(BPT) - This time of year, as our focus turns to spring cleaning, there's an aspect of tidying up that most of us may be forgetting: our digital clutter. Women's lifestyle outlet How Does She partnered with Walmart Family Mobile to share some excellent technology tidying tips (say that five times fast!). From Christmas pictures that are still taking up memory on your phone, to hundreds of old texts that are eating up your gigabytes, to needless folders that make your computer desktop messier than a 10-year-old's room, there are plenty of things you can digitally declutter, and once you get started, you'll be amazed at how zen you'll feel.
1. Organize your photos: Photos are notorious for taking up a ton of space, and can add up quickly if you don't regularly back them up. To get started, find a free cloud-based service to help organize your pictures. As you upload, make sure to select "delete after uploading" to kill two birds with one stone and save a little time. No matter the method you chose, take the time to protect your photos and get them in order. You can even go one step further and make it a monthly routine to make your storage easier to maintain!
2. Delete old texts: Text conversations can pile up fast and take up valuable storage, especially if they contain images or videos. There's no need to keep unimportant ones around. As you go through your messages, save only the vital conversations you'd need to keep as a record or for reference, otherwise, send them to the trash! For the messages with images and videos, use the advice in the first tip to stay organized and limit storage use. Take five minutes right now (that's all you need!) and pare down your texts.
3. Get your family on one mobile plan: With all the running around your family does, it's hard enough to keep schedules straight, let alone keep up with different mobile plans. Make it easy on yourself by getting the whole family on the same affordable plan. Did you know Walmart Family Mobile has a multi-line family plan? You can get two Truly Unlimited lines with unlimited talk, text and high-speed data for less than $75 per month. (Video typically streams at DVD quality.) And you can add more lines to suit your family's needs at a great bargain! Not only is this an amazing deal, but with Walmart Family Mobile you also get non-stop nationwide coverage on one of the nation's largest, most reliable 4G LTE† networks. It's great for busy families who are always on the go. You'll be able to keep in touch with your kids when they have practices, extra-curricular activities, are out with friends, and more.
How it works: Switching to Walmart Family Mobile is quick and easy. With no contract and no activation fees (awesome!), you simply pick a phone (or bring your own), pick a plan, activate and go. It's that simple. You can either head into your local Walmart store or check out MyFamilyMobile.com.
4. Tidy up your email: The depths of some email accounts can be a dark and scary place. Email is a primary means of communication in the world today and there's nothing worse than not being able to find an important message when you need it. Tidy up your inbox by taking some time to delete all junk and trash messages, and then organize further by adding folders where you can store like-minded emails. Work emails go in one folder, PTA emails in another, and so on and so forth.
5. Delete unused apps: Apps not only take up your device's memory, but can make for a cluttered screen too. If you find yourself consistently scrolling left and right trying to locate an app, that may be a sign that you have too many, or just need a little organization. Pare down your apps by deleting the ones that you never use. Then move the ones you use most frequently to the first screen, leaving lesser-used apps toward the back. You can also group similar apps into folders to further clear up your screen.
6. Clean up your desktop: Finally, find a quick 15 minutes to clean up your computer's desktop. Having rogue folders labeled 'miscellaneous' and random icons cluttering up your screen can make it difficult to find what you actually need at a moment's notice. Once you sort through everything, you'll free up space and have a great new system in place to find files with ease.
So this season, when you're gearing up to spring clean your home, don't forget to digitally declutter too! To find out more about Walmart Family Mobile's unlimited plans and multi-line discounts, visit MyFamilyMobile.com or your local Walmart.
If congested, customers may notice reduced speeds vs T-Mobile customers that may be further reduced for small numbers of customers who use >40GB.
† To get 4G LTE speed, you must have a 4G LTE capable device and 4G LTE SIM. Actual availability, coverage and speed may vary. During periods of congestion, Walmart Family Mobile customers may notice reduced speeds versus carrier branded customers. LTE is a trademark of ETSI.