5 Digital Spring Cleaning Tips

Feeling digitally cluttered? Well here are some surefire ways to reorganize your online life, after all, you're here all the time anyways. Might as well do some sweeping while you're logged in. *This is for the Editorial Fellowship.

1. Organize, print and store your photos

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How many times have you looked at your phone's photo storage and shrieked out of pure horror? That can be a scary place for some of us. 500 videos, 1,000+ photos. Don't judge, some of us have a meme hoarding problem. But anyways, we constantly tell ourselves that we will delete and organize our photos but it never happens.

For years you've been saying...

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Well why not make that day today? After all, in today's world we have the option of easily storing our memories both digitally and physically. So instead of allowing those photos to take over your phone or laptop's storage space, take some time this spring to carefully sort through your photos and see what needs to stay or go. Think of all the extra storage you'll have to take even more selfies and save endless TikToks all day. You'll thank me later, trust me. Lastly, think of all the cute projects you can create such as albums, scrapbooks or even a digital picture frame for your home. The opportunities are endless.

2. Do a social media cleanse

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A social media cleanse may seem hard at first glance but honestly it's only as difficult or as easy as you make it. Take a quick scroll through your main social media account, take into consideration who is following you and who you are following as well. Also, take into consideration the content that you consume. Are any of these images helping or hurting your mental health on a daily basis? If you find that the content you are consuming is hurting you then it might be time to unfollow, unsubscribe or in some cases block it from your feed. Also, taking a break from social media, whether that means one week, one month or even one year can truly do wonders for your mental health. Just give it a try, I promise it's not as bad as you may think.

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3. Remove old and unused apps

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I know I can't possibly be the only one who will download an app that ends up sitting in my phone for months or even years that I haven't touched since the day I downloaded it. Delete it!!! Go to your phone right now and do an app inventory. If you can't even recognize the app, then it is time for it to hit the door. Also, make sure to delete accounts that are associated with those apps if you never plan to use them again. No need in having your data roaming the internet when it doesn't need to be. Last but certainly not least, be sure to remove any and all data stored on your phone from the app (i.e. username, password, email etc.).

4. Delete unused accounts, subscriptions, and notes

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This is my favorite tip on the list. If I told you how many notes I have on my phone, you'd probably scream. Now this might be due to me being a writer but it is no excuse. I urge you to make some time to go through your notes and see what is still needed versus what should be deleted. Once you are done combing through your notes, then you should go through your phone or laptop to see any website accounts you no longer utilize. From there you can begin to declutter your digital space by deleting and/or unsubscribing from these sites. This is especially necessary if you have subscriptions where you are paying for a service monthly without actually using it. Yeah, I see you in the back with that subscription service you haven't revisited since three years ago. Delete it...now!!

By the end of your app inventory your phone may end up looking like this but that is quite alright. That is the beauty of spring cleaning.

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5. Create and maintain a password list

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Last but certainly not least, please consider creating a password list in a notebook or digital file. I would suggest having it written down on paper and kept somewhere safe for security reasons but either way having a password list can help save you the trouble of always selecting "forgot password" when it's time to log in to a website. This is another great way for you to clean up your digital life and not allow yourself to stress over your second home, aka the internet.

Happy Digital Spring Cleaning!

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