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How To Declutter Your Phone or Tablet 

       

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Why do a Phone Declutter?

When was the last time you took time thinking about how to declutter a phone or tablet? Have you ever considered what digital clutter is what impacts it can have like physical clutter?

For myself, I’m one of those iPhone users with their iPad linked so both my devices share the same information. This leads to a lot of information, clutter, notifications, and apps that are all the same taking up precious storage space. So, if you’re like me and haven’t thought about decluttering your phone or tablet, don’t worry as blogger Bee is going to walk us through easy steps on how to tackle this clutter!

Currently, we live in a very digital and screen time-heavy world. With Covid-19 it’s only increased and the need to organize and delete apps, and declutter our cell phones has never been greater. Keeping a clean and organized digital space is so important. Although there is no physical clutter to be visibly seen as a pile of clothing or items on a shelf, your digital devices still hold files that need to be condensed. As someone who lives by the motto of less is more, your phone or tablet shouldn’t be the exception. Here are a few things to consider when decluttering your cell phones, tablets, or any other digital device.

Image of woman holding iphone declutter phone

Only Keep The Apps You Use Regularly

Back in the day, I would download all kinds of apps – from games to photo editors to even a ghost hunting app because a Youtuber convinced me it was legit. I guess I thought the more apps I had, the more interesting I would seem. All it did was kill my battery life and crowd my screen. Now, I keep the bare minimum of apps on my phone & I actually no longer own a tablet or Ipad. I only have my phone & laptop and that’s enough for me at the moment. If I do miss an app I’ve deleted, I can always re-download it as needed. Now is a great time to go through all those free apps you’ve downloaded over the years and determine if they still serve a purpose on your mobile phone, and only keep used apps that you need.

Fun Fact: Apps that aren’t being used regularly are most likely to get hacked. So, declutter the ones you aren’t using lately.

Pinterest Pin declutter phone

Determine If You Are a Folder Person Or Not

I have mixed feelings about this organizational technique. On the one hand, I find apps in folders to be helpful. For instance, I used to keep all my photo editing apps in a single folder titled: Photography. But lately, I’ve found when apps are in folders, I’m more likely to completely forget about them. The key is to find what works best for you and stick with that method.


iPhone and Android users both have similar functions of using a folder, you press and hold onto the application you’d like to move, and then it should provide you the option to move it around your home screen and put that app icon into a folder as desired.

Suggestion: If you are needing a break from social media apps, instead of completely deleting them off your phone, you can hide them in folders. That way they are visibly gone but still there to access when necessary.

Image of woman holding I phone for decluttering

Your Phone Is Not A Toy

When thinking about a phone declutter make sure to remember this is a device that is meant to provide function and services, as opposed to providing entertainment for yourself. This is more so a general reminder than a decluttering tip. But something I think we should always remember. Our phones have become our lifelines. They hold important information such as banking, stocks & even password information to name a few things.

When I was younger, I treated my phone & tablet like a toy. I prioritized games & photo editing apps for Instagram. Unless the apps are for your blog or business of any kind, consider why & how you are using these apps. For such expensive items, people seem to break these devices so easily. Treat them with more respect. Don’t just have random apps on there all willy nilly. Always have a purpose with what you do.

Pinterest Pin declutter phone

Clear Out Your Camera Roll Regularly

Fun Fact about me – I only have 30 photos on my phone as of today. I know that probably sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. Whenever possible, I try to move them to my laptop or print them out. I despise having too many photos in my camera roll. It takes up space and just overwhelms me. It’s important to go through your camera roll on a regular basis. Delete duplicates or bursts, selfies, or screenshots you no longer want. Condense them into a smaller collection of memories. As a blogger, I take a lot of photos for Instagram and blog content. I try to maintain a habit of deleting or storing the photos elsewhere once I’ve posted them. It keeps me from having an overflow of images and also makes me feel productive.

An easy photo storing tip is to use google photos. This allows you to store and organize your photos and to easily declutter phone photos without worry! Google photos do now charge a fee for storing your photos, like cloud storage. You can also buy a storage device such as a USB and store them on that device and then label and organize the photos as you’d like.

Image of Ipad with stylus.

Keep Up With Your Email Inbox

Chances are you keep an email app on your phone or tablet for easy access. Since it’s right there with you all the time, you can make the habit of going through your inbox daily. I try to check my emails in the morning or late evening. If you don’t keep your inbox organized, you can easily end up with hundreds and even thousands of unread messages. And believe me, we all know that is a daunting sight. To make incoming messages feel less overwhelming, be sure you are only subscribed to sites you find useful. There is no need to be bombarded by companies we don’t care about. 

One of my biggest tips with keeping a clean inbox is to ensure you have folders set up to organize and store emails that you need to keep. A digitally organized inbox is just as important as a physically organized documents holder and should be treated similarly.

Phone Declutter Check List

Here’s a quick and easy checklist you can use next time you want to declutter your phone.

  • Delete unused apps
  • Organize applications into folders
  • Move photos to cloud storage, or physical storage spaces.
  • Remove and unsubscribe from unnecessary emails
  • Organize and sort emails that are needed to be kept
  • Review and delete old text messages you no longer need
  • Remove contacts that are outdated

Thanks to Bee for writing this wonderful post on how to do a digital declutter of our electronic devices and why it’s important to go through them every so often! Want to check out more tips on decluttering your office space and a digital declutter – check it out here!

My name is Bee and I’m the writer behind Mind Beauty Simplicity. My blog focuses on topics of intentional living, minimalism, declutter,ing and self-growth. If you found this guest post interesting, I’d love it if you stopped by my blog to read more of my work. Thank you Alex of Simply Alex Jean for giving me the opportunity to guest post on your site. And I hope you found this information helpful.

Talk Soon!

Comments

  1. Willow Y. says

    Okay thank you for this because I’ve been putting off this job for SO LONG LOL. Cleaning out your camera roll can be extremely time consuming but necessary 😭

  2. Caroline says

    Love the post, digital decluttering also benefits the planet so there’s another bonus! I have all my apps in folders and regularly go through what I really need and what I don’t x

  3. Jodie | That Happy Reader says

    I think you might have been looking at my iphone and ipad when you wrote this! 🤣.I am actually very organized on my iphone and love the new organizational changes that Apple has made in the last few major updates. Having said that, it’s definitely time to go through and delete the apps I don’t regularly use. Thanks for sharing!

  4. Mind Beauty Simplicity says

    Thank you Alex for allowing me to guest post on your blog! I hope your readers find what i have to say useful 🙂 Happy Decluttering!

  8. Natalie Barletta says

    I definitely need to do a digital declutter — like many on these comments! I have been working on it a lot as of lately, so some progress has been made: thanks for the tips!

  9. Lisa says

    Thanks for these practical tips and the checklist at the end. Virtual clutter is easy to ignore yet we use our devices all the time.

  10. Vourneen - The Plain Simple Life says

    Great guest post by Bee!
    I am a serial declutterer so I absolutely loved this! Any time I have an event, that evening I’ll go through my photos and delete the ones I don’t want and upload the ones i’m keeping to folders on my cloud storage. My emails are always filed or deleted straight away too! So this post made me super happy! 🙂

  14. Jenny in Neverland says

    I’m quite good at getting rid of apps but my main problem is photos and videos – they’re what take up ALL of my room but I just don’t want to delete any so I think it’s time to get them on a USB because it’s getting a bit ridiculous now haha!

  15. Ruth| Ruthiee loves Glamour says

    I love decluttering Alex! I declutter everything and anything. I declutter my phone at least once every week and it’s so beneficial. I only have apps that I need. I clear my search history, I get rid of unwanted pictures. I unsubscribe from irrelevant emails as well. I use my phone for a lot and I always love keeping it clutter free. Thank you for sharing x

  16. simplyalexjean says

    I hear ya – I just did some this past weekend and it took a lot longer than I anticipated but was so worth it! I’m so glad to hear this post connected and helped with giving some reminders.

  18. simplyalexjean says

    Haha – that sounds like a very well-timed post! I’m glad to hear this gave a gentle reminder to go through your apps and give them a clear-out! I’m glad you enjoyed this post!

  25. simplyalexjean says

    Thanks, Vourneen – I’m glad to hear you’re on top of your decluttering it sounds like you’ve got a lot of amazing organization strategies in place to keep it to a minimum!

  29. Melissa Alvarado says

    I liked this so much. I have a hard time decluttering my cell phone. Thank you for sharing your tips.

  30. simplyalexjean says

    I hear ya Jenny – same! I did about 1/5 of my photos just this weekend moving them to an external hard drive – it can take quite a bit of time but it really is so wonderful once it’s done. Getting a USB for your photos is a great step to helping to keep them organized and to do regular clean-ups of your photos.

  31. simplyalexjean says

    Yes – that’s great to hear Ruthie! Wow I’m so jealous you do it once a week – it sounds like you have a lot of great strategies with keeping your digital declutter to a minimum! Thanks for reading.

  34. Elle says

    Wow I needed this! I’m such a hoarder of things on my phone I honestly am. I going to take these tips into consideration and get decluttering ASAP! Thank you so much for sharing Xo

    Elle – ellegracedeveson.com

  35. Rosie Ireland says

    I am the WORST for keeping old blog photos for potential repurposing purposes. I need to declutter my phone and laptop – I wish I could wave a wand it gets done for me haha
    Rosie

  39. Jeanette says

    Really great tips, deleting photos and videos especially, it’s quite surprising how much space these actually take up. I keep a close eye on my phones storage alot x

  40. Layla says

    This reminds me that I should be taking better care of my phone and tablet–well, maybe more than I already do! Thank you Alex and Bee for this wake-up call, haha. It might be time-consuming, yes. But it will be so much helpful in the long run.

    Layla | hellotherelayla.com

  41. Mummy Conquering Anxiety says

    Such a great post.

    I clear out my camera roll regularly & I’ve also come round to the idea of folders for apps.

    Because I use my phone for blogging, when I’m busy with mummy duties, I have all relevant apps hidden away in folders. Then we set strict times in the evening for no phones 🙂

  42. Mecah says

    Thanks for this post, it’s now encouraging me to declutter my phone and free storages space. And to think about the purpose before taking or storing anything else.

    Thanks so much

  43. Jaya Avendel says

    I am big fan of decluttering in general, so a digital declutter is right up my street! As I do not have a phone, I recently went through my stored emails and cleared away ones I will never need again. Next on my list are bookmarks! I need to organize and delete many of them.
    Thanks for sharing your tips! 🙂

  47. simplyalexjean says

    It’s just so easy with photos I find to sometimes forget how many we have stored on our phones! Best of luck with your decluttering – thanks for reading and commenting.

  48. simplyalexjean says

    I’m similar email clutter is a big pet peeve! Kudos for the quick delete, I always struggle with deleting emails and typically sort into folders until I need the email. Happy digital decluttering!

  49. simplyalexjean says

    Wonderful to hear! I know – I’m so jealous of Bee for 30 photos, I’m working my way there! Best of luck with downloading and sorting through your photos and videos! 🙂

  51. simplyalexjean says

    Yes, it’s so important to go through those as they can sneak up on you! Awesome to hear you keep a close eye on your storage – thanks for reading and commenting.

  52. simplyalexjean says

    We’re thrilled to hear this post was informative and helpful with those reminders! It can take a bit of time to get organized, but once you’ve got a system you’ll likely find future decluttering will go very quick! Best of luck with decluttering.

  55. simplyalexjean says

    Great to hear this connects with you! It sounds like you’ve got a great system of tackling one digital area at a time and doing a good deep declutter – thanks for reading and commenting.

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