You probably have a ton of duplicate files on your computer and don't even realize it.

You can also remove large items (like movies) and store them on an external hard drive. Here's a little bonus option not listed above. Others require you to go into the app and delete the files there. This should make it easier to decide what can go. It'll sort by file size and will tell you the date you last accessed that file. Some of those files are pretty big! Maybe they can be removed. So you can sort through and remove the chaff. And some of these items might take up quite a bit of space. There are bound to be old documents and other clutter on your Mac that you no longer need. Just go back to your storage management recommendations (Apple logo -> About this Mac -> Storage -> Manage and then look at 'Recommendations', the top left tab) and click the button next to 'Empty trash automatically.' Reduce clutter If you set your trash to empty automatically it'll delete items (as in, remove them from your computer) after 30 days. If you leave items in the trash, they're still taking up space.

Make sure you move any unneeded files (especially large ones) to the trash - and then empty that trash often. You'll find the 'Optimize Storage' option right below the 'Store in iCloud' option - just click that 'Optimize' button on the right. You can just download it again if you really need to rewatch. Like 5 times (no judgement).īut do you really still need it on your Mac? No! Five times is enough, even for gems like Princess Bride and Star Wars (ok, no it's not). Say you've downloaded a movie but you've already watched it. Just click 'Optimize' next to the 'Store in Cloud' option when you're managing your storage. That's why it exists.Īnd you know what's great? You can access anything in the Cloud, from any device, just by signing in with your Apple ID. Instead of storing all your old photos, college papers, and projects on your actual computer, move that stuff to the cloud. There are several ways to do this, and Apple recommends a few: Store your content on the cloud The first important task is to manage your storage properly and efficiently. So let's dig into those options a bit more now. If you click the 'Manage' button, you can see what Apple recommends to help you clean up your Mac. You can hover over unnamed sections to see what they are and how much space they're taking up. Once you're there, select the Storage option (in the middle) and check out what's taking up space. Select the first option, 'About this Mac', so you can see what's going on. First, check what's taking up so much spaceĬlick the little Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen. If you've had one of these experiences and now need to clean up your Mac, this is the guide for you. Have you ever gotten a notification that you're running low on disk space on your Mac? Or have you checked your storage only to find that your Photos are taking up an appalling 84GB?

How to do a disk defrag on mac