5 Decluttering Tips for Bloggers

There’s something about a new year that gets us into the organizing and decluttering mode. Out with the Christmas tree, in with the Erin Condren life planner. Right?

My website has primarily focused on deals the last four years, and 2015 will bring a slightly new direction for which I’m very excited.

If I had to venture a guess, as a deal blogger I passively participate in more than 200 affiliate programs, and actively around 1/4 of that. Care to take a guess what that amounts to in terms of daily emails? One single day in mid-November, my inbox had 153 unread, new emails. One single day.

That’s nuts, and I’m ready to declutter that crazy.

Decluttering doesn’t have to mean only the piles of paperwork on your counters. It can also apply to bloggers, from your email inbox – to your mind. How often have thoughts of new posts, to-do tasks, and emails to compose boggled your mind … possibly creating sleep issues?

Here are five ways bloggers can declutter:

Purge Affiliates

Revoke your participation in affiliate programs that are no longer a good fit for your readers. This will instantly reduce the number of emails cluttering your inbox, and save you time not having to open and read, when you know you won’t write a single post about whatever fabulous content is supposedly contained within.

Filter Email

Create filters in Gmail or alternate email program to sort “affiliates”, “advertisers”, etc.; especially if you combine your business and personal emails into one account. This may not reduce the number of emails coming in, but it will organize them.

Set up Files

Unless you’re perfectly paperless, set up an old-fashioned, paper filing system for the brands and businesses you work with most. I’m not paperless, and I’m not ashamed of that. Notes I take from Skype calls, random thoughts I write down on a cocktail napkin, it all goes into a folder, freeing up space on my desk. I even print certain email conversations so that when I have a conference call I can quickly glance to what we’ve discussed via email.

Get “Cyber” Organized

Get the Evernnote app for your smart phone. I’m only scratching the surface of what it offers – I use it for blog post ideas, mileage for my side business, and even personally to remember gift ideas for family. But I’m learning you can capture handwritten notes, images and more.

Control your time on Facebook!

Remove yourself from Facebook groups that are not bringing you up. If you join groups because you see in that oh-so-“handy” sidebar your best blogger buddies have joined The Best Brainstorming Blogger Group and you’re all, “well if they’re in there, then I have to be in there” … RUN. As in, run away. Join those Facebook groups that are inspiring, motivational, and action-oriented. Remove this clutter and you’ll see it gone from your newsfeed and any email notifications you have set up for those groups. Oh and bonus tip: Turn notifications “off” or “friends’ posts only” for blogger groups. You’ll thank me for that tip if you’re not already doing that.

After you tackle those five decluttering tips for bloggers, you can turn your organizational energy to the rest of your house. Join me every week in my new series, Toss it Out Tuesday, where you’ll learn tips like these for increasing your productivity all over the house.

What have you found to be a great decluttering tip for bloggers? Share it in a comment below!