Digital Clutter

I must constantly battle clutter. Clutter seems to have a life of its own and seems to spontaneously increase. A small stack of papers soon turns into a large pile that takes more time and effort to organize. There is also “Digital Clutter” that has many of the same characteristics as physical clutter and includes digital photos, electronic records, emails, etc.

Some digital clutter, such as an email Inbox, is annoying but not too dangerous. If your computer crashes then those emails are probably stored on a server. Other types of digital clutter are not forgiving. Most people have LOTS of digital images stored in a computer (often in multiple folders), in the device, on memory cards, etc. If the device or computer died or was stolen then those images could be lost forever.

Digital clutter includes:

• Images still in the camera
• Images in multiple places on one or more computers
• Images stored on CDs, memory cards, thumb drives, etc.
• Duplicate and unsorted images
• Digital files stored in a variety of places on computer or external drives
• Old emails saved in various places
• Digital receipts in emails or other places on your computer.

Getting digital clutter under control may seem like a daunting task but it is actaully many small tasks. Tackle each small task one by one and you will be amazed as how much progress you will make. Just devote a little time each day, stick to it, and soon you will slay the digital clutter monster.