When January 1 hits, all anyone can seem to talk about his cleansing: cleansing of the body, the home and the social circle. But every once in awhile, you’ve got to take inventory of your technological habits as well, particularly when it comes to that precious little cell in your pocket.
This week, take a break from housekeeping and top-of-the-year juicing fasts, and instead, try refreshing life with these four phone freeing tips, guaranteed to clear up your mind and your storage space.
1. Clean out your gallery.
You’d be surprised by how many stray Spongebob gifs, mindless selfies and Forever21 screenshots actually end up hanging around in your photo gallery for no reason. All that stuff is nice, but the more they sit on your phone, the more useless they become.
Do yourself a solid and just delete what’s unnecessary. You can always back them up and view them later, and with the cloud running rampant these days, nothing taken on an iphone can ever truly be “lost.”
2. Take note of your numbers.
At a college as big as the University of Maryland, students are constantly meeting new people for work and for play. That being said, not every connection stands the test of time. Make sure every number you have stored in your phone belongs to someone you still, at the very least, keep in touch with. As for the rest, toss them overboard. Gotye said it best: now they’re just somebody that you used to know.
3. Sift through your iTunes.
I can’t be the only one who oftentimes skips through a self-made playlist, only to skip through a bunch of songs I’m so tired of. Sometimes, the jams we love one day, we find completely obnoxious the second. Grab some new music compilations to reflect the new year, and trash the songs that just don’t do it for you like they used to. Music is the soundtrack of your life, and you’re moving on with yours.
4. Analyze your apps.
There are way too many apps to count. Some of them are classics we just can’t seem to shake, but then there are the wildcards. Super Mario Run, Duolingo and Buzzfeed are awesome, but they do take up a bunch of space, so make sure it’s worth it! If it’s an app that doesn’t blow you away, uninstall it and free up some room. Parting is such sweet sorrow, but if it means more camera space, it can’t be all bad.
See, now doesn’t that feel better? With no lingering selfies, tunes and programs in the mix, you’re truly ready to leave 2016 behind and fill this year to the brim with new memories!
