and it seems the world has changed. 

But what still remains the same is the clutter and the dire need for organization. That is to say, our documents may have moved from our cabinets to our computer folders, but they still need organization. Otherwise, we’ll all be staring at a thousand emails, or images only to struggle with storage issues, not to mention focus and productivity as well.

Therefore, here’s how you can master the skill of digital decluttering. Just sit back and read along.

How to organize digital clutter

1. Unsubscribe

We are all in the same boat in this regard; our mail app finds itself clogged by a thousand unwanted mails. Wondering how such emails reach your mail id in the first place?

Well, thank yourself, because mostly you are the one to subscribe to them unconsciously every time you visit a website and register yourself on it.

But don’t worry, here’s how you can undo it.

You just have to hit the unsubscribe button. Every mail carries an unsubscribe button along with it. Most commonly, it is at the bottom of the mail. However, you can also find it at the top sometimes.

2. Images

Our galleries are stuffed with unnecessary images. Be it old screenshots or just hundreds of pictures in the same pose.

But, if you want to be free of digital clutter, you have to get rid of them.

Here are a few tips for you.

• Organize your images. Sort them, and add them to the folders they belong in.
• You can start by deleting images that look more or less the same.
• Go from folder to folder. Head to screenshots first. Look closely, and delete the unnecessary ones.
• Switch off auto-download for images and videos.
• Make it a habit that every time you receive an important image, you add it to your favorites or at least mark them. It will help you retain important images and get rid of the useless ones easily. 
• Use cloud storage services like google drive or iCloud.

3. Applications

Our phones provide shelter to a lot of apps that we never used or do not use anymore. It’s time to bid our

goodbyes to them.

Start by getting rid of apps you do not ever use. Then head to those which you seldom use.

Furthermore, if you happen to be an IOS user, there’s an offload feature that allows you to get rid of an app you seldom use and automatically store its data when you reinstall it.

4. Organize your desktop

Our desktops are usually filled with gazillion apps and icons. It’s time to organize them for your own convenience.

It will involve lots of sorting, creating folders, and storing the data in them for an efficient organization.

5. Music library detox

I don’t know about you, but hundreds of songs consume significant space on both my phone and laptop. And I guess, you too must not be a stranger to the crowd.

Therefore, start by deleting songs you don’t listen to anymore. You can also go for music streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music and stream music instead of downloading them to spare your phone from potential storage issues.

6. Clear junk/temporary files

Every time you visit a website, you end up storing cookies and caches. They are nothing but a burden on storage. Therefore, do not think twice before deleting them.

For laptops – Open the Run app by searching it in the taskbar. Type in %temp% and delete everything.

For iPhone- Delete website data for safari, and clear app cache from apps individually. PS. Only some apps, say Amazon, allows you to clear cache in the app itself.

For android – You just have to head to your storage and file settings.

Last but not least

It might be a tedious task to de-clutter, might even take a whole day or more than that. But it’s just one time, then you’ll be mess-free and stress-free.

 

Hey, feel you have some tips to share? We’re all ears. Feel free to head to the comment section.