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So maybe you've got your closet down to 33 items and only carry a couple notebooks with you to class and the only furniture you have is your bed and a couch and maybe a couple tables and you've freed yourself of so much and you feel like you're on top of the world! Until you get on your phone and flip through the multitude of apps, half of which you forget about or don't even know why it was downloaded in the first place. It's time to take the next step and clean out your phone!

Here is a list of what I have on my phone and what purpose they serve:

• Gmail - obvious reasons
• Google Maps - also obvious reasons
• Google Play - this is the app that I use to play my music
• Google Photos - stores and backs up all of my photos on my phone
• Inkpad - ever have that time where you have to write something down or make a list while you're out but, oh no! you don't have a pen and paper around. So I use this little notepad to take notes when I'm out so I don't forget it later
• GroupMe - I'm part of a lot of group messages and almost everyone in college uses it to contact multiple people at once
• Instagram - all of my pictures are taken on my phone and honestly, I just love Instagram. Follow me! @tyrannosaurus.bex24
• Snapchat - I use it everyday to connect with people across the nation in a more fun way
• Bible - every once in a while I forget my physical Bible so I use this app to look up passages when I need to
• Capture - this is the app that connects to my GoPro
• Drive - allows me to access documents shared with me on Google Drive when I don't have access to my laptop
• Hangouts - this is a messaging app connected to Google. A couple people use it to contact me
• Texas A&M app - gives me access to a campus map, bus routes and locations, sports events, directory, and more
• Think Dirty - one of my favorite apps that scans a beauty product and lets you know how friendly it is for your body
• WordReference - allows me to look up a word in Spanish in case I forget it when I'm out

The apps that I have on my phone are specific to me, and you could find them completely useless or different ones really useful. I've decided to rid myself of Facebook and Pinterest on my phone because I spent so much time on them every day. When I thought about it, Facebook doesn't serve me any purpose anymore except to store some photos and to be informed on some organizational events. If I need to access it I can easily go on my laptop. Not to mention Facebook takes up a lot of space on our phones. Pinterest just makes me waste time. If I really want to search through Pinterest, I make myself go through the effort of opening it up on my laptop.

While we're on the subject, I only pin things on Pinterest I'm totally intent on doing. I try to keep my total number pins to under 1,000, and even go back and filter out my boards every once in a while. It's much easier to find things and I'm more satisfied when I look at it because I'm not bombarded with images that I don't really care about. I encourage you to do the same. 

Sorry, I don't have a Twitter!

But maybe you rely on Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family. Maybe you use Pandora or Spotify to listen to your music. Maybe you're already fluent in another language and having WordReference would be pointless!

I have 15 apps on my phone (not including the pre-installed ones that I can't get rid of), and I would say that a minimal but practical phone should have 20 or less. Not only does it save time to search through the apps that you don't use, but it frees up space and is much less chaotic and daunting when you pull your phone out.

Happy deleting!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment below ↓ and I will answer as best as I can!