{"id":23858,"date":"2026-03-20T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/?p=23858"},"modified":"2026-03-13T14:30:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T13:30:57","slug":"digital-cleanup-day-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/2026\/03\/20\/digital-cleanup-day-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Cleanup Day 2026: A Fresh Start for Your Digital Devices"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_23858 social_share_privacy clearfix 1.6.4 locale-en_US sprite-en_US\"><\/div><div class=\"twoclick-js\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\njQuery(document).ready(function($){if($('.twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_23858')){$('.twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_23858').socialSharePrivacy({\"txt_help\":\"Wenn Sie diese Felder durch einen Klick aktivieren, werden Informationen an Facebook, Twitter, Flattr, Xing, t3n, LinkedIn, Pinterest oder Google eventuell ins Ausland \\u00fcbertragen und unter Umst\\u00e4nden auch dort gespeichert. N\\u00e4heres erfahren Sie durch einen Klick auf das <em>i<\\\/em>.\",\"settings_perma\":\"Dauerhaft aktivieren und Daten\\u00fcber-tragung zustimmen:\",\"info_link\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.heise.de\\\/ct\\\/artikel\\\/2-Klicks-fuer-mehr-Datenschutz-1333879.html\",\"uri\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\\\/itc\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/20\\\/digital-cleanup-day-2026\\\/\",\"post_id\":23858,\"post_title_referrer_track\":\"Digital+Cleanup+Day+2026%3A+A+Fresh+Start+for+Your+Digital+Devices\",\"display_infobox\":\"on\"});}});\n\/* ]]> *\/<\/script><\/div><p><div id=\"attachment_21692\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/03\/Digital-Cleanup-Day-orange-Hand-1-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21692\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-21692\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/03\/Digital-Cleanup-Day-orange-Hand-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Graphic of a hand wiping over an orange background with the words Digital Cleanup Day\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/03\/Digital-Cleanup-Day-orange-Hand-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/03\/Digital-Cleanup-Day-orange-Hand-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/03\/Digital-Cleanup-Day-orange-Hand-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/03\/Digital-Cleanup-Day-orange-Hand-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/03\/Digital-Cleanup-Day-orange-Hand-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-21692\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Own illustration<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve all been there: your desktop is cluttered, your inbox is overflowing, and old apps are piling up on your smartphone. It\u2019s time for a digital spring cleaning! On March 21, 2026, it\u2019s that time again: Digital Cleanup Day invites you to bring order to your digital world while helping the environment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">Clean Up Digitally and Help the Environment<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The campaign was launched in 2020 by the Institut du Num\u00e9rique Responsable and the NGO World Cleanup Day France. Since then, it has motivated people worldwide to delete unnecessary files, rethink digital routines, and reduce CO2 emissions. Every stored file consumes energy, whether on cloud service servers or on your own computer. Less data means lower energy consumption and thus a smaller digital footprint.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">Here\u2019s How to Do Your Digital Spring Cleaning<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Instead of spending hours deleting data haphazardly, it\u2019s worth taking a structured approach. We\u2019ve put together a few small \u201cchallenges\u201d for you:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challenge 1: Sort photos and files<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Duplicate photos, old screenshots, or downloads you\u2019ve never used\u2014get rid of them!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challenge 2: Declutter apps and programs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Check all the apps on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone and delete anything you haven\u2019t used in months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challenge 3: Get your email inbox in order<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Archive, delete, or unsubscribe from newsletters to keep your inbox organized and save storage space.<\/p>\n<p>These steps not only boost your devices\u2019 performance but also reduce the energy needed to run servers and data centers.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">Sustainability Beyond Cleanup Day<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Regularly decluttering conserves resources and extends the lifespan of your devices. A few simple measures can help:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Only increase streaming quality when necessary<\/li>\n<li>Use devices longer and recycle old ones<\/li>\n<li>Store files centrally instead of saving them in multiple locations<\/li>\n<li>Create backups only for truly important data<\/li>\n<li>Enable video features in online meetings only when necessary<\/li>\n<li>Consciously reduce screen time and social media use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Every small step counts. Together, we can make the digital world more efficient and sustainable!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">Join Us for Digital Cleanup Day 2026<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Start your digital spring cleaning on March 21, 2026, and make room for what matters most. Free your devices from unnecessary clutter!<\/p>\n<p>The RWTH Sustainability Office has compiled additional tips and tricks for Digital Cleanup Day. You can find them on the RWTH <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rwth-aachen.de\/cms\/root\/wir\/nachhaltigkeit\/aktiv-werden\/~bmancc\/digital-cleanup-day-an-der-rwth\/?lidx=1\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Responsible for the content of this article is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itc.rwth-aachen.de\/cms\/it-center\/it-center\/profil\/team\/~epvp\/mitarbeiter-pvz-\/?gguid=PER-DTJF9WU&amp;allou=1&amp;lidx=1\">Hania Eid<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The following sources served as the basis for this article:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/worldcleanup.org\/machen\/digital-cleanup-day\/\">World Cleanup<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Digital_Cleanup_Day\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdf.de\/nachrichten\/panorama\/internet-oekobilanz-klima-energie-100.html\">ZDFheute<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6019,"featured_media":21684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"c2c_always_allow_admin_comments":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[306,314,315],"tags":[1429,1427,108,1428,1430,1431,697],"class_list":["post-23858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ankuendigungen","category-it-sicherheit","category-services-support","tag-aufraeumen","tag-cleanup-day","tag-digital","tag-digital-cleanup-day","tag-fruehjahrsputz","tag-nachhaltig","tag-nachhaltigkeit"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23858"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23895,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23858\/revisions\/23895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}