I LOVE decluttering! It’s honestly one of my favorite things in the whole world. So today I have a long blog post for you with over 75 ways to declutter your digital life. We’ll be tidying things up and decluttering what’s no longer needed on your computer and devices to keep things neat and organized so you can be less stressed and have better peace of mind!
75+ Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life Today
1. With your computer turned off and unplugged, physically clean your computer and keyboard and wipe down your screen with a dry microfiber cloth (the keyboard may need a light cleaning solution. You can also clean off the gunk on the keyboard with a DRY, new toothbrush).
2. If you’re on the techy side, you can even unscrew the bottom of your laptop and lightly vacuum out or use compressed air to clean the insides and the fan (but be VERY careful with this! There are delicate parts inside a computer). I use the removable handheld portion of this vacuum to clean the external fan vents on the side of my laptop. Cleaning the dust out of the fan can actually extend the life of your laptop. 🙂
3. Consider getting a washable keyboard cover to keep your keys cleaner and prevent the letters from getting worn off by lots of typing.
4. You can also get a case for your whole laptop to protect it and keep it cleaner. It’s much easier to replace a case than a whole computer! Plus you can remove the case and wash it if it’s plastic.
5. Declutter your desktop from any unnecessary icons, or better yet, keep all your files and programs in one main folder. Bonus: you can even add a pretty new inspiring wallpaper.
6. Go through your phone and computer and uninstall any apps or programs you no longer use.
7. If you have an iPad or e-reader like the Kindle, go through and delete any books you no longer want or started reading but didn’t like. Consider getting a Kindle Unlimited subscription so you can borrow select Kindle books and return them if you don’t want them anymore.
8. Go through your bank statements and Paypal transactions and cancel any monthly subscriptions you don’t need anymore. Bonus: you can save hundreds of dollars a year by doing this! You may be paying for more random subscriptions and services than you realize.
9. Make sure you have an automatic backup system in place for your files, such as using Carbonite to back up your whole computer automatically or iCloud to backup selected files.
10. Go through all the files on your computer. If they’re not already organized or in somewhat logical folders, set that up now and move all your files to their appropriate new folders. Make sure you put new files in the correct location in the future so you don’t have to keep doing big organizing projects. My main folders? One for each of my online businesses, Photos, and Other. And each of those is organized into sub-folders.
11. Delete any really old files you don’t have any use for.
12. Delete any old files that you wouldn’t want someone to find. Case in point: I recently deleted dozens of poems I wrote as a teenager that I now cringe at. I didn’t want that cluttering up my computer, so I deleted them.
13. If you have old projects you’ve since lost interest for or given up on, consider deleting them or taking them off your computer and putting them on an external hard drive or other form of backup.
14. Empty your computer’s trash can or recycle bin.
15. If you use any external hard drives for making backups, make a new up-to-date backup.
16. Clean and declutter your physical workspace, office, or desk. Make sure the area is well-lit and inspiring. Consider getting an inspirational print to motivate you every day!
17. If you have any physical folders or paperwork lying around, organize or recycle that. You can also scan old documents to digitize them and then shred the hard copy to clean up your space.
18. BOOKMARKS! Do you have 547 uncategorized bookmarks on your browser? Make a few folders and sub-folders and get organizing!
19. If you have the time, open your bookmarks one by one and make sure it’s something that’s still worth saving and that the link still works. If not, delete the bookmark.
20. Clear your browser history and cache since the beginning of time to start fresh. (Just make sure you have bookmarks already for the important links! And keep your cookies so you stay logged in to websites).
21. Use a program like CCleaner on Windows or Dr. Cleaner on Mac to delete temporary files off your computer and free up space.
22. If needed, defragment your hard drive. (Is that still a thing?)
23. Physically clean your device screens with a microfiber cloth.
24. Update your software and apps to the latest versions.
25. Do any updates that your computer has been asking you about for months (I’m looking at you, Java!).
26. If you use a password manager like Lastpass, go through and delete really old logins that you don’t use anymore. Like for a now-defunct email address or old job.
27. Delete any saved form information on your browser or sites like Amazon for old shipping addresses, etc.
28. Go through your social media accounts and unfollow people who aren’t relevant to your interests anymore or who don’t follow you back.
29. Unsubscribe from newsletters that you don’t want to receive anymore.
30. Turn off your Facebook newsfeed for instant peace of mind with the free Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator. ?
31. Run a virus scanner like Avast on your computer.
32. Turn off any unnecessary startup programs on your computer to speed things up.
33. Declutter your to-do lists of anything you don’t want to do anymore. You have permission. 🙂
34. Look through your to-do list and find things that would take less than 5 minutes to finish. Do them now and finally get them off your plate! Consider having a Completion Weekend (from The Success Principles) to knock out a whole bunch of niggling to-do list items at once.
35. Create updated music playlists, and delete songs you don’t like from your library.
36. Clean up your house or apartment so you can work in a clean, uncluttered environment.
37. Recycle really old electronics with an electronic waste program, or sell anything that still has value with the Amazon Trade-in Program or Gazelle.
Related to blogging and spring cleaning your business:
38. Give your branding a refreshed or updated look.
39. Check your website for broken links.
40. Update your 404 page.
41. Go through your media library on WordPress and delete old pictures or files you don’t need anymore.
42. Install a security plugin like iThemes Security on your website to keep it safe.
43. Use a plugin like Updraft Plus connected to your Dropbox account to set up automatic weekly backups of your blog.
44. Send a note (like Paperless Post) to old clients and customers to thank them for working with you.
45. If you’re really techy, repair and optimize the databases for your WordPress site. This helps get rid of old files left behind and speed things up.
46. Delete old domain names you’re no longer using.
47. If you have a bunch of in-progress drafts in WordPress, move those over to separate notes in Evernote and delete the drafts. Try to keep WordPress clean and just for your published blog posts. Evernote also saves your notes automatically while you’re writing them, and you can access them on any device with their free app.
48. Think about the bigger “why” behind your business and what your ultimate purpose and mission statement is. This will help you make decisions about what needs to be decluttered.
49. Take down the links to old products or services that don’t fit with your brand anymore or that you just don’t want to offer for the future.
50. Clean out your coffee maker! Every entrepreneur needs coffee, right? Wash out the filter and run a cycle with white vinegar followed by a couple rounds of fresh water to clean your coffee maker from the inside out.
51. Declutter old memories about money. If your boss didn’t pay you overtime during Christmas that one year when you worked for twelve hours straight, it’s time to forgive those people so you can move on to new, positive beliefs surrounding money. (I just made that example up, don’t worry).
52. Make a list of 100 memories about business, marketing, or money that you need to declutter, and do it.
53. Give your home office or workspace a makeover that reflects the new vision you have for your business.
54. Create an updated vision board for your office or update your digital vision board to make sure it reflects the future you’re trying to create.
55. Rewrite your goals list to reflect your new goals, and cross out the ones you’ve already accomplished or the ones you no longer want to pursue.
56. Update all your plugins on WordPress. You should be doing this at least once a week, but preferably as soon as the update is available. 🙂
57. Delete WordPress plugins you don’t need anymore. This speeds up your site.
58. Install a caching plugin to further speed up your site (just know that you need to delete the cache in the settings if you make any design changes before they will show up).
59. On Pinterest, delete or make secret any boards that aren’t related to your business.
60. On Pinterest, delete old pins that have no repins or that are low quality with tiny pictures and no descriptions.
61. On Pinterest, update your pin descriptions to make sure they’re at least a couple sentences and contain relevant, descriptive keywords.
62. Update your social media profile pictures so they’re consistent and match your current branding.
63. Use tools like Post Planner and Tailwind to completely schedule out your social media in advance and take that task off your plate.
64. Go through your old blog posts and unpublish posts that are no longer relevant to your current business or blog. You might want to copy and paste them into Evernote and then completely delete them off WordPress.
65. Update old blog posts to reflect new information, etc.
66. Make sure all your old blog posts have your latest style of social media graphic (such as a vertical, pin-worthy graphic for Pinterest).
67. Update the SEO of all your blog posts with a plugin like Yoast. Actually fill in the forms this time. ?
68. Find your most popular blog posts and add new affiliate links, links to Amazon, or relevant links to your own products and services to better monetize these posts.
69. Make sure the social media links on your blog are up-to-date.
70. Update your social media descriptions to make sure they reflect your mission statement or an accurate description of your business.
71. Update and refresh your opt-in offer.
72. Make sure you have an engaging and updated email welcome series after someone signs up to your email list.
73. Update the template you use for sending emails so the design matches the rest of your branding.
74. Create a new split test for one of your landing pages or opt-in forms.
75. If you haven’t already, install Google Analytics so you can track things like your page views and if your blog is growing over time.
76. If you have unfinished drafts for blog posts, finish them and get publishing!
77. Spend more time doing what you love, and delegate or delete the rest. ?