If your phone feels slow, cluttered, or just… meh, it’s probably due to too much digital junk it’s storing like old screenshots, unused apps, duplicate photos, etc.
All these quietly eat up your phone space and make it harder for you to find what you actually need.
I did a full phone clean-up last weekend, and wow, my phone is working so smoothly like I purchased it yesterday.
Do you want to know what I did?
Here’s exactly 10 steps I followed to declutter my phone.
1. Say Goodbye to Apps You Never Use
The first thing I did was check all the apps on my phone to track which apps I wasn’t using for months.
I had a few apps that I downloaded after watching some engaging ads and after trying, it was just there on my phone without being used ever.
So, what I did was, I checked my “last used” list (most phones have it in settings) and uninstalled anything that’s been sitting untouched.
This freed up some space on my phone and made it a little faster.
In the end, I was left with only those apps that I use frequently or at least once a month.
2. Organize the Apps You Keep
The next thing I did just after uninstalling the unused apps was to organize my remaining apps into folders that make sense.
For example, all my game apps went into the game folder, work related apps went into the work folder, then social media apps, health apps and so on.
What’s the purpose behind this? Well, now when I unlock my phone, I am not bombarded and distracted by random icons all over the place.
I can easily know where my apps are instead of swiping through 10 screens.
3. Clear Out Old Photos & Videos
This step was time consuming for me because my phone has hundreds of photos and videos.
So, what you need to do is go through your camera roll and other folders and check out which photos and videos are not needed.
There can be 30 blurry selfies, random memes, and five identical sunset shots? They don’t have any purpose but to eat up the space.
So, delete them along with duplicates,unwanted screenshots and accidental shots.
If you don’t feel like deleting them, then move important photos and videos to cloud storage or a hard drive.
That way, you free up your phone’s memory without losing memories.
4. Tidy Up Your Home Screen
This one may seem unnecessary, but it really helps in controlling your temptation to open certain apps like Instagram or Facebook.
So, I like to keep my home screen super minimal like just the essentials I use daily. Everything else is moved away in the app drawer.
Less visual noise = less temptation to open an app “just for a second”.
5. Back Up & Delete Big Files
If you have videos eating up your storage and making your phone slow, you can upload them to Google Drive or Dropbox before deleting them.
This way you can access them from anywhere without messing up your storage space.
6. Clean Your Downloads Folder
The Download folder is the most neglected folder in most peoples phone. It’s like a hidden junk pile having PDFs you only read once, images from WhatsApp, outdated documents, all just sitting there.
So, what I did is, I deleted anything I didn’t need and shifted the important files to cloud storage. I was really surprised how much space I recovered by just cleaning my download folder.
7. Manage Notifications
It’s kinda annoying to keep hearing your notifications buzzing every 5 minutes. I am not saying notifications are bad, but it’s annoying when it’s coming from apps you don’t care much about.
If you downloaded an app that keeps showing notifications that you don’t care about, why not just simply turn it off.
That’s what I did. I turned off alerts for apps I don’t need to hear from and only allowed it for important ones like messages and calendar reminders.
The fewer pings and banners I see, the less mentally cluttered I feel.
8. Update Your Apps & OS
It’s not a secret that outdated apps can slow down your phone and are probably a risk for security concerns.
So, I updated all my apps to the latest version and that really made my phone faster. This is also a good time to find out which apps haven’t been updated in months or years, so you can delete them altogether.
9. Rearrange App Permissions
Do you know, some apps track your location, use your camera and run in the background without you even realizing.
No, it didn’t happen automatically. Actually, you gave permission for that because you were in a hurry to use the app.
So, if you’re conscious about privacy, want better battery life and speed, then review permissions for all the apps in your settings and turn off anything unnecessary.
It took me about half an hour to go through them and finally, I didn’t have to worry about my privacy and battery life.
10. Use Storage Optimization Settings
If your phone has “Optimize Photos” and “Auto-delete old messages” options, then you can save a lot of time.
The optimize photos option compresses your photos or stores them in the cloud so that it won’t take your local storage.
These built-in tools are great for managing space without you doing any manual work. Simply enable them and relax while it makes sure to keep things tidy without extra effort.
Since I enabled them, I have saved a lot of time in managing my messages and photos.
11. Review Your Subscriptions
If you’re someone who pays for apps and stops using them after a few months while the subscription is still active, it’s time to cancel them.
So, I checked my subscription list and canceled the ones I don’t need anymore. By doing this, not only you’ll declutter your phone but also save your money every month.
12. Clean Up Your Contacts
I am pretty sure your contact lists have numbers you don’t even engage with. It can be old numbers from your previous jobs you left years ago, or random delivery guys numbers that were needed only once.
So, I went through my contact list and deleted almost 40 of them. Earlier, my contact list has so many numbers (some I don’t even know lol), but now it’s clean and easy to navigate.
After Decluttering:
Give Your Phone a Fresh Look
After decluttering, I like to change my wallpaper to something calming and minimal. It’s like giving my phone a mini-makeover to match its new organized vibe. Just try it and you will feel the difference.
Schedule a Monthly Phone Declutter
Remember, it’s not a one-time job to declutter your phone and then forget about it while the new junk slowly takes up your storage space.
You need to keep doing this process once every month.That’s why, I set a reminder to do a quick clean every month. It keeps things organized with minimal effort.
Conclusion
So, that’s how I clutter my phone every month to keep my phone faster, simpler and more peaceful to use.
Because, let’s be honest, who wants to use a cluttered phone that can quietly drain your time, storage and mental energy?
So, try these steps. And if you can’t do all the 12 steps in one go, do one step per day. I promise, you’ll notice a big difference in how your phone feels while using it.