Spring Cleaning Your Phone is as Easy As 1, 2, 3…and an iPhone 5S Giveaway

This post is part of my partnership with the US Cellular Blogger Brigade Ambassador Program.

 

 

Woot! Woot!

 

Spring has finally arrived. Well kind of, there are tulips and lilacs, but the weather seems to be stuck in a perpetual state of chillyness. Even still the calendar says May and I’m ready springify our house.

 

While I’m not the greatest housekeeper {I do leave sticky broiler pans lying around} I am one to give the house a nice once over when warmer weather hits. Chucking snow boots and mittens back into the bowels of our coat closet and sweeping up a sandbox full of grit and salt from our entryway.

 

While I was sweeping the dust bunnies under the rug {see not the greatest housekeeper} and taking photos of my shiny clean house, I realized that perhaps my S4 could use a good cleaning too.

 

Thanks to the pros at U.S. Cellular spring cleaning my cellphone is as easy as 1, 2, 3…

 

 

1. Clean your devices and your cases.

My phone probably has more germs on it than a playland ball pit. So it was in need of a good scrubbing. It’s good to clean your mobile device often by removing the device from its case and completely cleaning both. Don’t use harsh cleaners that contain acetone, ammonia or alcohol because they can be harmful to electronic devices. Instead, use specialized cleaners, such as a Gadget Guard Cleaner or simply wipe down your phone with a microfiber cloth that won’t scratch the screen.

 

2. Clear out clutter.

I never would have thought about cleaning out the data in my phone, although after taking US Cellular’s advice I realized my phone could work more efficiently if I downloaded the 3,261 photos from my camera. That doesn’t even include the multitude of videos, memos, audio files and apps that I never use.

 

Unused data takes up valuable space, so it is good to delete rarely-used apps, outdated contacts, SMS and call history, and old music, games, documents, photos and videos. This will free up storage space and provide more bandwidth on my 4GLTE network for the items I access regularly.

 

3. Leverage the cloud. 

After deleting unused apps and information, backing up your cellphone data is a good next step. According to a 2014 survey conducted by U.S. Cellular, 31 percent of smartphone owners never back up their data , which could result in losing valuable photos, emails, and information.  The survey also found that smartphone users would be most upset to lose photos (41 percent), contacts (32 percent) and saved messages (31 percent).  [If you use this statistic please include the disclaimer: [¹ Between Nov. 15 and Dec. 2, 2013, 500 nationally representative online interviews were conducted among smartphone users in partnership with Maritz Research.]

 

I have to admit I’m one of the 31 percent, so it’s time to backup my data.

 

Since I already use Dropbox, it was simple to download the app onto my phone and start storing all of my documents, photos and videos so I can access them from my computer and/or other mobile devices. Once my information is safely and securely placed in my Dropbox account, I can clean it off of my phone and tablet.

 

Another way to spring clean your phone?

 

Win a whole new iPhone 5S from US Cellular.

 

 

Just enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

KEEP IN MIND THIS PHONE IS POWERED BY THE US CELLULAR NETWORK,
AND WON’T WORK ON ANY OTHER NETWORK PROVIDER.

**

Disclosure: Through the rest of the year I’ll be sharing some more of My BETTER MOMENTS as a US Cellular Better Moments Blogger Brigade Ambassador. All opinions are my own and an honest view of my story as a US Cellular customer.