Last Call for Spring Cleaning: Give Your Tech a Fresh Start before Summer Hits
Spring’s almost over—and a little birdie says you might not have gotten around to your digital spring cleaning yet. While you’re swapping out your wardrobe or tidying up the garage, don’t forget your devices. A quick tech refresh can boost performance, reduce distractions, and protect your data before summer gets underway.
Even in tech, it’s easy to overlook the basics including clearing old files or reviewing app permissions, especially when we’re focused on everything else. But digital clutter quietly chips away at speed, focus, and security. So, before the season changes, here’s a smart, simple checklist to get your digital house in order.
Reboot your routine with a few quick steps that clear space, tighten security, and help you start summer strong before things heat up, online or off.
Clear out your digital closet
Files pile up quietly—old downloads, duplicates, forgotten screenshots, even leftover installer packages you never realized were still hanging around. Before summer fills up your schedule, spend a few minutes clearing out the clutter. All that mess doesn’t just take up space; it can slow down indexing, impact application performance, and make it harder to find what you actually need.
Take a moment to sort out what’s worth keeping, move bulky files to the cloud, and delete the rest. Don’t forget to check your “Downloads” folder and clear temporary files too. They’re sneaky storage hogs. And yes, your “Recycling Bin” is still holding onto everything you thought you deleted; go ahead and empty it.
Declutter your desktop
A messy desktop might seem innocent enough, but it can actually slow boot times, strain system resources, and make it harder to focus on what matters. Give your desktop some breathing room before summer projects pile up. Start by grouping similar items into clearly labeled folders, including Work, Personal, or Reference Materials. Then, move active projects somewhere easy to access.
If your desktop syncs to the cloud, organizing it also helps reduce duplication across devices. Consider aiming for a minimalist look: fewer icons, better speed, and a clearer mind every time you open your laptop. And if your device still feels sluggish after tidying up, some additional tips in this Wirecutter guide may help give your computer that fresh-out-of-the-box feeling.
Archive old emails
Inbox at 20,000? Your email isn’t just overflowing. It might be dragging down your mail app’s performance, especially if you’re syncing across devices. Start summer with an inbox you can actually manage.
Set up filters to automatically archive or categorize older messages, and prioritize clearing out anything older than six months. Clean out folders that tend to collect clutter fast. For bonus points, unsubscribe from newsletters you never read and disable auto-loading of images to reduce data usage and risk from phishing attempts.
Refresh your passwords
We get it. Updating passwords isn’t exciting, but it’s one of the most effective ways to boost your digital security. Make it a pre-summer habit to reset and secure your credentials.
If you’ve reused passwords across accounts (especially work and personal logins), now’s the time to reset them with unique, complex alternatives. Use a trusted password manager to generate and store your credentials securely, and make sure multi-factor authentication (MFA) is turned on wherever it’s offered—especially for cloud services, banking, email, and productivity platforms. For shared or team accounts, do a quick audit to make sure only the right people have access and that outdated users no longer do. A strong password routine now can prevent big headaches later.
Unplug the unused
Idle apps, outdated extensions, and long-forgotten software tools often continue running in the background, even if you never open them. Kick unused apps to the curb before they drain your time and performance this summer.
Not only do they eat up storage and slow functionality, but they also increase your device’s security risk surface. Take a few minutes to inventory what’s installed, and remove anything you haven’t used in the last few months. This goes for browser add-ons, mobile apps, and desktop tools alike.
And if you’re still paying for software you no longer need, cancel it and free up some budget while you’re at it.
Tidy up your tabs
If you’ve got two dozen tabs open across three browser windows, it’s time for a clean sweep. Start summer with a lighter browser, and a clearer mind. Too many open tabs can slow your system, drain battery life, and splinter your attention. Use tab grouping, pinning, or extensions to help organize and collapse everything into a single view. If you find yourself keeping tabs open “just in case,” try bookmarking them into a “Later” folder and actually closing them. Your browser—and your brain—will feel noticeably lighter.
Back it up
No spring cleaning list is complete without this one. Better now than during vacation: double-check your backup plan.
If your device crashed today, would you lose anything important? Set up (or double-check) an automatic backup system, whether that’s a cloud solution like or an external encrypted hard drive. Make sure you’re backing up your critical files, not just photos and documents, but app settings and system configs too.
And if you want more peace of mind, take a minute to check that your backups are running as expected—no surprises later. A calmer, more focused screen helps you stay centered as life speeds up again.
Add a little peace
Don’t underestimate the power of a calming, clean digital space.
Swap in a fresh wallpaper (bonus points for a relaxing nature theme), rearrange your taskbar or dock to highlight only your go-to apps, and silence non-essential notifications. Try out a distraction-free writing mode, a focus timer, or a new tab extension that makes your workspace feel more serene.
Tiny tweaks like these can help you feel more in control of your screen time, and make your devices a little more enjoyable to use every day.
One more thing…
Spring cleaning your tech isn’t about perfection. It’s about creating space for smoother days ahead. With just a few intentional changes, you can reclaim speed, focus, and peace of mind before summer fully kicks in.
Need help cleaning up your workflows or making your tech stack work smarter for your team?