Blog · Sep 23, 2026

How to Organize a Messy iPhone Home Screen in 10 Minutes

After a few years, most Home Screens turn into pages of apps you scroll past. This routine takes about ten minutes and keeps things tidy.

1. Keep only daily apps on page one

Look at your first page and ask of each app: do I open this every day? If not, touch and hold it and choose Remove App → Remove from Home Screen. The app stays installed and is always in the App Library (swipe left past your last page).

2. Turn on App Library for new apps

Go to Settings → Home Screen & App Library and choose App Library Only for newly downloaded apps. New downloads stop filling up your pages.

3. Group the rest into folders by task

Drag one app onto another to make a folder. Name folders by what you do, not by app category: “Travel”, “Money”, “Photo editing”. Aim for 4–8 folders.

4. Add a widget or two

Widgets answer a question without opening an app: calendar, weather, battery, reminders. One or two on page one is enough.

To launch a group of apps straight from a widget, a folder-launcher app helps. WidgetLoft puts your apps into colorful folder widgets you tap from the Home Screen. (WidgetLoft is made by the GroveTab team.)

5. Use Focus pages

In Settings → Focus, pick a Focus such as Work, then Customize Screens to show only one Home Screen page while that Focus is on. Your work apps show up at work and step aside at home.

6. Hide pages you don’t need

Touch and hold the Home Screen, tap the page dots and untick pages to hide them without deleting anything.

Want new apps for a fresh Home Screen? Widget and productivity apps often go free on our App Deals page.