I got a new phone and barely any apps: a guide on phone peace

Hello, Gorgeous!

I have always been crazy about decluttering my home, closet, and devices. Essentially everything in my life has to have some semblance of order. However, I created a new sense of luck in my life when upgrading to the new iPhone 17 and hardly adding any apps.

What helped make this push was the fact that my iPhone 13 mini was discontinued and dying. It overheated, glitched constantly, shut down by itself, along with a long list of other endless delays. 

Now that I have a new phone, new number, and new plan–my world has changed. 

No new friends

I am not the type of person to give out my number immediately. New people are always at an arm’s distance, and I made sure of it by only inviting people I want to move forward with in my life. 

The people I wanted to stop talking to were taking a backseat and being left in my old phone that I kept for memories sake. 

Since having this new phone, I am more careful about who I bring into my life and more cautious about nurturing my delightful relationships that already exist. 

The ultimate declutter

One of my goals is to stop paying for iCloud storage at $10.99 a month. This not only cuts down on my bills, but stops taking up space in my mind for new adventures. 

It might not seem like a big deal but $131.88 a year adds up to $20,600 in 50 years. That is with the average 10.6% inflation rate in California that I have to consider. It will do better in a high yield savings account and I feel better about using that money towards education and recreation for my future family.

I deleted over 110,000 photos on my new phone and shut off the iCloud backup, because I want to start fresh and live in the now. 

Old memories that made me sad would come up and that is over thanks to this move. 

Not only am I decluttering my spending patterns, but I am also saving space for freedom. My old phone had 512 GB that I didn’t use. I thought it was going to help me be a better creator, but my habits of filming everything actually went down, because I simplified my life so much.

This new phone is 256 GB which is more than enough of what I need, especially since I got a wonderful new 4K camera: The Canon V10 Powershot. I have been filming on it since and do not mind having varying avenues for being creative with specialised equipment. 

This also makes me pick up my phone less, want to wear a watch to check the time, and save on battery life throughout the day. 

The specifications are incredible.

Since upgrading, there are so many new features and a better camera that make me inspired to actually want to create more valuable content for you! 

These new features include: 

• The ability to film horizontally while still holding my phone horizontally
• Having a bigger screen 
• An action button that allowed me to use my camera right away
• Better speakers for top quality audio
• Built-in presets that replace my Adobe Lightroom subscription
• And more I have not even tried yet
• The battery life is almost 3 days – my iPhone 13 mini would need a charge in 2 hours 

Shop all my iPhone 17 accessories I got along with my new Iphone 17.

As a millennial, I come from what is obviously the smartest, sexiest, most perfect generation in every way (I’m kidding. Am I?). This means an analog life truly does give me peace. 

Being 31, I am part of a very special demographic that did not start using such devices as smart phones and tablets in my everyday life until I was older. However, I snuck onto the computer as a kid all the time and developed entire careers from it. 

I am not particularly interested or looking out for new features and technology that could optimise my life. But it is a sigh of relief that there is not a complicated learning curve for the new iPhone that definitely makes it easier. 

I have less than 10 apps I use on a daily basis.

It is a crazy time in the world – the fact that we use apps at all and as part of a regular routine. 

Here are the apps that keep me sane everyday:

1. YouTube (for work)
2. LTK (for work)
3. Instagram (for work and keeping up with friends)
4. My bank 
5. My gym membership check in app
6. A parking app
7. Waymo – because I hate when drivers try to ask me on a date or trap me in their car when asking for my number and knowing where I live
8. Amazon – for home and cat supplies to order when I think of them

The most used apps are my Notes to remember ideas and obviously messaging for my loved ones.

Everything else is noise to me.

Turn off notifications.

I shut off notifications for all the apps aside from Waymo, because it is time sensitive to know when your car is here. My old phone was CRAZY with constant emails, shopping reminders to come back to my cart, new feature updates on all sorts of apps, and breaking news. Shhhhhh.

Do Not Disturb is my dear friend. We go way back. I used to have a sleep schedule where automatic things happen on my phone, but now I make a point to manually turn it off by my own hand to strategically enforce the power of agency. 

I sincerely hope you find a sense of peace with your phone. Charge it outside of your bedroom when going to sleep as part of your relaxing routine.

You are more than welcome, and as a matter of fact it is encouraged around this part of the internet, to focus on the importance of real life and letting your offline be the luxury you look forward to. 

There are good addictions and bad. A phone is a tool that should not control you, your life, or your willpower. 

I think I am going to do all of the above with each new devices for the sake of my health. 

The girls who have peace, discipline, and standards don’t do life by accident. Join The It Girl School and become her on purpose.