You always feel better when you clean up a house after the mess has gotten out of control. Tossing garbage bags full of your unwanted stuff and walking back into a spotless room is incredibly satisfying. Suddenly, the space feels bigger and the mood is less hectic. It’s like you can finally think straight.
Copy the same process with your smartphone. You don’t have to carry around a messy, junk-filled device. Take it out of your pocket right now and start the deep clean.
Get Rid of Old Apps
A great first step to declutter your phone is to get rid of any apps that you don’t use anymore — anything that you haven’t touched for months qualifies as disposable. Be honest with yourself. Don’t keep a fitness app that you opened once last year based on the rare chance you get inspired to take it up again. Remember, if you change your mind later down the line, you can always download the app again.
Maybe you still use a lot of apps on a regular basis. Take a few minutes to organize them in different folders so that your home screen isn’t crammed with logos. Divide the folders up by categories to keep track of them. Think of apps that you use for work, for fitness, for relaxation, for fun and more.
Delete Old Messages
You have hundreds and hundreds of old texts clogging up your phone. Confirmation texts from restaurants letting you know that your reservation is ready. Notifications that you have a new message waiting in your voicemail. Strangers that had the wrong number. Spam asking you to click a link for a free vacation or to fix a problem with your bank account.
One of the easiest ways to free up storage on your smartphone is to go through your text messages and purge all the old conversations. Anything that has just been sitting there taking up extra space should go. Even better, any texts that weigh you down emotionally should be removed. Your phone shouldn’t be used as a shrine to your exes — deleting those messages will make it easier to stop dwelling on the past and to move forward.
Update the Software
Whenever you get a software update notification, you swipe it away and tell yourself that you’ll get to it later. Weeks and weeks go by, and your smartphone’s system stays the same. Stop ignoring the reminders and take a moment to complete the task.
One of the biggest reasons to update your phone is that it improves the security features, fixing bugs and patching up any vulnerabilities that hackers may find. The phone won’t run very well if it’s been hacked or infected with malware.
Other good motivations for finishing this small chore is that the update can come with new features and it can make the system faster than before.
Clean the Screen
Now that you’ve taken care of the internal aspects of your smartphone, you should take care of the outside. Take a microfiber cloth to clean your touchscreen and remove any ugly residue from oily fingerprints, food and dirt. For stubborn smears and smudges, spritz some water onto the cloth so that it’s a little damp. Turn the smartphone off and then wipe the gunk away.
If you see any micro scratches and scuff marks made from house keys, loose change and zipper edges, you can use toothpaste to make the spots look good as new. Take a little bit of toothpaste and dab it onto the phone. Use the microfiber cloth to rub the area in circles until the mark comes up. Then dampen the cloth with a little water, wipe away the toothpaste residue.
To prevent any scuff marks and scratches from coming back, you should get your smartphone some protection. Get the most precise skins in the game to stop your tech from getting scratched by the contents of your pocket or visibly smeared with fingerprints. Choose a bold design like black camo, carbon fiber or leather. A single order could make your smartphone look completely new.
Stop putting off this chore and carrying around a phone full of clutter and covered in grime. Toss out the trash filling up your precious storage. Update the software that you’ve been neglecting. Wipe away the mess and finish up the makeover with a fresh skin.
