As if dusting, cleaning, folding and organizing your home isn’t enough, you probably need to de-clutter your pop culture life as well, and somehow this seems even more daunting. I definitely need to do number 3. I realized this morning I have over 10,000 pictures on my phone (seriously, how is that possible?!)… and I have the nerve to get annoyed if it takes more than a second to do something!
Megan Angelo of Glamour.Com gives us these nine tips for a little spring cleaning:
1. All those bulging, 10-episode DVR folders of dramas you swore you wanted to get into but just never found the time for? Choose one—two at the most—and clear out the rest. If you ever find the time, you’ll be able to find the shows again. (Let go of Smash. It’s all right.)
2. If you can’t even remember the last time you turned your DVD player on, and you’ve got a bunch of now-on-Netflix shows collecting dust on top of it, donate them. Depending on the content, you could hand them off to a school, a hospital/nursing home, or a friend who cut cable to save costs.
3. Delete all the misfire photos/blurry concert videos from your phone and computer. They’re slowing things down, you know. If you can’t remember what it is when you look at it, it’s not a memory.
4. Make some room on your iPod by moving the album tracks you never listen to, songs you can’t understand why you ever liked, and duplicate files out of iTunes and into another space on your computer (unless you are steely enough to trash ‘em altogether. I get deleting guilt).
5. Take the time to download all the songs you’ve been gibberish-texting to yourself when you hear them in a bar/scribbling down on scraps of paper while you listen to Pandora. Make playlists for new music you want to hear a lot, workout music, and car music.
6. For new, cheap reads: Log into Amazon and check out books you wish-listed months ago but never ordered—and the site’s picks for you, which are often pretty on. Chances are you can get the ones you never got around to in paperback now.
7. Re-org the books you already have depending on what kind of space you’re working with. If you’re the type who’s got them crammed so close they’re practically fused, pull some pretty ones out and use them on a coffee or end table. Get rid of ones you’ve already read and don’t feel particularly attached to—but never give away the sort of books you love/love recommending/love lending out. They’re worth finding space for!
8. For the love of God, wipe down your iPad, Kindle, iPhone, and any other you-touch-it-with-your-fingers screen devices I’m forgetting here. (No ducking this one on a technicality, Nook users!)
Last but not least: Invest in some pretty organization. These adorable Ikea boxes are so spring-y and versatile—and great for cords, little-used remotes, CDs you can’t bear to part with, and more. And at $9.99 to $14.99 apiece, you can’t beat the price.
Decorative Organization Boxes
