Dealing with digital clutter
minimalism.com
“Reduction is a means of communication, a way to achieve visual clarity. I try to take away details to enhance an expression or specific character and make a product aesthetically stronger. Reduction is to boil down the sauce to uplift the flavor.” – Jonas Wagell
Dealing with digital clutter
Digital clutter can be problematic: unlike the physical world, you’ll never eliminate digital clutter completely, so it’s best to organize our digital world to make it easier to navigate.
Take the Internet as an example: the World Wide Web is infinite, and thus impossible to “declutter.” It is, however, organized with precision through the use of URLs, IP addresses, and so on. We can do something similar with our personal computers, smartphones, and other devices.
Try this: once a month, organize the folders on your computer, delete excess photos on your phones, clear unused bookmarks from your web browsers, and archive any files and emails you haven’t accessed in the past 90 days. With a backed-up archive, you’ll have searchable access to all your files should you need them, but they’ll be out of the way until you do.
This monthly maintenance ensures our hard drives, desktops, devices, browsers, and inboxes are clear and easy to access.
Words by The Minimalists
00 – Wallpapers
9 beautifully crafted and minimal technical drawings of objects for your phone’s wallpaper. The collection is heavily inspired by music. Pay what you want and enjoy a simpler digital experience.
01 – Journal
Read entries from the archive of the Minimalism Life® community journal
Spring cleaning with an art historian: Embracing minimalism passion for restraint and examination of form (by Alex Bresalier)
Goals are nothing without habits: Without habits, goals are just abstract aspirations (by Shawn Mihalik)
Letting go is not something you do: It is something you stop doing (by Joshua Fields Millburn)
Share your story
Do you have an interesting story you would like to share on minimalism.com? We want to read about it. You have the opportunity write about your experience of how minimalism has impacted your life and get your words published in our community journal.
02 – Minimal art
From our curated gallery
03 – Minimal design
Explore our list of curated design resources
Melo: breathing exercise device (tool/hardware)
01 light by Open Interpreter (tool/hardware)
A conversation with YOY (article/interview)
04 – Minimal lifestyle
Explore our list of curated lifestyle resources for simple living
Going slow by Jon-Kyle (article)
Minimalist baker (blog)
05 – Shop
Discover our hand-picked minimalist products in the Minimalism Life® shop
06 – Brands anchored by simplicity and sustainability
Minimalism can be about frugality and owning less, but it can also be about supporting ethical brands with sustainability at their core. Here’s several that you might be interested learning more about:
Pini: Italian clothing for the modern man
Collars&Co: Minimalist polo shirts
Luca Faloni: Luxury Italian men's clothing
Stiksen: Premium caps from Sweden
ODA: The modular everyday bag and essentials
Crown Northampton: High quality minimal footwear
The Resort Co: Eco-conscious and artisan vacation wear
ASKET: ending fast fashion by making covetable everyday essentials
Selfmade: Handmade eyewear
Void Watches: Simple Swedish timepieces
Nordic Knots: Rugs inspired by the beauty of the Nordic light
Floyd: Unique and distinctive travel cases
CDLP: Luxury essentials
Dalgado: Timeless accessories made to last
JAK: Portuguese leather sneakers
Neem: Menswear made from recycled materials
Wahts: Minimal monochromatic menswear
North-89: Shoemakers designing for Scandinavian weather conditions
Discover more minimal brands on minimalism.com