Marie Kondo’s book, “The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up” has emerged in recent years as a cultural force, guiding millions of people through simplifying their attachment to possessions and getting rid of many of the unexamined objects that make up the clutter of daily life. It may seem like common sense, but digital spaces accumulate clutter just like physical spaces.
We tend to ignore the digital mess because it doesn’t take up physical space as a drawer full of junk does, but having clutter on your devices can affect your productivity and your peace of mind.
Three Digital Decluttering Tips:
1) Track Down Old Accounts
Most things on the internet today require you create an account or provide some sort of personal information, whether it be to access a certain promotion or just access content on a site. In the age of data breaches, it can be daunting to think about what sites may have your personal information. Sites like deseat.me allow you to easily track down old accounts, request deletion, and feel more in control of your online presence.
2) Tidy Up Your Hard Disk
Over time, hard disks fill up – but it can be difficult to tell what’s actually on the disk, let alone what’s important. Thankfully, there are a few utilities that can take a look at your disk usage and display in a useful way what programs and files are taking up how much space. You can use programs like WinDirStat on Windows and Disk Inventory X on MacOS to review your files and get rid of anything that doesn’t “spark joy”. It’s also a good idea to regularly clean up transient spaces on your device, such as your Downloads folder. It’s easy to forget about something like a PDF flyer you downloaded a month ago, and those can add up over time. Keeping these spaces clear and emptying them regularly ensure that you can always find what you need.
3) Make Sure You Have A Backup & Consolidate All Your Files
Find all your backup disks, USB keys, external drives and consolidate them into a unified storage location. Once accomplished, make a backup – one local and one offsite. This of course would also include your computer. There are many resources that are affordable to accomplish the task.
Home users can backup, starting at $5/month or $50/year
Sounds like something you would like to work on? We would be happy to assist, on site or remote to reduce your digital clutter. “Kondo style!”
thanks to Trevor Woggon
