How many emails, apps, or photos do you have? It can be easy for the count of digital files and items to get a little out of hand, and then it feels overwhelming to tackle. I recommend simplifying the process with bite-sized, regular decluttering, and focusing on one category at a time. This can take months or even years, depending on how much there is, but doing little bits each day or week allows progress without feeling bogged down. To figure out what you might need to declutter, take a look at the following categories, and assess whether there seems to be too many or unneeded items, or things that could be filed away and organized.
- Photos on your phone
- Apps
- Longterm photo storage
- Music library
Here has been my experience with keeping these five organized.
Phone photos
Every 6-12 months, I go through the photos on my phone and delete most anything over a year old (I keep certain special memories). I first ensure that these photos have successfully been transferred to Google Photos, which I use for longterm storage. More often, I scroll through and try to delete screenshots or duplicate photos.
Apps
A few years ago, I organized all the apps in my phone into categories, which I highly recommend for better organization. About once a year, I reevaluate the apps on my phone, and delete what I no longer use.
Longterm photo storage (Google Photos)
Going through my Google Photos is a current bite-sized decluttering project for me. For years, my phone has automatically transferred any photo I take into Google Photos, which is wonderful for backing up purposes, but it does mean that a lot of photos are saved there that I do not intend to keep forever. Slowly, but surely, I have been working back in time up to the present and going through every photo I have. This is an ongoing project. Once I reach the present, my goal is to more regularly go through my Google Photos so that I never face this big of a task again.
Music library
This is my other current bite-sized decluttering project. I know I’m in the minority, but I use Apple Music and love it. It’s connected to my iTunes music library, which still contains all the music I’ve ever downloaded since I first had a light blue iPod mini (who remembers these?) in middle school. I started going through my music by pressing play on all my songs, and listening to them in alphabetical order by artist. I immediately delete ones that I no longer want to listen to or like. It’s been great fun and a trip down memory lane. I’m currently on the Ls.
Years ago, when I first entered the working world, I figured out that I needed to regularly go through my emails, and it’s become a habit. I have labels in Gmail so that I can file emails away as needed, and I delete anything that I don’t need as soon as it arrives in my inbox. If your email has piled up, try creating labels and sorting – but if there’s some really old stuff in there, it’s probably safe to just mass delete. Every few months, I go through my labels as well and delete what I no longer need.
I hope this helps inspire you to get going with some digital decluttering this year! Are there any other digital tasks that you would add to this list?
P.S. Small and easy ways to declutter your home this winter.
