Unused apps, gigabytes of photo storage and old e-mails: time to toss them, for once and for all.

Unused apps, gigabytes of photo storage and old e-mails: time to toss them, for once and for all.Unused apps, gigabytes of photo storage and old e-mails: time to toss them, for once and for all.

You probably clean your car regularly – and probably you’ll toss those empty cans and other trash that you’ve collected. At home, we guess you clean your closets regularly as well. But when was the last time you cleared out the virtual clutter on your computer desktop or smartphone? Being mindful about your use of tech can contribute to your well-being. The less you have to manage, the less stress you’ll have. That’s because visual mess generates guilt and tells our brains that our work is not done. These tips help you handle the virtual clutter. 

Apps
Most people tend to use 5 to 10 apps, but they can have 50 to 100 on their phone. Deleting unused apps will speed up your device and make it easier for you to quickly access your favourites.

• Clear all the apps that aren’t on your home screen; if they’re not on the first screen, they’re not important. If you miss one in a few days or weeks, reinstall it.
• Store social media apps and games in a folder labelled “Time Wasters.” The blunt title serves as a reminder to be more mindful with your swipes and taps.

Photos and videos
Photos worth keeping should be a memory trigger for an event or behaviour.

• Start by looking at the oldest videos. Videos take up the most space, and the older they are, the less emotionally attached you’ll be to them.
• Move the keepers to the cloud or a computer. Put them in a folder that gets backed up regularly.

Desktop
Freeing up desktop space on your computer also frees up mental space.

• Empty the trash or recycle bin, delete downloads and remove duplicate files.
• Review the bookmarks on your browser. General rule of thumb: If you can get to a site easily by typing in the name, don’t bookmark it. Reserve that for unique or specific pages, like your physician’s web portal.
• In the Documents folder on your computer, make five to six top-level folders, like Financial, Household, Travel, Receipts, Health, and Kids. Add sublevels if necessary but no more than two or three deep. Then move the files from your desktop to the newly created folders.

E-mail
Get over the fear of deleting something you’ll need down the road. Deal with it right away and move on.

• Opt out of subscriptions that are no longer relevant to you.
• If you think you’ll need something for a long time (like tax-related e-mails or receipts), save it in a folder on your computer, not in an e-mail folder. Then delete the e-mail immediately.