Digital Spring Clean Up

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As we’re thawing out here in Westchester, Spring is just around the corner! Time to roll up your sleeves and start your Spring clean up! Don’t forget to clean up your digital life, too! In fact, it’s a lot easier than you think, here are five tips to get you started.

1. Declutter Your Inbox

Clean up your Inbox and Spam folder! Most email services have automatic spam filters, but what we often forget is that spam emails also take up your email storage space. If you’re using a Gmail account, you’re sharing that 15GB space across Google Drive and Google Photos.

Clean up that space by unsubscribing to newsletters you don’t read, social media notifications that you receive, store promotions that you never go to, or services that you never use. If you want that extra coupon at your favorite store, just open a new email account just for store promotions.

2. Clear Out Apps on Your Phone

There are a lot of apps on your phone that you’re not using. Delete them! If you’re like me, “Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp” was so last Fall! I’m sorry Apollo, but I won’t be running errands for you any longer! Uninstall it! Apps like Dropbox take up room, battery life, and possible data usage by constantly syncing with other devices or cloud storage.

You really don’t need to access all your files ALL the time. Clean up your phone to allow more space for the apps that really matter. I can’t tell you the number of times that the “Elmo Calls” app has saved me from toddler meltdowns.

3. Syncing Photos to the Cloud

Don’t be afraid of the cloud, you can do it! Sync those photos and clear out room on all your devices. You’ll feel so much better that all your beautiful memories are securely stored. This will allow you to take hundreds more of your beautiful babies. Read my article for a step-by-step guide.

4. Get Organized for Tax Season

Don’t let the nicer weather pull you into vacation mode, we’ve got some adulting to do! Tax season is just around the corner and it’s time to organize all your receipts. Most bank, credit card, investments, and mortgage institutions have gone digital. Download those items and place them into a shared folder (like Google Drive). This will allow your spouse to add his or her information in one place. Password lock that folder and send it to your accountant!

5. Streamlining Calendars

It’s not easy to coordinate the household and everyone’s schedules, let alone work calendars. Even with our almost three-nager and 9 month old, it seems like everyone is running in opposite directions on most days. Between doctor appointments, playdates, activities, and school holidays, it’s easy to get frazzled.

In our household, we use one family calendar that’s tied to a family email account. My husband and I have it as our primary calendar on our phones, we both enter in events and appointments as needed. It allows us to coordinate daycare coverage and switch off on school events. Once the girls get older, they will also have access to it. It’s a great way to get the family all on the same page digitally, so we can spend more quality time face to face instead of discussing scheduling conflicts. 

Digital Spring Cleaning is easy, well a lot easier than emptying out that garage. Get started, so you can spend more time outside enjoying the warmer weather. Happy cleaning!

What tips can you share?