Tag Archive for: spring cleaning

Spring Clean Your Digital Life

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Spring

Spring (Photo credit: Charalampos Konstantinidis)

It’s finally here! It is officially Spring! Usually when this day rolls around I am packing up my sweaters and bringing out the tank tops – – but with the chilly weather still here in NYC (UGH) I thought I would get into the mood by spring cleaning my digital life instead.

It seems like a daunting task to go through the TONS of files and folders that have been clogging up your hard drive but never fear I’ve got you covered. Here is a list (of course) of ways to help refresh your desktop, emails, and your social media accounts! Your computer will thank you for the fresh start 😉

Untweep: Get rid of those lingering twitter accounts that you follow with Untweep. This will go through and pick out accounts that haven’t tweeted in x amount of days (you decide, can be 1 day of not tweeting or a whole month) and unfollow them for you. This is a great way to clean out your account!

Unfriending binge: Not a bad a idea to go through Facebook and unfriend people you don’t interact with! You come to realize you may not even know some of the people on your friend list or you just may be sick of seeing those old acquaintances status updates you skim over anyway! This way — you won’t miss the good stuff.

Unroll.me*: We all sign up for newsletter after newsletter to get promotional deals but all they end up doing is clogging up our inboxes. I was subscribed to almost 300 without even realizing it! Unroll.me will handle this messy problem for you. This site will go through your email account and locate each and every newsletter you’re signed up to receive and unsubscribe for you. (Except for the ListProducer.com email updates — I know you want those. Sign up here!) No need to go to each site and do it yourself- such a time saver! See more about it here!

Clean out your Browser: I bookmark things all the time that I find on the web like recipes, fun articles, or sites that I want to go back to and explore. Because it’s hidden away it builds up quickly. Go through and delete unwanted items. It’s also smart to go back and delete cookies and your browser history – tidy everything up nicely!

Backup your data: It’s smart to keep files safe and back them up! Sites like Dropbox are perfect for this. You can store as many files as you want including pictures and images. This allows you to make sure nothing gets lost in case a coffee spill on your laptop happens and it opens up some room on your hard drive! I’d also suggest going through your Dropbox account and clearing that out too. Any old photos or documents that you’re not going to use anymore should go. Do not forget Evernote either! The same goes for your work data too. Backup as much as you can. No one likes to think too much about losing their data or crucial work documents, but you can never be too safe.

Clear out the apps: We download so many apps with the intent to “try them out,” but usually never do! This happens to me all the time and I now have two full screens of random apps that I never use. I cleared them all out and now I have much more space on my phone – more room to try even more apps now 😉 Test out a few of my faves here.

I hope these tips help with the start of your digital spring cleaning! What other ways do you organize your cyber life?

Happy spring everyone!

*Unroll.Me makes money by learning what people stay subscribed to and what they unsubscribe from – that data is valuable and helps corporations learn what people want and what they don’t want. Your email address is NOT sold. If you’d like to keep your subscription list private you’ll need to unsubscribe manually from individual email subscriptions. If you appreciate the swiftness that you can unsubscribe from multiple sources while helping brands service customers better then Unroll.Me is for you!

Make Cash From Your Clutter

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Yard Sale!

Yard Sale! (Photo credit: moon angel)

I started my spring cleaning a little early this year, not only in the hopes that maybe Mother Nature will get the hint (crossing my fingers and toes that this ridiculous snow in the Northeast ends) but also to make a little extra cash! YES – cash for your clutter, what could be better then that?

PoshMark
Dig out those glamorous heels in the back of your closet that you love but can’t find another occasion to wear and let this app do the rest. You can set up an inventory of clothes, shoes, and jewelry to sell on the app or through their site. All you do is upload the photos, set the price, negotiate with customers, and voila you now have a little extra space in your wardrobe and cash in your hand. They make shipments super easy by sending you the prepaid packaging – all you need to do is add the address (because of this they take 20% of your sale). You can also browse through other “closets” in case you need to fill that heel hole in your heart 😉

ThreadFlip
This is a similar app to PoshMark, except if you don’t want to spend the time selling your items they will do it for you with their “full service” option (their take on your sale is 40% with this option, “list on your own” is 20%) . ThreadFlip will send you a free pre-paid bag, you fill it with the things you want to sell, and ship it back to them. They will then professionally photograph the items, load them to the site, and send them on there way when they are sold! That’s my kind of outsourcing!

Gazelle
I sometimes keep my old cell phones in case the one I have now suddenly breaks — that’s just the preparer in me. Well, this habit has now taken over an entire drawer, so I decided to sell them on Gazelle. You can sell old cell phones, tablets, Apple computers, and other electronics. Just enter the model, and the current condition and the site does the rest! They will send you a pre-paid box to send back your stuff and send you a check once they receive your package.

YardSale

If you have a random collection of things to get rid of I would try out this app. You can sell pretty much anything from a bike, to a camera, or even a car – it really is a virtual yard sale. Just upload the photo of the item your selling to your profile and set the price. The app shows your location so people can search locally (as well as nationally) for items they want! Maybe someone from the next block is looking for that Beatles poster you no longer want.

Etsy
If you are a avid DIYer and have suddenly found yourself cluttered by crafts this may be the site for you! Whether it’s mason jars, photo frames, or hand crafted jewelry, you can sell it to earn cash! Etsy allows you to set up an account and sell your products through the site. You will be a little more craft free, and who knows, you can actually make a brand for yourself!

Now go dig through your closets and earn some cash! Let me know which apps work best for you 🙂 Happy selling!

Makeover Your Home Office

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Have you started spring cleaning yet? I went through my closet this weekend and got rid of 20 pairs of shoes. I’m not even exaggerating. It was ridiculous. But I feel much better now that the task is complete…and excited to replace some of those shoes. When I spring clean, I start off decluttering the drawers and closets then begin general cleaning stuff that I don’t do enough.

But spring cleaning doesn’t apply to your home only. Don’t forget your office too. Whether it’s at home or in an office — an organized desk can send your productivity soaring.

Recently the folks at Manilla.com came to me with a dilemma. A comedian/actress named Jo had let her desk mess get out of hand. She wasn’t even able to use her desk anymore and had moved over to her dining room table to get work done. Except — her productivity suffered so they called me in to do an office makeover. Check out this video for a look.

Shopping for Clothes with a List

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This weekend my husband was cleaning out his closet – so I was inspired to do the same thing. Our approaches were quite different – he was done in 10 minutes after giving each item a quick glance.

I, on the other hand, had to try on EVERYTHING with the right shoes and undergarments. Please! How am I supposed to know if it still looks good without seeing the whole look? This process took me two hours. (I have a lot of clothes.)

Closet-Cleaning Strategy

I made five piles to keep myself organized as I went through my clothes and shoes:

1. Keep: Stuff that I have worn in the past six months and look really good on me.

2. Donate: Stuff that I really loved at one point but no longer fits, I’m tired of wearing or I’ve never actually worn (I know I’m not the only one who has done this! Right?) If you don’t know where to donate your clothes — here’s a list for “Getting Rid of Stuff.” Read more