118 - Digital Declutter: Why We Screenshot Things We Never Use

Summary

In this episode of Decluttering Untangled, Heather Tingle discusses the often-overlooked issue of digital clutter, particularly focusing on the accumulation of screenshots on our phones. She explores how these digital remnants can weigh us down mentally and emotionally, serving as reminders of unfulfilled intentions and aspirations. Heather encourages listeners to reframe their approach to decluttering by recognising the difference between their current selves and their 'fantasy selves.' By letting go of unnecessary screenshots, individuals can create mental space and reduce the pressure of unfulfilled obligations, ultimately leading to a more organized and mindful digital life.

Chapters

00:00
Introduction to Digital Clutter

02:45
Understanding Screenshots as Clutter

05:59
The Emotional Impact of Letting Go

08:43
Practical Tips for Decluttering Screenshots

Transcript

Heather Tingle (00:01.326)
Hello, Untanglers, and welcome back to another episode of Decluttering Untangled with me, your host, Heather Tingle. So today, I wanna talk to you about something quite small that causes a surprising amount of overwhelm, and also it can end up costing you money, and that is the digital clutter of screenshots on your phone. So this week, I hosted a decide and do day here in Sheffield in UK.

for a small bunch of untanglers. So on day one, we had the amazing Becky Stevenson coming in to help us do our email decluttering. And on day two, I did the photo decluttering. And I thought I would share a small bit of what we talked about in today's pod because I think it might be quite a helpful reframe for you. And if you are needing a break from physical decluttering,

Digital decluttering can be quite a productive way that you can like ease into productivity as a nice little side quest while you're maybe building up the energy to carry on going back to your home again. So if your phone is getting a little bit full and a bit short on memory, one of the causes might be the volume of photos on it. Now I think letting go of photos is pretty hard, but an easy win once you've had time to think about it,

might be letting go of screenshots. Because if you're like me and you're ADHD and perimenopausal, you might have a brain like a sieve and you might use screenshots as a part of a coping mechanism really to replace your working memory. Thing is though, we rarely go back to a screenshot once we've taken it or to action it. Like it just doesn't happen, does it? So it might be recipes, quotes, Instagram posts or memes or things that you're meant to come back to, things you might need one day.

And if we're honest, most of the time, it's not like past memories like photos are. They're usually less personal. It's not of people. So what it actually is, is more about like the future and hope. So a lot of screenshots are like promises to like a future version of yourself. So things like, I'll cook that one day. I'll read that later. I'll sort that when I've got time.

Heather Tingle (02:25.134)
I might need this information at some point. This looks like the kind of person I wanna be. I'll send that to someone when I've got a minute. I'll need that information on, I don't know, on something, on an occasion that's happening. And then your phone kind of becomes full of good intentions in that little screenshot folder of intentions you hardly ever go back to. Because this is especially common if your brain stools with follow through, decision fatigue.

holding on to many ideas at once. So screenshots are a kind of coping strategy and there's nothing wrong with them at all. Like they're helpful. So they help let you capture a thought without having to action on it immediately, unless you do straight away screenshot it and take, and let's also not forget the accidental screenshots that you take when you're trying to lock your phone. Like there's loads of those. So what they do do is though, is capture a thought without having to act on it.

And that's not really in itself a problem, but the problem is when they then turn into clutter and then you never get to act on it. So if you talk about the fantasy self for a moment, I do know I've done probably another episode on this somewhere, go and check it out. But that fantasy self is a different version of you. It's the version of you that's got energy, got time, got enough spoons to do things, that's not struggling with your home.

might be energy, motivation, focus. It might be a fantasy self of you that's got the right ingredients in your home, the right mood that you're ready for it. And that fantasy self is kind of calm and organized and it definitely makes homemade meals some scratch type of person. Obviously I am using my personal experience of this because I am not that kind of person. So screenshots are kind of things that we're saving for that person. So that recipe, that meal plan, that routine.

that exercise, that way of living. But actually most of the time, if you haven't used a screenshot within a few weeks, it ain't waiting patiently. It is just never gonna happen. And I really, really appreciate that. That's probably a hard thing for me to say, but it is truthful because I am there to tell you the truth. And just because I am nosy, what I would really like you to do is to go into your screenshots. I am not doing this right now, but I will let you all know if you're on my social media what it is. Go into your screenshots.

Heather Tingle (04:45.26)
and scroll back to the earliest one on your phone. How old is it and is it still relevant? I would love to know how old it is. Seriously, let me know because I'm sure there are screenshots that I have moved from the cloud from phone to phone to phone that I probably don't need anymore. So I am definitely gonna declutter those this weekend. But the thing is, we think that that digital clutter isn't really having an impact, but actually it does.

whether that's an environmental impact because it's stored in the cloud and therefore there's like, you know, a hell of a lot of water that's being used to cool the servers down, whether it's extra clutter on your phone that's like clogging your memory or whether it's weighing you down just by the sheer volume that you've got in your phone. Because when you see it, even if you don't realise you're doing this, you might be asking yourself a question like, why haven't I done something with that yet?

And that is quite a lot to put on yourself. But I also think that rather tellingly, we never even recognise that they're there. Like we forget that that folder exists. And apart from the time we actually use that folder to take the screenshot, we forget that once we've taken the photo, it's almost like once we've screenshotted once, it's kind of a once and done kind of thing. And now we forget about them. So why is it so scary to think about letting them go? Because I think...

a lot the time they give us that feeling of safety that they're there because, it'll be in my screenshots. But why does that feel so hard to let them go? I think it's because it's just not a priority. And it's only ever a priority, well rather it's not a priority until you run out of space. And as our phone memories get bigger and bigger and bigger, that's now taking longer to happen. So.

we might end up with 5,000 screenshots rather than the olden days. We might only be able to keep like, I don't know, a hundred photos on our phone before it gets full. Now we just like, you know, pay for extra storage in the cloud or Google photos or whatever. So there is actually a cost to it. Not just a mental cost and environmental, not just an environmental cost and a monetary cost like financial cost. I think there's also a mental cost to it as well. So.

Heather Tingle (07:02.882)
What I would love you to do is when you declutter your screenshots, I would love you to think about them a little bit different. So I would like you to reframe this as maybe a quick win. Obviously you're not going to like do them all right now unless you're full on hyper-focused on them. But what it might be is that if you sat waiting in your coffee, kid to come out of school, or when you're for the kettle to boil, or while you're waiting for something to finish, or while you're scrolling on your phone while watching something on TV, this might be something that you can do that feels quite easy and good.

Because what we're doing is when we declutter them, we have a mindset shift of letting them go, but recognising that we're not just deleting images and creating space on our phones, but actually what we're doing is letting go of pressure. We're letting go of obligation that we still need to do something. So we're saying actually I don't need to be that version of myself right now because I am not that version of myself right now. But it's okay because when I'm ready, I can get this again.

And that can bring up some feelings. So it can be relief. It can be a bit of resistance. could be a bit of sadness that you haven't done that yet. And sometimes, quite a lot of times, is what on earth did I do with that? Why did I take that screenshot? What on earth is it? And this is all normal. So instead of trying to organise screenshots in some kind of clever order, I would like you to try a much kinder approach and ask yourself a question. If I deleted this today, would my life be worse?

Can I replace it when I need it again? Because most of the time you answer it, answering those questions is all you need to decide you can delete it. So if you love cooking and genuinely make new recipes regularly, yeah, you're gonna keep some, aren't you? That's fine. But actually, it's okay to say, I'm gonna admit right now, my life needs easy, familiar food and that is not cooking from scratch with a million ingredients that I haven't got in my cupboards. And also, if I was gonna cook something,

I'll still probably go to Google first rather than going through my screenshots. And that's not a failure, that's just honesty. You're living the life that you're actually living right now, you're supporting that, not the one that you wish you had more energy for or the aspirational life that we all would like to have. So that's something very simple for you to try. Open your screenshots, scroll through them and ask, is this for me now or a fantasy version of me? Can I get it again when I'm ready for it?

Heather Tingle (09:25.856)
If it's not for you now, let it go. Because you're not giving up on that dream, you're just removing the obligations from the here and now and those past decisions. You're giving yourself a bit more space. And if your phone feels a little bit carbon lighter and easier to open, then great, that's an extra win. Because one of the most important things and things I've been saying quite a lot over the last couple of weeks is clutter isn't just about things. It's not just about getting rid of things either. What it's about is keeping what you love, what you adore.

and letting the rest go that's just noise, whether it's clothing, whether it's electronics, whether it's kitchen equipment, whether it's, I don't know, stuff in your fridge, or whether it's phone stuff, whether it's electrical stuff, whether it's photos, screenshots, letting go so the good stuff is remaining. So there you go. I hope that's given you something to think about. So until next time, be kind to yourself. Remember you are not alone and keep untangling.