Why It’s Essential to Declutter Your Online Presence: The Compelling Reasons

Quick Links

• Declutter Your Devices
• Declutter Your Storage Devices
• Declutter Your Digital Spaces
• Review Your Digital Subscriptions
• Audit Your Online Presence
• Reassess Your Digital Habits and Security

Key Takeaways

• Declutter your devices by uninstalling unused apps and organizing the rest in folders for easy access.
• Organize your storage devices by creating a logical folder structure, weeding out unnecessary files, and labeling them.
• Review subscriptions, audit online presence, and reassess your habits to enhance your security and save money. Be sure to update your passwords, too!

We live much of our lives online now, from social media to banking to watching TV. But as our digital footprints expand, so does the chaos if we don’t establish some order. The good news is that getting control of your online world doesn’t need to be as daunting as it seems. I’ll show you how to go about it in the key aspects of your online life.

Declutter Your Devices

Let’s start with your smartphone or tablet, which you probably can’t live without. Take a good look at your home screen. How many apps do you actually use daily? Weekly? Monthly? Are you really opening ten different apps for basic tasks like maps, photos, and browsers?

An easy way to figure this out is to do what I usually do—go through your apps one by one and ask yourself three questions: Have I used this in the last month? Does it serve a specific, important purpose? Does it make my life easier in some way? If the answer to all three is no, then it’s time to uninstall it. . Remember, you can always re-download an app if you truly miss it.

Once you’ve cleaned up your junk apps, now’s also a great time to organize the apps you have left (if your phone supports that). Think about grouping similar apps into folders—like one for social media, another for productivity tools, and maybe even a health and fitness folder. Not only does this declutter your home screen, but it’ll be way easier to find what you need when it’s all grouped logically.

Next up, let’s tackle your photo gallery. I know going through all your photos can be a drag, especially deciding what to get rid of. But here’s a simple plan: First, dump the super obvious ones you don’t need—blurry shots, accidental screenshots, etc. For multiples of similar things (like sunset pics), pick your favorite and delete the copies. Also, think about using cloud storage like Google One to back up favorite photos before deleting them locally to free up space on your device. This tip also applies if you’ve got a digital camera—just transfer those photos or videos to your computer first before backing them up in the cloud .

We’ve shared desktop and laptop cleanup tips that work great for Windows PCs . The same principles generally also apply whether you use a Mac or Linux. Your gaming consoles need some attention, too. Uninstall games you’ve finished or lost interest in —you can always reinstall them later if the urge strikes. Clear out old save files and delete unnecessary screenshots and recordings.

Declutter Your Storage Devices

For me, storage devices like external hard drives, USB flash drives, and memory cards are usually my digital dumping grounds. They multiply and hide in drawers. If you are in the same boat, gather them all and start by plugging in each drive and taking inventory. You might be surprised by what you find—old backups, duplicates, or files you completely forgot about.

Once you’ve gathered everything, start going through each drive one by one. Setting up a logical folder structure as you go will make things much easier to find later on. I like to have big categories like “Documents,” “Photos,” and “Videos” to start. Then, I break those down further—like organizing photos by year and event. You can sort documents into categories like “Work,” “Personal,” “Financial,” and similar.

Next, weed out what you no longer need. For the keepers, think about consolidating files onto one big drive or moving them to a more permanent home. You can also label your storage devices so you always know what’s on what without having to plug everything in. A simple sticker with something like “Work Files 2020-2022” will save you loads of time down the road when you’re looking for a specific project or collection.

Declutter Your Digital Spaces

How’s your email inbox looking these days? How many unread messages are sitting in your email inbox right now? Hundreds? Thousands? To better manage this situation, take some time to review those emails requiring a response and organize the rest into relevant folders using filters. If you want some more ideas on keeping your emails tidy, we have some great practices for efficiently managing an Outlook inbox .

Your internet browser windows are another area that can become rather unwieldy. How many open tabs are you hoarding “just in case”? Be honest with yourself—if you haven’t looked at it in a week, you probably never will. Bookmark the important stuff and close the rest. Your computer’s RAM will breathe a sigh of relief.

When it comes to note-taking apps, it’s all too easy for notes to end up scattered across different programs if you use multiple options. Consider taking stock of where your notes currently reside—do you have Evernote, Apple Notes, and other great similar options ? It’s time to consolidate. Select your preferred note application and take the opportunity to transfer meaningful notes, simplifying your note-taking workflow going forward.

Review Your Digital Subscriptions

How many streaming services do you actually use regularly? Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Music—the list goes on. While each might seem affordable on its own, they can add up to a small fortune when combined. Ask yourself: Do I really need all of these? Could I rotate subscriptions instead of having them all active at once? Cutting some subscriptions could save you quite a bit of money.

Next, check your app subscriptions. That meditation app you never open, that game with in-app purchases you stopped playing months ago, or that paid photo editing software you thought you’d use more often—they’re all silently draining your bank account. Go through your app store purchases and be ruthless. If you haven’t used it in the last month, it’s probably time to let it go.

Here’s a pro tip: set a reminder in your calendar to review your subscriptions periodically, like quarterly, for example. This way, you catch those free trials before they convert to paid subscriptions and reassess your needs regularly.

Audit Your Online Presence

Here, take inventory of all the places you’ve created an online profile or account over the years. Take some time to log into all your social media. Does your profile picture reflect your recent change in appearance? How many profiles have you created over the years? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and probably a few defunct platforms you can’t even remember.

It’s time to audit these accounts. Delete the ones you no longer use, update your privacy settings, and unfollow accounts that aren’t interesting to you anymore. When you’re audting your messaging apps, review how many group chats you are in that haven’t been active in months. Archive or delete old conversations and leave groups that are no longer relevant. Your notification bar will be much cleaner.

It’s also important to review your more niche platforms, like LinkedIn, personal blogs or websites, and online forums. Go to each one and review it with fresh eyes. Would a potential new employer, partner, or other person coming across this information for the first time get a good sense of who you are and what you are about? Now’s the time to update what can be updated (like your bios, profile picture, portfolio, etc.), memorialize what was meaningful to you then, and neatly remove what no longer serves you.

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Reassess Your Digital Habits and Security

Do dozens of apps really need to interrupt you throughout the day? Really think about which ones you actually need to respond to right away. For example, do you really need to see every Instagram follow or like the second it happens? Probably not. Turn off notifications that don’t require your immediate attention , but keep alerts on for things that demand an instant response. You can also stop notification pop-ups from interrupting your screen .

Do you have all your stuff perfectly synced between your phone, tablet and computer? Now’s a good time to disable syncing that doesn’t really need to happen between devices. Only sync the most important stuff. For updates, set your devices to auto-update when possible so you’re not constantly being asked.

It’s a good idea to review all your online accounts, such as email, social media, streaming services, online shopping, and anything else you can think of. For each one, make sure to update your password. Don’t save them in your browser, either. Use a password manager instead to generate strong, unique passwords for everything.