6 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Digital Clutter

I knew I wasn’t the only one whose eyes twitches when there are several red notifications on my phone screen. How about when you have 800 tabs open on your screen? After adopting a more minimalist lifestyle I have tried to be more aware of this type of digital clutter and distraction. Today’s guest post is from Lydia from Make Your Life Beautiful. She has put together some super simple and highly effective ways you can start clearing clutter on your computer and phone so that you can start making digital a little more minimal.

The struggle of digital clutter

Having gone through some pretty big purge sessions, and by reevaluating my lifestyle, I like to believe that I’ve successfully adapted to living a minimalist life. If you were to visit my home you wouldn’t see a lot of stuff around, not “physical stuff” anyway.

I find that digital clutter is the hardest area to minimize in my life. You know, thousands of photos on your camera roll, desktop icons that take over your screen, too many Facebook notifications to count from groups I don’t even care about anymore…

Digital clutter can also be information and messages. For example, constant notifications on your phone and social media, and messages that are conveyed by social influencers or brands that don’t uplift you or align with your life goals.

Where digital clutter hides

Digital clutter can be hard to minimize because it’s easy to hide and usually isn’t staring you right in the face.

But if you’ve ever looked at your laptop screen full of files, folders, and apps, you know what I mean when I say you can still feel the effects of digital clutter. It can be a bit unsettling when it gets out of hand.

After feeling like I was not in control of the photos on my camera roll, the icons on my computer, and completely disorganized phone apps, I went on a mission to reduce the amount of digital clutter I encountered in my daily life and came up with some pretty effective ways to keep digital clutter under control.

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How to declutter digitally

Here are just 6 ways you too can clear the digital clutter, while clearing up mental capacity – and device storage space as well!

Minimize your desktop icons.

Digital clutter can quickly accumulate on your computer’s desktop. Often files are placed here temporarily, and then when we are finished with them, they hang out for a good few weeks before we realize they aren’t needed anymore. A good practice would be to declutter your desktop at the end of each week. You’ll love going into Monday with a blank slate!

Delete images on your phone that are similar or blurry.

Take 15 mins each day to delete images from your phone that are similar. What often happens with me is I try to get that perfect shot – which results in 25 useless photos, and then I forget about them. If you go through your phone regularly and remove duplicates and blurry photos it will increase your device’s storage capacity – and if you’re like me, you can never have enough phone storage!  

Start the day before you check your phone.

Enjoy your coffee in peace and spend the first 30 minutes of your day without social media/news. It can be so easy to start scrolling the minute our eyes open, but it’s much healthier to ease into the day and spend time reflecting before absorbing this extra information.

Find a way to effectively organize the photos and videos from your phone.

You can do this by using your device’s cloud platform, by purchasing an external hard drive or by storing them on your computer – if space allows. This way, photos are protected and safe, but they aren’t taking up precious storage space on your phone. Just be sure to delete all those duplicates and blurry shots first!

Review your Facebook groups

Facebook Groups are a great way to connect with like-minded people, but they are often very active and can really clog up your notifications. Spend some time reviewing the Facebook Groups you are a part of and unjoin any that you no longer find useful.

Get un-notified

Turning off the notifications on your social media is a great way to take control of when you spend time on your phone. This way, you’re not reacting to notifications all day long and you get to decide when social media gets your attention!

Get purposeful with your digital clutter

A really helpful general rule to follow when you’re decluttering both physical and digital spaces is: if it doesn’t serve a purpose or make you happy, you should get rid of it.

It can be hard to decide what to do away with, but this simple rule has helped me declutter many areas of my life!

The key with decluttering is to be intentional because our life doesn’t keep itself organized on its own.

Being intentional means you’ve decided you’re ready to take action and make a change, and with these simple tips, you will be on your way to keeping your digital life organized!

What are some ways you stay intentional with clutter – both digital and physical?

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