Pile of used, obsolete electronics. E-waste is becoming a major problem worldwide.
YUP. There are. In fact, clutter falls into 4 Separate Categories:
1. Physical Clutter is the collection of things you don’t use and don’t care for. This type of clutter is often scattered around your home and office and results in an untidy mess. More often than not, lost and misplaced items are caused from physical clutter.
2. Paper Clutter is one of the most frustrating challenges people encounter. When you have piles of paper, it becomes extremely difficult to locate important documents like bills, medical documents, tax papers, passports, etc. Not to mention the fact that piles of unread papers, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and other random paper make a home look and feel messy.
3. Digital Clutter is found on computers, cell phones, tablets, and other electronic devices. It often consists of voicemail, email, user names, passwords, social media etc.
4. Emotional Clutter is the clutter we hold within our mind and heart. It’s feelings and emotions people deal with each day, like: negativity, anxiety, worry, stress, frustration, and fear.
For the purposes of this Newsletter, I’d like to address Digital Clutter.
The better organized your digital content is, the better off you’ll be. It will definitely increase your productivity and efficiency and decrease the overwhelming feelings associated with this type of clutter.
Here’s a few suggestions to get your digital clutter under control:
· Unsubscribe from emails you no longer want to receive
· Delete unknown contacts
· Update contacts
· Delete all emails from your devices that are junk, spam, solicitations
· Set up rules so that junk or spam email automatically go into a junk or spam folder
· Go through and either send or delete any unposted drafts from your email account(s)
· Empty recycle bin on your desktop
· Clean up your desktop
· Make sure that your devices are synched so that all of the same information is on all of your devices to avoid having to duplicate your work
· Create files so that emails to and from a client, friend or family member can ultimately get moved to that file. It will be easier to find if/when you ever need them
· Have a personal email and a business email to differentiate between the two
· Check your voicemail and delete any saved messages that have been dealt with
· Consider keeping all of your passwords in one, password protected file
· Remove apps that you never use or are obsolete
· Update the apps you do use
· Delete all photographs that are no longer wanted or needed
· Create files/albums for photographs so that you can retrieve the ones you want when you want without having to scroll through hundreds or thousands of photos
· Make sure to back-up your devices at least once a month
· Take your old devices (hard-drives/towers) to Best Buy and have them destroyed (after you’ve retrieved the information on them of course)
If you or anyone you know needs help with Organizing, Downsizing, Relocations, Estate Sales or Clearing a Property, let them know that we’d love to be of service!