Traditionally, spring cleaning referred to the intense, physical cleaning of the home and office. These days, however, “spring cleaning” is a fitting term for all kinds of figurative cleaning and sorting to do. Clutter can collect anywhere, and it is essential to take the time to purge. Digitally speaking, your clutter might seem under control, but it could be affecting your devices’ speeds, performances, and securities. It is therefore essential to get a handle on it.

Did you know that decluttering can relieve anxiety, lift one’s mood, and improve focus and productivity?

Here’s a digital checklist to get you started.

CONTENTS:

1. Deactivate obsolete subscriptions & apps
2. Sort out your emails
3. Organise your photos & videos
4. Update your passwords
5. Delete or back up files
6. Update social media
7. Let’s get physical

1. Deactivate obsolete subscriptions & apps
Any subscription or application you are signed up for and not using, is either losing you money, generating unnecessary notifications (i.e., more clutter), or opening you up to the risk of cyber security. If you do not use it – delete it, as well as any related data. Doing this will free up space on your devices.

Important:
Double check bank and credit card statements to ensure you are not paying for a subscription that you don’t recognise or have forgotten about.

Deactivating accounts that are no longer relevant is just as important as activating the ones that are. Update your operating systems and make sure the latest antivirus is installed.

2. Sort out your emails
Raise your hand if you get a lot of email messages…
Of course, you do. All our business and personal email accounts are flooded with them.
First off, ask yourself whether you really need all the email accounts you have? First check through all emails on any you no longer use, then delete them.

Next, ask yourself if you really want emails from the people or businesses that currently send you all their promotional offers? If not, unsubscribe and delete them from your Inbox.

Take time to check and clear draft and spam folders and if you have 8000 unopened emails then it is time to get on top of those too.

3. Organise your photos & videos
These days smartphone cameras take quality photos and videos, so it is very easy to accumulate them. Especially at personal and business events, we end up creating a whole lot of content. Nowadays most of us use the Cloud as backup storage and have no idea just how much “gumpf” we have collected in our galleries of images that are all the same. Choose the best and clear out the rest.

Once you are done, remember to clean out your Recycle Bin as well!

4. Update your passwords
When last did you change or even update your passwords? And what passwords are being saved in your password manager? Do you even currently use those accounts? Delete or update where relevant.

Remember:

1. Do not use the same password for multiple accounts.
2. Activate two-factor authentication.
3. Create strong, nonsensical passwords featuring upper- and lower-case characters, numbers, and special characters.

If you have children, bear in mind to refresh the parental controls on everything you are streaming!

5. Delete or back up files
Delete all the files, folders, documents, and photos you no longer want or need on your laptop or PC. Make certain that all the files you do need are stored in their correct folders and are backed up to the cloud.

6. Update social media
Are you using all the social media platforms you are signed up for? Delete the ones you no longer use and really take a close look at the ones you want to keep. Have you checked their Privacy Settings and made certain your account is secure? You can also adjust their advertising settings wherever possible.

Even consider browsing through all the Contacts and Groups on these accounts and clean them up, as you may not want to be connected to some of the businesses, or people any longer. Do a clean sweep.

7. Let’s get physical.
Digital clutter can also be physical, like that broken printer, or the stash of old phones, computer cables and Wi-Fi routers. Get rid of them responsibly, there are e-waste recycling depots. So, either give it to someone who can use them, or do a quick search online for e-waste recyclers near you.

VERY IMPORTANT: Always delete all data off any functioning devices before donating them.

Top Tips

1. Start small – Doing all the above will take hours if not days. So, don’t be discouraged, just start small. Tackle one thing per day over a period of two weeks or more. Sort out devices while doing something else like watching television or waiting in line.
2. Get help – Get the whole family involved, especially on shared devices.
3. Do it more regularly – Make sorting out and decluttering your digital life something you do monthly, or at least bi-annually.

KEY TAKE-AWAY: There is something incredibly satisfying about decluttering, whether it is in physical or digital spaces. It empowers you to sort out the “what you need” from what you don’t, aka the “space-hoggers.” A digital spring clean, at the home and office, is something you may need to address as a team and tackle regularly and may help improve your online security as well as device speed and performance.