I’ve switched computers and external hard drives many times over years and my filing system well, it was getting out of hand. My computer had almost no storage space left and was running slow, definitely a case of out of sight, out of mind. So I created a list of all the digital decluttering I needed to do, and am sharing it in this post in case you need to clean up your computer too.

Digital Declutter Checklist

Computer Maintenance

1. Review current filing system
   1. Sort into clearly labelled folders
   2.  Desktop files
   3.  Document files
   4.  Video files
2. Delete unused shortcuts on desktop
3. Choose & install new desktop wallpaper
4. Run anti-virus scan
5. Empty recycling bin
6. Set up a Trello board (or another system) with websites to look at, wish list items to buy that you’re checking sales for, helpful tutorials you want to refer back to later, recipes to try or any other specific webpages you want to come back to in the future
7. Set up (or clean up your existing) password log, or use a site like LastPass
8. Deleted unused apps
9. Wipe computer screen
10. Use compressed air to clean keyboard
11. Wipe computer keyboard
12. Tag external hard drives with cord organizers

Related post: How to plan your week using Trello

Cull files

1. Check storage menu of computer
2. Temporary files
3. Desktop
4. Documents
5. Photos
6. Video files
7. Downloads folder
8. Risk disk file clean up
9. Empty Recycling bin

Click here to download the Digital declutter checklist

Inbox Maintenance 

1. Delete emails you’re never going to look at again e.g. expired catalogues, sales, newsletters from more than a year ago
2. Delete emails from spam / junk folder
3. Delete emails from deleted folder
4. Inbox zero
5. Set up folders in your inbox e.g. bills, kids, school
6. Inbox rules for automatic filing
7. Unroll me to reduce email subscriptions
8. Switch to email bills
9. Deleted contacts no longer needed
10. Link backup email address in case account is hacked

Social Media

1. Unfollow Instagram accounts that no longer interest you
2. Unsubscribe from YouTube accounts that no longer interest you
3. Clean up Pinterest boards
4. Leave Facebook groups
5. Unfriend people on Facebook you’re no longer in contact with
6. Check privacy settings on social media

Workspace 

1. Wipe down desk
2. Store all computer equipment (cords, external hard drives, batteries for mouse etc.) in one place such as a box or drawer
3. Recycling bin & rubbish bins within reach of desk

Internet Browser 

1. Close tabs haven’t accessed recently
2. Pin favorite tabs
3. Organize bookmarks into folders
4. Delete bookmarks you no longer access
5. Clear web browser history
6. Clear browser cache

Organizing Photos

1. Review current filing system
2. Organized by year, month, whose camera the photos are from, event or SD card #
3. File backup complete
4. Duplicate or ‘bad’ photos (e.g. blurry) deleted
5. Deleted photos deleted from the recycle bin on your computer

Related post: How I plan and make travel photobooks (plus download my workflow printable)

File backups 

1. Photos
2. Videos
3. Documents
4. External backup drive 1
5. External backup drive 2
6. Cloud storage

Read more: How to backup files on your computer or laptop (best and cheapest cloud storage software) 

Printer maintenance

1. Printer clean
2. Print head alignment
3. Order small quantity of inks
4. Wipe all sides of the printer including the screen
5. Environmentally dispose or donate empty ink tanks to a recycling centre

Read more: How to clean your printer (prevent smudging, streaks and make the colors POP!) 

Phone

1. Software updates
2. Check how much storage space is left on your phone
3. Review your notification settings (Settings > Notifications)
4. Close apps running in the background
5. Delete unused apps
6. Organize apps into folders
7. Move frequently used apps to the 1^st and 2^nd screens
8. Cull photos
9. Sync phone with the cloud to automatically backup photos
10. Backup photos to computer
11. Backup photos to external hard drive
12. Delete contacts that are no longer needed
13. Delete completed tasks from the Reminders app
14. Delete completed / no longer needed notes from the Notes app
15. Backup Notes app
16. Close internet browsers you no longer need
17. Delete internet browser bookmarks you no longer need
18. Set a recurring reminder to do a digital declutter once a month
19. Empty trash folder on your phone
20. Delete voicemail messages that are no longer needed
21. Delete podcasts you’ve listened to, or you’re no longer interested in

Online file storage

1. Purge Dropbox folder
2. Purge Google Drive folder
3. Purge phone cloud storage folder

Blog

1. Review website load speed
2. Check number of website visitors per month
3. Check for broken links and update accordingly
4. Answer or delete comments
5. Review draft blog posts
6. Delete uploaded but unused photos
7. Backup blog
8. Backup blog photos
9. Update plugins
10. Delete unused plugins
11. Upgrade Wordpress

Print a copy of the checklist to use now, and re-use each year for a computer clean up. The checklist is editable so you can digitally mark it off using Adobe Reader, or print and cross things off by hand. There is additional space to add your own tasks to the list as well.

I’ve added sections to put the date you completed each task (inbox maintenance, computer maintenance etc.) so you can tackle the list in sections and see how long it’s really been since your last clean up.

Click here to download the printable checklist.

Click here to download the Digital declutter checklist

Related posts:

• The 3 things I plan digitally instead of using pen and paper
• How I plan and make travel photobooks (plus download my workflow printable)
• How I use Microsoft Word to plan my travel itinerary (my template & planning process) 
• Pen and paper versus digital: which is better for keeping track of your money? 

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