Are you a Digital Hoarder?

27 ways to cut down on the mess

You really need that file. You know it’s there. What a mess! Reams and reams of unorganized files. Half of them with generic names. All pushed to one side so you have a little clear space to work. Then the computer starts with the spinning beach ball from hell. Why isn't the file coming up in search?

Arghhhhhh! - Cry of the digital hoarder.

Are you a digital order? Answer the questions below: Do you have your desktop full of icons? Do your devices routinely tell you they are out of space? Do your devices slow down due to a lack of space? Do you have to buy multiple hard drives? Do you subscribe to multiple cloud storage plans? Do you have miscellaneous or “to file” folders with 100s or 1000s of files? Does your download folder have 100s of files? Did you have a digital security problem? Do your document folder and other system folders hold a mess of files with no sub-folders? Do you have a lot of old devices lying around? Do you have many digital “friends” that you don’t even know who they are? Do you have many duplicate files? Do you not know what all your apps do? Does your email inbox overflow with unread mails? Do you have trouble finding documents when you need them only to find them later accidentally?

How many YESes did you get? If you even had one or two, you could use the advice below. If you had over 10 you need an intervention, stat!

Key Question: Do you feel stressed about your digital life?

There isn't any definitive definition of a digital hoarder, but if you collect and keep a lot of digital files and connections, and this causes you stress, you are probably a digital hoarder to some degree.

A few years ago a friend stayed for a few days at my apartment. She is a blogger and all in on the digital life. After she left, I opened my email and was shocked to see thousands of emails. I realized she had not logged out. Apparently, she never erases, organizes, or archives any mails, ever, like for more than a decade.

I have to admit to having a "to file" folder I dump a few too many things in, but I like to keep my desktop clear and my hard drives at least semi-organized.

Wherever you are on the "hoarder" scale, you can use at least one of these tips.

Things to do to reduce or eliminate digital hoarding: 1. Unsubscribe when you receive an unwanted message. 2. If you are a worrier put things in the far corner of an HD and check in a year. 3. Have a someday/maybe drive or folder for random stuff. 4. Block when you can’t unsubscribe. 5. Have big bucket file folders for not so important stuff. 6. Learn how to clean, then resell or dispose of old devices. 7. Have small specific folders for important things. 8. Short term have a specific folder when a project is active and then put it in an archive folder when the project is finished. 9. Have a second “unserious” email account for frivolous messages if you can’t stop yourself from subscribing to newsletters or services. 10. Erase unused or unwanted accounts as you go or do an audit once a month. 11. Use a good password manager. 12. Make a file system consciously. Use the same system for each storage area and each device. 13. Label files and folders clearly. 14. Use a cleaner app. 15. Once you have a system, follow it with each item as they come in. Don’t have everything in one big jumble. 16. Have local and cloud backups and then don’t have duplicate backups. 17. “KonMari” your files! Ask, “Does this file bring joy to my life?”. If not, then delete it. 18. Don’t use email as a to-do list. Use iNotes/Notion/or an old-fashioned paper notebook as a consciously made plan. 19. Use the 2-minute rule for emails and files. If you can do it in 2 minutes, do it now. 20. Batch process emails and files. 21. Don’t save info that you can Google. 22. Have times you don’t use your computer or even carry your phone. 23. Use an internet blocking device. 24. Quit all or all but one social media site. 25. Look in the file finder and look at the older files. Do you need them? 26. Purge your phone photos monthly. Delete the bad photos and transfer the good ones to your main backed up PC photo folder. 27. Keep your system as simple as possible so you can follow it.

If you like a stress-free life like I do, you need to address your digital life.

Every time you open or close your PC, take a second to clean up one thing. Your stress level will go down and you might even find that file.