Technology and all the gadgets and features that come along with it are basically the center of our lives these days. And because of this, if my inbox is overflowing or my files on my computer are unorganized, I feel completely frazzled. I’ve learned that when my tech is in order, it just makes me feel better about my life. Anyone else? If this sounds like the refresher you need right now, I hope these tips help!

Physically clean your devices

Before we can declutter and organize, we have to physically clean our tech – especially our phones! When I stop to think about how many surfaces my phone touches I kinda get grossed out (and then it presses against my cheek when I talk on it! SO MANY GERMS!). I wasn’t sure the best way to go about cleaning it, though, so I searched the interwebs for a natural solution. Turns out it’s super easy! All you have to do is get a small spray bottle like this and fill it with equal parts water and white vinegar. Then spray the mixture on a microfiber cloth (like a lens cloth) and wipe your phone down. Use a dry piece of the cloth to wipe up any extra moisture.

Take inventory of what you have

This feels like major first world problems, but sometimes I’m not even sure how many devices/accessories I have laying around. Between new phones, old phones, my iPad, headphones, cords and my laptop (AND a desktop if you have one) there’s so much tech in my house. If you have old phones, computers, iPads/tablets or accessories you no longer use, get rid of them! You can donate or sell them, but either way, if you no longer use it, time to let it go. Oh and how about old chargers? Since getting my new MacBook Pro, my old chargers don’t work anymore and it’s time to get rid of them!

Declutter

I don’t know about y’all but my phone has like thirteen thousand photos on it, which is RIDICULOUS. One of my 2019 goals is to get better about daily/weekly sweeps so things don’t build up and I don’t have to spend hours deleting unused or extra photos. The same goes for email and any files on my computer. Do a thorough sweep and delete anything that’s no longer relevant. Basically, go into every app/file and remove all the clutter. You could even delete the app/file itself if you don’t use it anymore. Get rid of anything that no longer serves you!

Sync everything up

I’ll admit that when “the cloud” became a thing, I was a little resistant to utilizing it because it seemed too complicated. Now though, if you aren’t using it, you’ve got to get on it! You can connect all your devices to it and everything that’s on one will be accessible on all of them. It has seriously changed my life. Plus, I no longer panic if something happens to my phone because I don’t have to worry about losing anything when it’s all backed up to the cloud!

Organize

Now that you’ve taken inventory of what you have, decluttered all your apps/files and synced your devices, you’re ready to organize (my fave part)! You can rename/restructure your computer files, set up filters in your email and I recommend grouping your phone apps together into categories (social media, photo editing, shopping, news, etc.). You want the way you organize things to feel intuitive, so whatever feels natural to your flow, go with that!

Here’s to not letting the clutter of technology take over our lives, yea?? If you have a strategy for cleaning/organizing all your devices, please share! The more the merrier when it comes to this topic and feeling better about life!