This is one of my favorite things to talk about – organizing and decluttering! It makes my ADHD brain happy when everything is in its right place and organized in a way where I can find it again. And today, I’m sharing how to organize digital files.

Digital files can so easily get disorganized and chaotic. With images, files, emails, and videos, you might have thousands of things you need to organize. Don’t worry! We’ll take it step by step to organize everything on your computer and set up a system so you know where to put things in the future.

My Story with Decluttering Digital Files

When I finally sat down to organize my digital files, my ADHD symptoms significantly reduced. I knew exactly where the file I was looking for was located and didn’t get distracted along the way of finding it.

I was looking through my computer one day and realized I don’t think I’ve ever deleted anything. Because what if I need it someday?! But I really did need to organize my digital files. I saw that I had 40,000 unread emails and 36,000 photos on my phone (not including the 100,000+ photos on my external drive.) I was spending about $500 per year just on digital storage, which is ridiculous. I needed to make a change.

Since implementing the Marie Kondo method and the Swedish Death cleaning method in 2018, I have kept my digital files in check. As of this recording, I’m down to 376 unread emails in my inbox – a big improvement from over 40,000! 

Keep in mind – this did not take one day, one week, or even one month. I chipped away at this slowly and over time, I got these numbers down to a manageable level. So don’t get overwhelmed thinking you need to do this in one evening! It’s okay to take time to organize digital files. Follow this method to start your decluttering journey!

How to Organize Digital Photos

Photos can take an especially long time because there’s an emotional connection to them. Think how many photos you have on your phone or computer that you don’t need – screenshots, duplicates, blurry photos, etc. Those can easily be deleted but you didn’t do it in the moment and now you’ve forgotten about it and you’re overwhelmed by the number of photos you have.

So here’s how to organize digital photos:

Think of where you want your photos to be stored. I like to have my photos in Google Drive and on my iPhone. Pick a designated spot for your photos to be stored.

Next, break it down by year. Let’s say you start with the year 2019. Highlight all the photos from that year so they’re all checkmarked. Then, uncheck the ones you want to keep. The rest you will delete. You can keep them in your recycle bin and it won’t be emptied for 30 days. If you have regrets about some, you can add them back in (but how likely is that?)

The point of this exercise is to consciously pick the photos you want to keep, rather than trying to pick ones you want to delete. Because let’s face it, you really don’t want to delete any, even if you don’t need them. So instead, decide the photos you want to keep and delete the rest.

You can break this down even further and do this exercise for one month at a time. 

File Organization Strategy

The same strategy goes for files. I believe your desktop needs to be clear. Have one or two columns max. That way, you won’t get overwhelmed or distracted by how many files are on your desktop. Have the files you access every day on your desktop and the rest go in the cloud. All the important files need to be in the cloud in the off-chance your computer crashes and you lose the files on your desktop. Cloud storage is your backup plan!

Block Off Time

I find it helpful to time-block digital file organization. If I don’t, I either get sucked in and spend too much time deleting files, or I get distracted by something else and end up not doing as much as I wanted to. 

Start by blocking 20-30 minutes to delete digital files. Maybe you do it in the school pickup line, between meetings at work, or while dinner is in the oven. Find some time during the day to delete some files that you don’t need.

Albums and Folders

Once you have a manageable number of photos and files, organize them into folders. Organize them in a place where you can easily find them. Be very specific with your naming convention for folders so you can search easily. 

Start with broad categories based on areas of your personal life. Here are a few examples:

• Travel
• School
• Sports
• Home
• Finances

Then, break each of those categories into subcategories. Organize the subcategories by year, event, or special occasion. 

It was helpful for me to move things I still needed to organize into a “to Sort” folder so I knew exactly where to pick up the next time I went to declutter. 

Don’t Have Multiple Cloud Storage

Unless you’re in a profession where you need multiple places of backup (like photographers), organize digital files on one cloud source. Picking one gives you the relief of knowing where everything is. These are some of the most popular:

• iCloud
• Dropbox
• Google Photos

Organize Digital Files

Take it one step at a time and it will get better. You might get little heart palpitations when looking at those crazy numbers now, but soon your heart will skip a beat because you’re so in love with your new digital file organization! 

Go through your files every month or quarter to do a quick clean-up. The first decluttering session will take the longest because you have so much to get through. It will go faster the next time you do it, especially if you keep up with it!

My digital minimalism guide will help you with this organizational journey even more. It gives you questions to ask yourself when deciding whether or not to delete a digital file. It trains your mind to decide to let go or keep quickly and efficiently. Download it for free today!

If you liked this episode, check out…

Episode 19: Declutter Your Mind: Decluttering Tips for ADHD Management in Adults

Episode 20: Clearing the Clutter: Spring Cleaning Tips for Parents

Episode 22: Kitchen Decluttering Ideas for ADHD Parents