Digital Decluttering—8 Smart Tips to Reclaim Your Virtual Space
Learn how to clean out your digital clutter with these 8 tips!
Everyone has clutter! Thankfully, a shopping trip for a few organizational supplies can usually rein it all in—and make that closet or pantry look great, too.
However, financial clutter is a different animal altogether. Receipts and bills can be contained, but what about your digital clutter? Searching for the right passwords, toggling between multiple websites and apps, sifting through emails and text messages—it all adds up to extra time trying to get your financial tasks completed.
Digital clutter can slow down your productivity and stand in the way of effective money management. Here are eight ways to clear the clutter and organize your digital space:
Create bookmarks or pin important websites—Things can get confusing when you have multiple windows or tabs open—especially on your phone. Bookmarking and pinning important tabs and websites can help you locate the right pages quickly and get your tasks completed more efficiently.
Use a password manager—We know that, for a more secure online experience, we should use a different password for each account. But how do you remember them all? Instead of writing them down, use a password manager like LastPass to keep them secure. All you have to do is remember one “master password” to access all your logins.
Set up folders and rules for emails—Emails can quickly overrun an inbox. Creating rules to sort them into folders can help organize your messages automatically. You can also use your inbox as a task list—create folders for each day of the week and sort task emails according to when you want to work on them. Flag or star different emails to signify priority or urgency.
Backup your information—If you’re experiencing extended load times and slow processing, it’s likely due to a large amount of information being stored on your computer. Store this information on a hard drive or cloud service to free up computer space, speed up load times and compartmentalize your digital belongings.
Consolidate accounts—It’s common to add an account to websites you visit—like when you make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter or leave a review. Often, people forget their passwords or maybe even the fact that they’ve made an account before, and they make a new one. Over time, the number of accounts can add up! Take the time to delete duplicate or unused accounts to protect your privacy and peace of mind.
Unsubscribe—Clean up your digital footprint by using an unsubscribe tool like Unroll Me—it scans your inbox for promotional emails, shows what mailing lists you’re on and gives you the opportunity to unsubscribe in one click.
Sort your snaps—Have way too many photos on your phone? Who needs duplicates, screenshots and blurry images? Clear out your library with GetSorted. This app sorts your photos into manageable batches and lets you keep or delete with just a swipe.
Check your banking app for budgeting tools—If you like to track your finances and stick to a budget, instead of doing it in a separate online or physical document, check your financial institution’s banking app. It may have built-in tools to track expenses, run spending reports and export data. You may also have access to other useful money management tools like bill pay, automatic transfers and travel notifications.
Like any chore, decluttering your digital life can be tedious. Break it up so you don’t get overwhelmed. Put on your favorite playlist or podcast and schedule out a 20 or 30-minute block of time. Before you know it, you’ll have reclaimed your mental space by getting a handle on your digital space!
