As the temperatures begin to rise, the season of spring cleaning arrives with them. Washing windows, mopping floors and finally collecting clothes for donation, prepare us to welcome warmer weather and the rest of the year. While people usually focus on how to clean their living spaces, they rarely consider that their phones and other devices could use their own version of spring cleaning, so we’ve created this checklist to help you get rid of the old and make way for the new.
Clear away old photos
Holding on to old pictures is one of the easiest ways to fill up your phone. Deleting old photos of a study guide for a class you took last semester or blurry outtakes from your spring break trip not only helps you consolidate your digital space, but it prevents messages about running out of storage from popping up and ruining a good photo op.
Delete old messages and contacts
This tip is up to personal preference, but it’s a good way to free up your digital space quickly. Getting rid of group chats from events that have long since passed or contacts of employees from a job you no longer work at can save space and eliminate the confusion of having 4 Sarahs or 3 Matthews in your contacts at once.
clear out unused apps
We all have those apps that we downloaded spontaneously and only used a couple of times before forgetting about. They may not be taking up significant space on their own, but combined with dozens of abandoned text threads and hundreds of old photos, these apps can greatly slow the speed and fill the storage of your devices. A personal rule of thumb is if you haven’t opened the app in the past 4 months, you probably won’t miss it when it’s off of your phone.
cancel those old subscriptions
The easiest way to lose money is to forget to unsubscribe to a service you no longer need. If you haven’t watched anything on Showtime or Apple TV in months, or you stopped keeping up with those premium language lessons you still pay for, maybe it’s time to reconsider what you want to continue getting charged for on a monthly basis. And while you’re at it, make sure to unsubscribe from any free trials before it’s too late.
Tighten up your social media
How many people do you still follow on Instagram despite not having interacted with – or even seen – their content in almost a year? How many old classmates do you scroll past on Snapchat without ever stopping to look at their stories? Consolidating your following and followers lists doesn’t help free up space on your devices, but it does unclog your social media feeds and make room for new faces.
Our digital devices can benefit from the same refreshment of spring cleaning that we dedicate to our physical spaces. Deleting unnecessary photos, texts and apps can help keep your storage space free and your devices running smoothly. Unsubscribing from that unused gym or YouTube subscription can keep money in your pocket that you can use for new things. Reducing who you follow on social media, from random celebrities to old classmates, can help better connect you to new people and fresh content. This year, make sure your phone is as ready as your room to take on the new and warmer seasons.