Sort out your storage

How to find things faster and let your Mac tidy itself up

Be descriptive 1

Give your files and folders names that make it clear what they are, for easier finding and identification once you’ve moved on to something else. For example, Untitled2 or IMG20212.JPG could be anything, but the same files called CV for Apple Genius Job or Uncle Dave Falling Into The Sea.JPG need no explanation.

Manage your storage 4

Your Mac includes lots of useful housekeeping features. Click the  logo in the menu bar then select About This Mac > Storage. This shows your internal and connected drives; click on Manage to start tidying up.

Fix names fast 2

If you do have a bunch of badly named files, you can turn them into something much more sensible in Finder by using the Batch Rename feature. This enables you to add a prefix or suffix, to add numbering and to replace file names altogether and it works instantly even on lots of selected files.

Remove old media 5

Use Optimise Storage to automatically remove big items such as the Apple TV+ shows you’ve watched, and to remove large email attachments from your oldest emails. This can free up quite a bit of space.

Offload to the cloud 3

If you have iCloud Drive or Apple One, use your cloud storage to free up space on your Mac. In addition to mirroring your Desktop and Documents folders to the cloud (via System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Drive), you can manually remove files from your Mac and make them iCloud-only by ≈-clicking and choosing Remove Download.

Clear the clutter 6

Use the Reduce Clutter option to see which files are taking up too much room on your Mac. This lets you see what and where the space hogs are, and you can delete them from the window. It’s particularly good at spotting old app installers.