Best tech to declutter your life – Top 10

Modern life could be defined by dwindling personal space and increasing numbers of gadgets that you’re positive you need right until you get them home. We can’t help you quell the urge to buy things you don’t need or make your home larger, but we can help you make the most of the space you have with the clever application of some well chosen tech.

10. Retire your desktop PC

If you’re going to start decluttering your life with the help of technology, you’ll need a computer. However, a giant desktop PC takes up loads of space in its own right. If you’re a typical computer user, who mostly browses the web, writes documents and occasionally plays the odd game, then you probably don’t really need a bit PC and monitor combination occupying your desk.

A 17in laptop is probably as much computer as the vast majority of people need

However, for many, a laptop is the perfect solution. Gamers can opt for a powerful laptop system such as Samsung’s Series 7 Gamer, but most of us would do will with Dell’s Inspiron 17R for our computing needs.

9. Ebook readers

If, like us, you’re an avid reader, than it’s likely that most of the objects cluttering up your personal space will be books. We were slow to accept the concept of ebook readers, but doing so has made a massive impact on the amount of available space we have. We still keep a few books around – unusual editions, small press publications and graphic novels, but not having to buy a physical copy of the latest doorstop-sized entry in our favourite series is a massive space-saver.

Ebook readers are a brilliant option when you’ve run out of shelf space

Readers such as Amazon’s Kindle, Kobo’s Ereader Touch and Sony’s Reader PRS-T1 allow you to store and read hundreds of books – more can be kept, organised and even converted between popular eReader formats using software such as Calibre.

8. Google Docs

Whether you make the leap to a laptop or not, Google’s online office applications and calendar allow you to access and edit all your crucial documents wherever you are.

As long as you’re able to get online and use a computer, you’ll be able to keep working without having to invest in any extra hardware. Meanwhile, Google Calendar and Gmail can be integrated with your smartphone and browser to create truly seamless and entirely mobile access to your contacts and calendars. So it’s goodbye to copies of Microsoft Office and installation disks; as well an end to address books and post-it note reminders.

7. Online storage

Why shell out for portable hard disks or other storage media, when you can use an online storage service to back up and synchronise your files across multiple PCs. Whether it’s save game files or that vital work presentation, services such as Sugarsync – which is available in both free and paid-for versions – instantly take the hassle out of moving files from one place to another. Best of all you won’t have piles of backup DVDs or messy external drives snaking from your PC.

We use Sugarsync to avoid having to own or carry portable hard disks

6. Rip your discs

Like bibliophiles and their libraries, music fans tend to accumulate massive stacks of CDs. You’ve probably already ripped your favourites to listen to on MP3 so you can listen to them on the move, but we like to make sure we have a full-quality lossness copy saved, which we can then use to create smaller, lower-quality versions.

Our favourite software for ripping is Foobar2000 in combination with the lossless FLAC codec and the LAME codec to turn our files into more popularly supported MP3s.

Unfortunately, you can’t legally keep your ripped tracks if you get rid of the CD, but there’s nothing to stop you from keeping the original discs in the attic from now on, and you’ll probably find more than a few that you really don’t want to listen to again. Read on for our tips on how to get rid of them.

Ripping your CDs to lossless audio means you can retain all their audio quality when you tuck them away into storage

5. Go digital

Now you’ve got all your CDs out of sight, you can avoid having to go through the hassle of ripping new music by buying digital versions. However, it’s worth shopping carefully. You can buy DRM-free MP3 tracks from Amazon, but you can’t re-download them after the initial download window’s closed, so you’ll have to make sure you back them up using Sugarsync or a similar service.

Other online music stores include indie-friendly Bandcamp, which provides a wider range of formats than most, CDBaby and Spotify, which is better known for its streaming music service. A Spotify subscription is a great alternative option if you’d rather listen to a wide variety of music than have your own copies of the tracks.

Digital versions aren’t limited to music. You can buy digital copies of audiobooks from Audible and stream rented movies and TV from Netflix.

4. Get rid of your TV

Not an option for everyone, but there are alternatives. What you should replace it with depends on your exact needs. If you watch TV occasionally and have a small living room, you could buy an all-in-one PC – the latest models have Blu-ray players, TV tuners and active 3D – in short, everything you need to replace your TV and home entertainment system, but occupying far less space than the desktop PC we told you to ditch earlier.

If your viewing habits are even more modest, then all you’ll need is a laptop and a TV tuner dongle such as PC System’s PCTV NanoStick T2, which supports Freeview HD. You can alteratively watch online using services such as the BBC’s iPlayer, Sky Go and 4OD.

Unfortunately, although you can get rid of your TV, you can’t get rid of your TV licence – you’ll still need one to legally watch content from either a TV tuner or online services such as BBC iPlayer.

3. Switch to online billing & bank statements

They don’t seem to take up much space, but it’s hard to know what to do with bank statements and utility bills once they’ve arrived and been paid. Companies seem to take a perverse joy in posting us several rainforests worth of paper every year. You can minimise this by switching to online banking and utility payments. With that done, check to make sure your online account has a complete record of at least your last year’s payments and shred the paper copies. Please note that you should still retain copies of anything you’ll need for tax purposes, including utility bills for shared-use premises.

2. Make the most of your smartphone

We’ve already suggested ebook readers, MP3 players and digital media as ways of clearing the clutter. An Android, iOS or Windows Phone 7 smartphone can handle all those things and more. With a few well-chosen apps, you can use one device to listen to music, read books, play games, send email and even edit documents. It’s not always the best tool for the job, but a good smartphone can be one device to do it all, particularly if you combine it with apps such as Spotify, Kindle and BBC iPlayer. Our favourite phones include Apple’s iPhone 4S, Motorola’s Defy+ and Nokia’s Lumia 800.

1. Freecycle & Ebay

Once you’ve replaced all the computer hardware, books and discs that have been cluttering up your life, you’ll still need to get rid of them. This would also be an ideal to ditch any shoes you’ve not worn in over a year and that hateful sideboard left to you by Aunt Mildred.

If the items in question are desirable enough to get money for, then you can sell them on eBay or –if you have loads of CDs to get rid of – Music Magpie. If not, join your local Freecycle group to find someone who’ll take your unwanted tat off your hands for free.

Get rid of unwanted tat and make some cash while you’re at it by selling on Ebay