7 Smart Things to Do on “Clean Out Your Computer” Day

Physical clutter is the most in-your-face kind of clutter, and (especially in the Marie-Kondo-fueled cultural moment we’re having) the most obvious type of clutter to tackle. And yet, there’s a far less visible sort of mess that can also contribute to chaotic feelings, frenzied brains, and drained energy: digital clutter.

Today, February 11, in honor of Clean Out Your Computer Day—and let’s be honest, we need an excuse to address this not-fun but necessary chore—we’re going to roll up our sleeves and clean out some of the digital stuff that clutters our lives.

Much like the unworn scarf that hangs on the coat rack for three months, digital clutter is easy to look past because we’re so used to it. But it’s important to take the time to renew your perspective and organize your digital life. It’ll feel like a breath of fresh air every time you crack open your laptop or unlock your phone.

Leaving the bigger, under-the-hood stuff for another time, here are some small, simple steps you can take to make your digital scenery more serene:

A clean desktop is today’s equivalent of a clean slate. Starting off work with a screen that’s nearly empty gives you fresh-start vibes each time you sit down at the computer. Put any files that you’ve saved on your desktop in their proper place or delete them.

The downloads folder is digital purgatory; files stuck in that folder are crying out to be put in their proper place or put out of their misery (deleted). And no human being likes to confront a bloated downloads folder full of unfamiliar files that we’re either too scared to delete (what if it’s an important tax document?!) or too overwhelmed to review. Time to face it and go down the list of downloads one by one, deleting or putting them in the right place.

Delete unused shortcuts on your desktop screen. If you have a bookmarks bar on your browser, review them and remove any you don’t regularly use. Also check your browser extensions and remove any that don’t get regular use.

You’d be surprised how much junk is sitting in your computer’s trash can or recycling bin. Hit empty and take a second to enjoy that gloriously empty basket.

If you’ve found yourself struggling to remember where certain files are, you know how much simpler retrieval will be when you consolidate to one cloud service, whether it’s Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive. If you can spring for the storage level you need, commit to one service and move everything over to one central (searchable) place.

Once you’ve trimmed the excess shortcuts and files and invested in one place where you’ll store your documents, give those folders a quick once-over. You may be surprised to find how many empty folders you have. Delete them. Next, consolidate folders with overlapping contents. If you can’t review your folders and files all at once, consider making three overarching folders, one for your stuff (resumes, documents, etc.), one for things you share with family and friends (photos, for instance), and one for the rest of the world (music, movies, etc.). You can fine-tune as you can down the road.

Since your smartphone is most likely your most-used computer, clearing out the visible digital clutter on your phone will have a similar calming impact every time you go to use your phone. Delete all unused apps (you can get them again any time if you need them) and then organize your apps into folders or on screens in a way that makes the most sense for you. I personally use a single-color background screen and organize my apps in folders by color.