Digital Purging
Decades ago, when email entered our lives, no one told me to delete every email after I read it. Recently I received an alarming notice. My email provider, with which I have established a highly organized library of files, has instituted a new memory plan. If one exceeds memory, we will now pay for that memory, which was free before.
I am entrenched with this provider, and some of my files are medical or legal in nature. Electronic storage is probably the road I should stay on. I learned that in the body of my email, I have thousands of documents. Thousands. Each day hundreds more are entering my inbox. This is a daunting project if I want to streamline my emails, thus reducing my charges for extra memory.
I began with small steps. I have learned that this is the best way to approach difficult projects which seem overwhelming in scope. I’ve spent days going through files and documents. I try and scan the gist of the documents first. If they are old news (most of them) I delete them and then after a few hours, I empty the trash file.
I am simultaneously tackling a similar project with texts on my phone. I never deleted those either. They use up a lot of phone memory. I would always think I might need the history of texts to confirm appointments or data, not realizing that that retention period was probably about thirty days. I have history going back for many years. Additional iCloud storage is purchasable. How much money do I want to spend to store what amounts to digital clutter? Well, it’s really inexpensive.
An unusual side effect of this process of elimination has been the feeling of time travel. Some of the documents are from now-deceased friends. I have euphoric memories, where for a few moments that friend is speaking to me. I have them back with me. My heart is touched, and I laugh at humor in correspondence about daily mundane topics.
Another effect of purging is rolling back through the decades and recognizing how innocent certain communications were before I learned new, sometimes unsettling information. The tone of correspondence would change dramatically. One family drama had been memorialized. I ceased certain paths of engagement, and the next document would be from a law firm. I had to leave the discussions. I love to delete many of these documents. They are retained in paper files. Much pain and money were associated with certain complex situations. These documents give me a stomachache. They are best disappeared.
Complicating this project are the hundreds of incoming daily documents, many marketing, spam, or political. I’m learning to hit delete at a much faster rate on new documents.
My new habit is to hit delete immediately after I read something that is not important. I know that this purging is nonstop and never ending. I have developed new practices in my digital domain. This reminds me of the positivity involved when one makes dramatic changes to their diet, knowing that the payoff will be immense.
A similar situation exists in the nondigital world and runs parallel to online activities. Our purchases over many years cease to serve a valuable function. We end up storing things in boxes, untouched, left in some spare or rented space. Perhaps if I am able to tame digital trash, I will use these same skills and downsize my life possessions (old books?!) Now I must ponder if those old love letters from my youth need to be tossed in the fireplace.
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