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Have You Started Taking Steps To Declutter Your Digital World? If Not, Start Today!
Most times, when we think about clutter, we’re usually referring to items in our homes, basements, garages, attics. Those are the areas where “stuff” accumulates and is piled up and most noticeable. In this day and age, we also accumulate digital clutter. On our PC’s, laptops, tablets, and of course, cell phones. It is important to declutter your digital world.
Digital clutter is not easily noticed as it does not take up physical space. When you declutter your digital world you will notice more free time, increased productivity, and a sense of freedom.
What are the how to's of decluttering your digital world? Here are secrets to know. #declutterClick To Tweet
Make any season a motivating time to get the cleaning done, and get clutter or junk out of the house.
What Ways Have You Considered To Help Declutter Your Digital World?
If you are like me, then your email is filled with at least 50% of emails that you could do without.
Might even be a higher percentage. Some people have three or four email accounts!
In my opinion, nobody needs more than two email accounts (work and personal).
Your computer has all kinds of software on it, you constantly receive social media notifications, spam mails both on your computer and phone, different alerts, the list goes on and on……
So let me share with you the teeny tiny secrets to getting rid if the unnecessary.
Declutter Your Digital World Today!
Removing Clutter From Your Laptop or Desktop
Desktop Icons – There was a time when my desktop was covered with many icons.
As an OCD organizer extraordinaire, I had icons and folders for everything. Dozens of shortcuts.
Perfectly sorted. Of course, alphabetically, but having ten or more icons plus folders on your desktop is just overdoing it. Mind you, at times, icons may slow down your machine.
Remove as many icons from your desktop as possible. It is the equivalent of working at a cluttered desk. If that’s the way you like it, then enjoy your cluttered desktop.
Whatever works for you. I say, clear it, clear it, clear it!
Cleaning Out Your Email, Freeing Up Your Inbox
Reading and responding to all mails in your inbox on a daily basis can take a while.
Email is an incredibly useful communication tool but why use it in ways that end up leaving you overwhelmed? There are great ways to manage your email so that you’re more productive.
Inbox – If you can respond to an email within 3 minutes, then do it right away. If it will take longer, or you need to gather information before responding, move it to a “Read / Respond Later” folder.
QUICK TIP: Did you know that you can set your email software to “receive” messages only at certain times? Oh yes! Enter a time range of when you receive messages and make your digital world easier for you to manage. Decrease overwhelm and distraction. If you don’t want to do this out of fear that you may “miss something”, at least turn off audible and visual alerts.
Unsubscribe – You should unsubscribe to newsletters, information, advertisements and alerts that are no longer meaningful to you. You don’t need to keep it if you never read it, or if you will end up hitting delete anyway because it no longer serves a purpose.
Archive – There are lots of documents you have saved over time. If you no longer need them, trash them. If you are unsure or need to keep them, then create and store these in an “Archive” folder. Chances are you will not need to view these documents regularly.
QUICK TIP: Set up a simple filing system to help manage your mail.
Use categories like “Action Items,” “To Be Decided,” “Information”, “To Do This Week” and “Archive.”
Software Program/Apps You Know You Don’t Ever Use
I download apps to check them out, test them, and end up never using them. Or I use them, find one that works better and end up forgetting about the first one. As a result, I leave the program or app on my laptop or phone, where it eats up digital space.
These SIMPLE secrets will help you free yourself of digital clutter. #declutterClick To Tweet
At the end of this post. don’t forget to get your FREE Declutter Your Digital World Checklist to help you work through all steps.
Software, Apps and Bookmarks
Software and Apps – Uninstall programs on desktop or laptops to free up space on your hard drive. I intentionally wrote uninstall and not delete. Uninstall apps from your phone if you no longer use them.
Bookmarks – Delete bookmarks that are no longer needed. Easy peasy.
Delete Temporary Internet Files – What are they? They are located in a folder on Windows which contain video and audio files, from websites visited by the user. This allows such websites to load more quickly the next time they are visited. Removing them takes 10 seconds.
Control Panel > Internet Options > General > Delete Temporary Internet Files.
Delete Pictures You Do Not Need
Do you love posing for pictures? Taking selfies? I don’t.
What I do love to do is to take pictures of my little one! My gosh, he is almost two and I do not know how many thousands of pictures I have of him! Yup, first-time mom here 🙂
I cannot bring myself to delete pictures of him.
I should take my advice – yes. Delete pictures that serve no purpose. Ever take a picture that came out blurry? Or where half of someone’s head was not in the shot? A picture of yourself you do not like because it is so embarrassing? Well, why keep them?
Delete from your camera or phone before uploading to your computer.
Download my checklist at the end of this post.
Social Media Detox
In regards to social media, you need to figure out what works best for you. This depends on how many social media channels you use, what you use them for, and whether they are priority in your life.
As a blogger, I use three main social media channels, but one more than the other two.
I allow notifications to be less frequent or turned off for the ones I don’t want to, have to or need to see immediately. You know what is best for you.
TV Series – Music – Movies – I don’t have any of these saved on my laptop or desktop.
I need music in my life, so if I am on the computer and want to listen to music, I connect my phone or USB. Sometimes, I will use a Youtube playlist. I don’t take up space for this on my devices.
Declutter your digital world today! #declutterClick To Tweet
Stay Committed To Decluttering Your Digital world
We live in a digital world, so telling people to completely switch off makes no sense.
Besides, it’s not realistic. We want to stay connected, which is understandable.
Still, there is so much more to life. Use the extra time you have after you declutter your digital world. You can even create digital-free spaces at home. Make these spaces where you choose not to be connected. The bedroom and the dining room are great places to start.
You will enjoy digital interaction better when you choose to do it rather than drift into it.
Do you feel anxious when the battery on your phone is low?
Can you leave your device on off, or even at home, for a couple of hours? A whole day?
Have you taken any steps to declutter your digital world?
Share your experiences with me in the comments section below.
So lovelies, download the Secrets to Declutter Your Digital World from my resource library!
105 comments
I so needed to read this. My digital world can be chaos at times with the amount of emails I get on a daily basis! Thanks for the tips!
These are some fantastic tips – I really need to declutter my digital world on a more regular basis to be quite honest.
You’re correct! I do have lots of documents in the cupboard and drawers but the issue is that I’m not very sure if I should discard them.
This is so super helpful. Thank you! I am going to go through the list and do each task when I have a moment x
Great tips! I need to declutter my email, I have so many unopened emails that just get buried in my inbox! It’s so stressful!
I should really do this – I hold on to so many emails just in case they will come in useful one day – and of course they don’t! By then I have so many i can’t face taking the time to purge them.
There are some really helpful ideas here. I’m getting a bit fed up with the state of my inbox lately, so I’ve been on an unsubscribe binge at it feels good!
Great ideas here. I try to declutter but as fast as I remove spam, desktop icons, bookmarks and all that stuff that collects, it reappears again. I suppose the answer is control in the first place.
I really need to do this! I never delete anything on my computer! There is so much I no longer need that could be cleared.
Wow, some fantastic tips here. I definitely need to follow these. I am far more cluttered in my digital life than my real one.
Fabulous tips – my desktop could do with a good festive clear-out!!
Great tips! I usually need to declutter in all areas of my life periodically otherwise I just feel stuck and unable to progress.
Such an informative post! Definitely in need of a good declutter.
Every so often I do a full works on my laptop. It gets cleared of the stuff I don’t need, I defrag, disk clean, clear cookies etc. It feels so much better, and helps run the laptop so much better.
really useful tips and tricks here, especially about the email inbox. That is one of my worse areas that often feels overwhelming
Oh I needed to read this. My inbox is overflowing and my desktop is very cluttered. I need to take your suggestions onboard and declutter.
I always declutter my emails and it’s rare I ever have any unread ones in my inbox they’re all marked and filed away. Although I do need to clear out the hard drive on my laptop x
Thank you for this – just glancing over at my email account I have nearly 4000 unopened emails. And my important ones, unsurprisingly, tend to get lost! Decluttering is on the to do list!
My inbox is full of emails I need to unsubscribe to! I don’t know why I keep letting the junk sit there! Great tips.
My inbox is filled with emails I need to unsubscribe to. I don’t know why I keep letting the junk come in! Great tips
I hate clutter. Decreasing desktop icons is a big one for me. Also, I hate unnecessary emails as well. I unsubscribe from everything!
Great article – this is sooooo important these days!!
Thank you for this great and useful post. I definitely have to do some decluttering of my emails and desktop.
Ha! Perfect timing for me on this subject. I don’t always have time to go thru everything in my emails but the other day, I noticed that I get duplicate emails from store sales events. I was getting them in both my personal and business email so I had to really reorganize everything! I’m not even gonna get into my phone storage lol 😉
I am definitely In need of doing this, I try and do my inbox much more then anything else though!
Great post, with very useful tips! much needed! thanks for sharing!
I can’t even function with things on my desk. I enjoy this post.
This is a great post! I declutter my digital world all the time! i’m guilty of keeping photos that I really don’t need!
Hi Jade! So glad you like this post. I am also guilty of not getting rid of old pictures but it is what makes and keeps memories and I like looking in albums too. Have a great weekend. xoxox!
[…] wrote a post about decluttering your digital world. Living in a clutter free world allows you increased productivity, more free time in your day and […]
This is amazing! You did such a beautiful job! I love this infographic! I can’t wait to put it good use! <3
I agree, Mommy Engineering – great job, Sherry & thank you 🙂
Due to my Type A personality, I declutter regularly. Oh, I am famous for archiving and deleting emails.
These are all wonderful tips! I definitely feel inspired to start decluttering myself!
I need this post:) My desl looks like a clutter mess as does my house. I need to do a major purge:)
Really awesome tips Sheri!! I’m in the midst of trying to declutter my inbox a bit by un-subscribing to a bunch of things. You know the ones – where you hit subscribe simply because a box pops up. Shops, Hotels, etc. It has cleared up space and stress so much!
Oh man, my emails are out of control! This is a great reminder–I really have to clean out my inbox. And go through all my photos in my albums. I just have so many!
sheri, do you want to declutter my digital stuff? God know I need to do it! haha Thank you for this post and for giving some pointer. xx
Hi Anna! LOL, sounds like you may have a lot of decluttering to do. I think the best think to do is to begin slowly, doing it in bits. Choose 15 – 30 minutes everyday and do a little bit. It might take a while but everyday the load will be lighter. xoxo S.
good thing to know that one can actually go through this in such an easy way and not have so much to do to make it work at the end, most times we just have to declutter and start afresh with new info. good tips, and surely i will be putting a few of them to use right here. thanks for the share.
Hmmm I thank you for these tips as someone who works from their computer daily, I do need to be mindful of keeping things in some form of order.
Some great suggestions here – I probably should go through and delete unused bookmarks and temporary internet files. I do unsubscribe from as many newsletters as I can – quite often I’ve been subscribed to them without my permission!
I tend to “organize” my email and desktop icons so much that I can’t always find what I need because I am not certain where I filed it.
Awwwww Tiffany! lol. I say it is always best to name your files and folders with a title that identifies what you will be looking for and as simple as possible. So if you are a traveller and have been to many places in June, you instead of naming the folder “June 2017″ you would name it Spain – June 2017” or Travel Spain 2017″…etc. Being specific with naming will help. 🙂
these are great tips! my boss asked me to declutter our files that go back to 2012!! I’m sure this will come in handy i’ll have to share it with him. 🙂
Oh great! You can download the checklist and keep at work with you and hopefully you will able to get through the clutter faster. 🙂
I am doing ok on digital decluttering. My worst is email, but as I have a system, I am sticking with it even if my inbox is usually full. I will be deleting shortcuts and icons today. Thanks.
My email is full of junk these days. I make sure to clean it frequently with the help of an app(can’t remember the name). Great pointers. I might have to look and implement these. 🙂
This was great! A few weeks ago i actually deleted the mail app on my iphone because I couldnt handle the thousands of unread email notifications!
Having an obsessive compulsive personality, I always love decluttering not just my room but also my digital world. I can’t seem to manage seeing my desktop being all unorganized. But still, thank you so much for sharing these tips! 🙂 Great help.
x Aica Batoon
My desk in in an organised chaos – believe it or not the chaos helps me stay organised. I must be insane!
Katja xxx
Not insane at all Katja! I can relate you as that is how I used to be. Sheri
Archiving documents and emails, along with too many pictures are my BIGGEST issues. My desktop drives me crazy. I had no clue it slowed your computer down though. I better get to decluttering!
Great tips! My desktop is currently a mess and I need to make some major changes when I get it clean!
This is some great advice! A lot of us dont think about doing this! I try to keep mine decluttered and organized.
I clean my desktop monthly & file all the pictures to our TimeCapsule also. It’s so refreshing haha. Nothing beats a clean desktop.
I’m big on not letting my email backup too much. However, I don’t like to unsubscribe from things so I have to work harder than I should, lol
this is really hard to do for me loool…im gonna have to keep coming back to this post a few times a month lol
Awesome post Sheri ❤️
My digital world is all over the place, and I really need to step my foot down and get cleaning. This post has given me so much inspiration to re-organize and sort my digital life. Thank you 🙂
J
I’m a little OCD when it comes with my computer and my internet life. Every week I do a cleanliness of the things I don’t like anymore.I delete all the archives I don’t need to I save them somewhere else. I’m that person who hates seeing notifications on their phones hahahaha.
xx, Melissa
great blog post! I must admit my digital world is very cluttered. Love the check list, the 2 I will be working on today is my emails because they are out of control and pictures.I love the tip of deleting unwanted pictures before uploading them to the computer, I have a bad habit of not doing this…thanks for the tips
You are welcome, I am glad that the post provided some value to you. That is my goal. I really believe it will make a big difference for you when you declutter, and the more often you do it, the easier it will become and a clean digital world will be part of your life. 🙂
I could really use these tips for decluttering my digital world! My email inbox could always use some time and attention.
Love this post..it’s so relatable…I like time reply messages as soon as I can and archive emails that are obsolete….and my desktop I fill it up with junk but remember to declutter once in a while…Thanks for sharing this…love the work space in the first picture
Hi, thank you for your positive feedback and encouraging words. My desktop used to be filled with junk too, but now no more.
I am ashame to confess my laptop desktop is a completely mess. Sometimes I just move all the file on a new folder created for the occasion and named “Things to reorder”, then when I got time I try to do my best, deleting the files I dont need, and reordering on the root the files on the proper folders. I should have honestly more time to do a well organized work as you suggest, which is the best solution.
Hi Edoardo! Don’t be ashamed. No no! We have all been digital hoarders at one point or the other. We end up saying we will “do it later” and it just piles up. All you need to do is to find some time daily or weekly and do it in little bits so you do not become overwhelmed and frustrated. Take your time, and you will get it done. 🙂 Sheri
This post is valuable in so many ways. I have mild OCD and I tend to declutter my laptop ever so often and I find it therapeutic. Now that you have mentioned it, i must unsubscribe and delete some emails.
I agree with your Shoshana, it is very therapeutic, so freeing. I hate feeling overwhelmed so I like to get rid of unwanted stuff as soon as I can. 🙂
Oh yea! My favorite thing is to clean up my desktop. Second favorite has to be unsubscribing from emails and keeping my inbox manageable
My inbox needs a major declutter. I’m usually pretty good about deleting and organizing but every now again, when I get too busy, I let it go. This post has inspired me to get it under control.
Yayyyyy Blythe. I am glad my post will help you declutter your digital world.
I’ve been meaning to start my digital declutter. I started already by unsubscribing to emails I never read or sending the over to an old email that I occasionally check.
These are awesome tip… I try to clean my mailbox regularly… But I really need to send my pictures to a site like snapfish to store them and open up space on my phone!
Hey Sheri,
Who knew one could be a digital hoarder! It’s totally possible though, especially when you don’t actually “see it,” ya know?
I try to clean things up once a month, and do a MAJOR unsubscribe, delete files a few times a year.
Thanks for the tips,
Nadalie
Hi Nadalie! yes! there are digital hoarders, LOL. We tend not to worry about it because it doesn’t take up physical space but it is very real. I love doing unsubscribes. I sign up thinking I will need the information then it turns out to be unnecessary or not what I was looking for. Then I just go delete, delete delete…..then UNSUBSCRIBE, lol. 🙂
So many great and helpful tips here!!! I really need to declutter my computer and phone. I can be such a hoarder lol
I love to have my files in different folders and it sometimes looks like a mess. These are great tips! I should dedicate the time to do this with everything computer and internet related!
HI Amanda! You don’t need to do it all at once, so just dedicate time in your day or week to declutter and slowly but surely, you will have it done.
I like to make sure that I have everything sorted out. I think this is really nice especially if you feel like your computer is a littler cluttered.
I need to start unsubscribing to emails, every single day I’m always deleting soo many of them x
Sheri these are wonderful tips. My desktop has 4 icons only shortcuts to the folders i use the most, i hate cluttered desktop. I am on an unsubscribing spree too because my promotions tab is always overflowing.
Great Tina! That is just the way it should be 🙂
I need to declutter my digital world so bad! This is something I have put off forever.
I totally need to declutter my email. That’s one thing that I just never get around to doing! I love your tips, I didn’t know you could only have emails sent during specific times. That would make it manageable to stay on top of keeping my inbox clean!
HI – If you feel like you never get around to doing it and it feels overwhelming, then dedicate 30 minutes to that everyday for a week. Declutter for the 30 mins and don’t work on anything else. You will get so much cleaned out. Another option is to declutter your digital world as you go. So starting today, delete as soon as you open your email and find stuff you don’t need or want.
These are some great tips, I definitely have to do some decluttering of my emails and sort through files I’ve saved on my desktop. I never thought of it as decluttering but your right and our digital world needs it just as much as our real world.
Yes, and you will feel so free after you do it – trust me! 🙂
That’s so important, many a times I think to start but then the start never happens until last minute.. I guess post reading you post, I’m gonna start for sure now! Tips will be handy for me
I just started organizing my pictures online and it makes me feel so much better. I need to work on my icons on my desktop…that would be something I see all the time.
I get anxiety if my computer isn’t organized, haha! I need to go through my mailbox and unsubscribe, too.
I really enjoyed this article. I have 2 emails that are constantly bombarded with crap. Thanks for helping to sort it out!
You are so welcome Carol. Glad this post could help you. Don’t forget to download the free check list here: http://www.purposefulhabits.com/resource-library/
I’m such a clutter free person that, I try to declutter as much stuff as possible. Sometimes, I not only delete unwanted emails but I also delete them from the delete folder.
Hi – You can actually have your inbox empty itself after a certain time period. Like you can set the trash to empty itself every Sunday, or every night, whichever works best for you.
I need to to declutter my devices after reading through this post. My phones are always on 24/7. I only put it off whenever it hangs just for it to reboot. As for my laptop, I do hibernate it.
There’s something so satisfying about deleting and organizing desktop icons! I always feel so productive after and my computer seems faster (I think that’s just in my head!)
No it isn’t! Ha! Unless it is in my head too because I feel the same way. No really, it is very freeing and it does speed up your computer.
As a freelancer it’s very important for me to have an organised desktop and email accounts. Before I started working everything was just pilled up on the desktop and I was always wasting time searching for what I needed.
All great ideas to declutter digitally. Your desk space says a lot about the lack of clutter in your world. Every time I see my documents and pictures I say I need to delete most of these, someday.
I think I’m one of the rare people who doesn’t have a cluttered desktop! I have one icon, I delete all blurry pictures. I go through my saved links at least once a month!! Social Media though is hard, because I have a love/hate relationship with it and want to consume all the time!
These are excellent tips to increase digital productivity. I could always use more time to look at my inbox.
I have an OCD to declutter stuff and yeah it can get quite annoying if you have clutter everywhere.
I struggle to delete photos – even those ones that serve no purpose. I always think back that I MIGHT need them for something someday.
I understand you Robin. I think if you can’t bring yourself to delete them, then store them on a USB or hard drive so they are not taking up space on your phone or computer.