Can’t find your favourite app? Seeing too many that you don’t use? Phone running slow? Here’s a quick guide to keeping your phone in order.

I honestly can’t use my phone without it being organized. As is the case with most items in my house, there is a place for everything on my phone. Phonewise, I know what I do and don’t need to function on a day-to-day basis. Here are the things I like to do to keep my phone on track, so that I stay on track.

I put my apps into folders categorized by a certain theme. It’s possible to do this with both Android and iOS phones. All you need to do is hold down one app, drag it on top of another — and there you have it. Instant folder. When you first pair up two apps, you’ll have to give the new folder a name, like “photo apps” or “social networks.” Once you’ve done that, though, you can utilize the drag-and-drop method for each item you’d like to add. (Plus, in some cases, you can colour coordinate your folders! I don’t have that option with my current theme, but when I do, I go all out on the colour co-ordination, baby!)

Get rid of photos on your phone. I never leave anything on the main camera folder of my phone (especially all the hideous multiple photo attempts, be they selfie or otherwise). It either gets offloaded to a drive, or if it must stay on my phone I sort it into a themed photo folder. With offloading, there are so many options for this. I have a drive at home that has something along the lines of four terabytes of space, so if there’s stuff I need to save, I dump it onto that drive. Some people like to sync their stuff to the cloud…and so on. Either way, if it’s important, back it up.

I am quite choosy about what stays on my phone. I keep a file of wedding photos because people always ask to see them. I also like to keep photos from the trips my husband and I take, in case I need a little cheering up. Because I work with animals, I also keep a photo folder for them. Once a month, I go through all of these files and see if there’s anything I can get rid of.

Clean out your downloads. I am horrible for this. I never clean up my downloads as regularly as I do my photos — and it gets bad because I will often download multiples of a file so I can locate it without having to look. Lazy, I know. So keep it all clutter-free by nixing any downloaded files you don’t need. If there is stuff you do need, then back it up (see my last point).

Clean out your emails. You know what’s fun? Loading a crap ton of emails onto your phone using your data. If you sync up your email accounts (who doesn’t these days) ensure you’re cleaning up your email on your computer. Otherwise if you’re cleaning up on your phone (which is more inconvenient anyway — for a myriad of reasons) connect to WiFi. I prefer to make sure my inboxes are clean every two weeks; I try not to have more than 20 emails on the main page.

Use a note feature on your phone to keep you on track. I like using Google Keep to store grocery lists, reminders (you know, like reminders to clean your phone downloads folder, Ria?) and other memorandums. This is generally the only time I’ll use such an app to keep track of things in that manner, otherwise if it’s going to be a long-term project…into the bullet journal it goes.

Clean up your contacts. That person from college you swapped notes with? Your friend’s uncle’s mother’s cousin you met at that party four years ago? If you don’t remember who those people are, let alone when you last made contact with them, it’s time to let go. If you’ve got a friend you speak to over messenger — and not so much over the phone — it doesn’t hurt to ask and make sure the cell number you have for them is up to date. (You never know when that phone number is going to come in handy!) When you’ve got someone’s name in there more than once, make sure you’re merging the contact.

Clean that phone screen! Okay, so this isn’t really in the realm of organizing all that electronic data, but you’d be amazed at how much dirt and grime builds up on the screen of your phone, Sanitize that sucker with an appropriate cleanser (I like to use isopropyl alcohol) that way you’re not transferring as much bacteria from your phone to your face and back again. For extra cleanliness, I’ll generally take the case off my phone and wipe down the entire thing once a week.