In today’s age, our digital life and footprint are part of our lives. Almost everything we do is online, and we carry an “asset” that can contain much information about ourselves. This particular asset is called “data” or “information”. It can be in pictures, text, video, or even sounds. Then, we also have our physical assets, the tools we use to connect online. Over time, our data can pile up and clutter our devices, and at the same time, our device needs good repair or maintenance. In our day-to-day lives, these things can be overlooked, and one day, when a problem persists, all you can do is panic. All these can be mitigated by having monthly, annual, or even seasonal audits to check the health of your data and devices.

I like to do it at the end of the year, just a few months before tax season starts where I am from. It helps with digitizing everything and makes it easier to access whenever I need to file for taxes the next year. After all, some of our digital assets can be taxed, too. That's why, I am doing my best to keep track of everything. Here are some of the things that I tend to check and audit during my annual digital detox and decluttering.

📌 Online presence declutter

This time of the year is perfect for finding out where you still want to have your online presence. Think about the social media platforms, games, or even apps you haven’t used for a while. If you don’t have needs there, it’s time to uninstall and let it go. However, before that, revoke connections, download your data, and delete it. That way, you know you’re removing your data for good and had no connection to it.

📌 Clean up your folders, pictures included.

For those who take dozens of pictures, it’s the best time to let go of some of the blurry ones. It’s best to keep the good ones so that we can make room for new pictures and memories for the following year. There are also documents that you might not need and need to let go of. You can decide to keep only the important documents around.

📌 Checkup on your privacy and authentication factors

Multiple data breaches occur throughout the year. You could be one of their victims, and that’s when you should change your passwords immediately. Throughout the year, you might also sign up for a new service or install new software. Make sure that you manage those well and know where you are signing up for. While changing your password often is unnecessary, it’s time to reconsider if you need to change your credentials across your devices.

📌 Whether it’s your phone or laptop, make sure to check it.

Usually, this is a great time to upgrade your gadget with the sweet deals. This is why I like to check my devices and see if they are up for upgrading. While sometimes it’s not about upgrading, a security checkup or just checking if they are up for repairs is a great time to do so.

📌 Unsubscribe

It’s best to unsubscribe from things that we don’t use anymore. Since many of them are automatic, too, make sure that they’re still something you use and don’t just drain your wallet. It’s best to evaluate them so that next year, you know that you might not need a particular subscription or even need a new subscriptions.

Those are the things that I do when decluttering my digital space. I often do that at the end of the year to ensure that I enter the next year with a clear space and more space to store memories I am going to make next year. Through this system, I also managed to mitigate a lot of unnecessary problems that could arise just because I forgot to check the condition of my phone and my other devices.

Now, I'd like to hear from you, what are the steps you do to declutter your digital space? Share it in the comment section.