Decluttering doesn’t stop at clothes you no longer wear or mugs from your ex that you’re emotionally over (mostly). In the age of smartphones, subscriptions, and screenshots, you can be tidy on the outside but absolutely chaotic on your screen.
Digital clutter is still clutter. And for the juans who are all about moving forward with less stress and more intention, it’s time we looked at the lowkey messes we let pile up in our digital lives.
Here are five digital decluttering mistakes you might be making, and how to fix them without losing your marbles or your memes.
#1: Taking screenshots and never deleting them
Let’s talk about the black hole that is your screenshots folder.
One day it’s a grab of a QR code, a GCash receipt, or a tweet you swore was so you. The next thing you know, your gallery has 3,482 items and 600 of them are reminders you never looked at again.
This eventually becomes a problem sincescreenshots eat up space, make your gallery harder to navigate, and keep your brain in a state of mild digital overwhelm. Clutter, whether visual or digital, takes up mental bandwidth.
How to fix it:
- Schedule a weekly ‘screenshot sweep’. Sunday works best for many, like a quick 10-minute ritual before bed.
- Use the Favorites feature. For important screenshots you want to keep short-term.
- Consider using a notes app. It’s home to things you always screenshot, like reminders, booking references, or lists.
#2: Keeping apps you no longer use
You downloaded that fitness app during your “new year, new me” phase. You opened it once.
It’s April. It’s still there.
The thing with unused apps is they take up space in your phone, that may eventually force you to upgrade cloud storage. And they also clutter your attention. You scroll past them daily, and they silently add to your sense of digital disorganization.
Instead, what you can do is a monthly “app audit.” Check your storage usage (Settings > Storage) and see what apps are eating up space versus those that bring actual value.
To make navigating your phone easier, group similar apps in folders (like “Finance,” “Travel,” “Food”) so your screen isn’t a visual warzone.
If you’re nervous about deleting something you might use again, make a folder called “For Review.” If it’s still unopened in 30 days, let it go.
#3: Not unsubscribing from emails you no longer read
You know that moment when you check your inbox and it’s full of sales you don’t remember signing up for? And somehow you’re still getting updates from a webinar you didn’t attend?
Inbox overload leads to missed important messages and constant digital noise. Every unread email is like a tiny unchecked box in your brain.
So it’s time to batch unsubscribe to emails. Even for just 10 minutes every day. When you delete a useless email, pause for a few seconds and hit that unsubscribe button as well. There’s no need to procrastinate.
In addition, create folders like “Newsletters,” “Finance,” or “Receipts” to auto-sort your email via filters.
Tip for Gmail users: Use the search bar with terms like “unsubscribe” or “newsletter” to spot the culprits.
#4: Not cleaning up your social media feeds
Yes, we’re going there. You’re still following that classmate from high school whose stories give you secondhand embarrassment. Or an ex you “muted but didn’t unfollow” because… you know.
Your digital space affects your mood and attention more than you think. Seeing content that no longer aligns with who you are can leave you feeling disconnected or drained.
So, mundane as it may be, try and do a “following cleanse.” Ask the following questions:
- Does this person or page still add value?
- Do I feel better or worse after seeing their content?
- Am I only following out of habit or guilt?
If unfollowing feels to aggressive, then use the mute function consciously. Curate your feed by following creators or pages that reflect where you’re headed, not just where you’ve been.
Also, you can opt to turn off push notifications. You don’t need to know the second someone likes your meme.
#5: Not organizing your desktop and file system
We see you. That desktop with 38 icons and files called “Final-Final-THISONE-ReallyFinal.pdf.”
Truth is, a messy digital workspace kills productivity. You waste time looking for things, duplicate work, or worse, send the wrong file.
Here’s what works wonders:
- Create clear folders. Sort and group your files in simple categories like ‘Work’, ’Personal’, ‘2025 Projects’, ‘Receipts’.
- Use consistent naming format. Having a naming system is akin to old-school filing systems which are organized alphabetically or numerically. Keywords are important so they’re easily searchable. (e.g. “Invoice_Brgy123_Jan2024.pdf”)
- Set reminders. Actually scheduling your digital file tidy-up even for 10 minutes every Friday can help cut the overwhelm. It helps prevent digital files from piling up before the month or year ends. Consider it your digital “ligpit time.”
- Use cloud storage. There are plenty of options like Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud that you can sync across devices saving you plenty of time and mental headspace.
If you don’t know where to start, dump everything into a folder called “Sort Me” and clear it out little by little each day.
Choose peace and order every time
Digital decluttering is about choosing less noise and more clarity, so you can be the calm, collected person you aspire to be.
We already deal with enough traffic, group chats, and delayed deliveries. Our digital space should feel like a breath of fresh air, not another to-do list that overwhelms us.
So delete that blurry screenshot of a sandwich, unfollow that page that only posts bad memes, and finally rename that document. Your peace of mind (and your phone storage) will love you for it.
