Digital decluttering: saving the planet one photo and email at a time

Let’s face it: we’ve all done it. You’re at a restaurant, your meal arrives looking like a piece of art, and before even tasting it, you whip out your phone for that Insta-worthy shot. Fast-forward two years and that perfect meal photo or the dozen shots you took of the same sunset are still sitting in your gallery, gathering digital dust and silently consuming energy.

You haven’t looked at it since and there is probably a copy on social media too, yet there it is, using up precious storage space. Sound familiar? Well, what if I told you that keeping that photo (and its 1,000 cousins) isn’t just a digital faux pas – it’s an environmental one too?

It’s time to look at your digital clutter differently, understand its impact and start making meaningful changes. By doing so, you can take an active role in reducing your environmental impact - and hopefully inspire others to follow suit.

The environmental cost of digital hoarding

Most of our digital files - photos, videos and emails - aren’t stored on our devices. Instead, they’re whisked away to “the Cloud”, automatically backed up by services like Google Drive or OneDrive. However, contrary to its airy name, the Cloud isn’t a weightless, magical space in the sky. It’s a massive network of data centres - industrial-scale facilities running 24/7 to keep your digital world accessible.

Here’s the problem: these facilities consume a staggering amount of electricity, much of which comes from fossil fuels. The internet’s carbon footprint is already comparable to the airline industry, and it’s growing every year. While some data providers are taking steps towards renewable energy, many aren’t there yet.

At Krystal, we’re proud to be ahead of the curve. Since 2017, all of our data centres have run on 100% renewable energy sourced directly from the sun, wind and sea. Unfortunately, this isn’t the industry standard - your files might seem effortless to access, but their environmental impact is very real. The next time you scroll through all those Instagram-worthy sunsets, plates of food and "hilarious" memes you’ve got saved, remember — they’re not as eco-friendly as they might seem.

How much energy are we talking about?

Here’s some food for thought (pun intended):

Photos

The average smartphone user has about 2,700 photos stored. Many of these are duplicates, blurry shots or random screenshots. Over a typical 10-year storage period, these photos could consume approximately 94.5 kWh of energy in the Cloud. That’s enough to:

• Power an average UK household for three days.
• Run a fridge-freezer for around three months.
• Drive an electric car for nearly three hundred miles.

Now multiply that by over 7.41 billion smartphone users worldwide, and it’s clear how quickly the energy demands add up.

Emails

More than 300 billion emails are sent every day - many of them unread newsletters, forgotten threads or unopened attachments.

According to recent estimates, a standard email emits around 0.3 grams of CO₂, while one with attachments can hit 17 grams.

Multiply that by your overflowing inbox (seriously, take a peek - I’ll wait), and suddenly those unread newsletters and forgotten threads feel less like harmless clutter and more like carbon culprits.

Here’s some perspective: the global number of smartphone users is expected to hit 7.49 billion this year. The cumulative energy consumption of their stored photos alone - an incredible 700 billion kWh annually - could power the entire United Kingdom for 2.5 years. That’s a lot of energy being used for forgotten selfies and unread emails!

How to declutter and reduce your digital footprint

Ready to make a change? The good news is, that you don’t need to overhaul your entire digital life overnight to make an impact. Small, consistent changes can go a long way in reducing your environmental footprint. Here’s how to get started.

Sort through your photos

Start by deleting duplicates, blurry shots and unnecessary screenshots. Focus on quality over quantity. Do you really need five identical pictures of that sunset? Probably not.

Remember, deleting photos from your device doesn’t always mean they’re gone. Many cloud services, like Google Photos, OneDrive and iCloud, automatically back up your images unless you manually remove them. Double-check your online storage settings and delete unnecessary files to truly declutter. Below is an example of how to do this in Google Photos, but the process may vary depending on your backup provider.

To permanently clear photos from Google Photos, open the app, select the images you no longer need, and move them to the Bin — but don’t forget the crucial final step: emptying the Bin to ensure they’re truly deleted and no longer taking up storage.

If sorting through thousands of photos feels overwhelming, Google’s Photo Search feature can help — just type in keywords like “screenshots”, “sunsets” or specific locations to quickly filter and delete unwanted images in bulk. If you’ve set up face or object grouping in the past, this makes the process even easier by automatically categorising similar photos so you can remove them in one go.

P.S. Don’t forget about videos too! These take up even more space, so clearing out old, unnecessary clips will make an even bigger impact.

Clean up your inbox

An overcrowded inbox isn’t just frustrating; it’s also energy-intensive. Start by unsubscribing from newsletters you never open—let’s be honest, you don’t need 37 daily deals from that online store you bought one thing from three years ago. Download important attachments, then delete the original emails—that “Here’s the Report” email? It doesn’t need to live forever.

Remember, old emails don’t just disappear when you hit delete. Email providers like Outlook and Gmail store them in the Bin or Trash folder, meaning they’re still taking up storage unless you manually empty them. If you’re serious about decluttering, clear out your Deleted Items and Spam folders to truly free up space. Finally, don’t forget about your Sent folder either—it’s easy to overlook, but years of attachments and email chains can silently clog up storage.

If you manage emails via cPanel, simply deleting messages won’t always remove them from the server. To properly clear space, log in to cPanel, go to Email Disk Usage, and filter for old, large, or junk emails that can be deleted in bulk. Sorting by email size helps you quickly remove the biggest storage hogs.

Set a decluttering schedule

Treat your digital spaces like your home - schedule regular clean-ups to prevent clutter from building up again. Maybe every Sunday morning with a cup of coffee for personal files, or set aside Friday afternoon at work to tidy up your emails before heading into the weekend. That way, you can keep your inbox organised without having to face work-related clutter on a Monday morning. Think of it as spring cleaning for your phone and email, but on a manageable, weekly scale.

Final thoughts

The internet is a powerful tool, but it comes with an environmental cost. By decluttering our digital lives - deleting old photos, cleaning out emails, and being mindful of what we store - we can play a small but impactful role in reducing the internet’s carbon footprint.

So, go ahead. Take a moment right now to delete that blurry picture of your dog, unsubscribe from those spam emails, and maybe even clear your recycling bin. Your phone will thank you, your inbox will breathe a sigh of relief, and the planet? Well, it just might smile a little.

Now, who’s ready to click “delete”?