Clutter that doesn’t take up physical space still takes up mental space. When you open your computer or your phone or iPad or any other electronic system. Does your desktop have a million icons with shortcuts that you never use – do you even know what all of them are for? When you turn your phone on is your home screen covered in app buttons? How many games do you need? Is you desk-TOP stuffed?
Today I challenge you to un-stuff your desk-TOP and your homepage on all devices that you own.
I tried it and in less than two minutes I got my desktop down to 6 icons. One of the icons was pictures of sheets that I bought for my son about a year ago – I didn’t even know I had the pictures and I really don’t miss the icon (I had to open it – I couldn’t even guess what it was!) I love the look of a clean screen.
I didn’t remove anything from my phone. My phone is an average intelligence phone (neither a smart phone nor a dumb phone). It does everything I need it to do, but it has very limited storage space. Most people (me included) thought this was a low point of this particular model, but now I recognize it as a selling point. If I want a new app for any reason, I have to get rid of one that I already have. (This is a forced way to the one in one out system that I will share with you later when you are happy with your level of belongings and are looking to maintain!)
I currently have 10 apps on my phone:
1. a google button (I call the woman in my phone Stephanie Google – she helps me with all sorts of things – we are friends)
2. a g-mail button (cause email!)
3. my bank app (believe it or not, I am a little psycho about my bank balances)
4. a Pinterest app (my favorite way to waste time)
5. a camera shortcut (because it takes me forever to find my camera and then I miss the picture – I really don’t take pictures, but I want to, so I am holding on to that one, in hopes that it being there will cause me to take pictures, really if it weren’t for a good friend of mine I wouldn’t have any pics of my kiddos – Thanks Cristina!)
6. A gallery button (I really can’t find the pictures without this shortcut – I am an electronic moron and my phone is a little weird)
7. A settings button (I think I need that one for the same reason as 5 and 6)
8. A white noise app (because it is a slice of heaven! and I get overly sensitive at times and kids are noisy and people snore and babies need sleep and so do I and…)
9. A handwriting without tears style app (I let my kiddos practice handwriting when we are waiting for doctors – my kiddos don’t know that this is me squeezing schoolwork and keeping them quiet into the same little app, and I don’t let them play on my phone any other time, so it actually works that they think it is something special – my daughter calls me sweevil for this type of thing – that’s when you are being sweet and evil at the same time)
10. A township game that is quite fun for me – Don’t tell my kiddos!
I know that I have plenty more apps on my phone than I need. Being a minimalist is not about owning nothing, it is about having intention behind everything that you own. I like my phone with these 10 apps. I can find what I need easily and I know what each button does. I am sure I will change these regularly but I will continue to do what works for me.
So, what works for you? What is your favorite app? What did you find that you didn’t even realize that you had?
A clean mind and desk-TOP the AMAZINGLY SIMPLE way!
simply,
bridgette
AMAZINGLY SIMPLE 