Decluttering your Mac: effective ways to do it!

We are used to working on our Mac on a daily basis, but at some point, it does end up with lots of clutter. It’s a very good idea to find out how to declutter the device and ensure that it runs very smoothly. Plus, lots of clutter can affect our productivity, so it makes a lot of sense to try and remove clutter. Thankfully, there are many different options to consider.

Removing clutter from your desktop

Naturally, you want to start with your desktop. The main focus here is to create multiple folders with categories. That way, you can have your work apps in one folder, leisure apps in another, etc. That will help remove a lot of those unwanted icons and shortcuts from your desktop. Plus, some stuff might need to be deleted anyway, like that DMG you used to install an app 30 days ago. You can use the Stacks feature for Mac to do this automatically, but it might not organize everything as you want. But you can change things later, so it’s worth it.

Free up the hard drive

Another good idea is to start cleaning your system with CleanMyMac. Using a cleanup tool is great because it removes all the unwanted files, temporary stuff, junk files and duplicates, broken downloads, outdated cache, etc. Not only will this reclaim hard drive space, but it will also speed up your Mac, too. And if your Mac still runs slowly even after cleanup, it might be time to replace worn-out hardware with quality apple replacement parts to restore its full performance. If you feel that your Mac is slow, then it makes sense to use such a tool, as it will only bring in a better experience.

Manage login and startup items

You can go to the General system settings and there you want to select Login items. The thing to note here is that a lot of apps will start with your Mac. However, you might not need all of those. They consume precious system resources, so keeping those under control is super important. We highly recommend managing those login items and see which apps are allowed in the background, too. It makes it much easier to ensure that your device runs smoothly, without stuff you don’t need.

Delete the browser cache and system junk

It’s a helpful approach because it allows you to ensure you don’t leave any wasted space. It’s going to come in handy mainly because it’s a fast process that does save some storage space. If you want to delete the browser cache in Safari, you go to the Advanced Settings and here you select the option to show features for web developers. Press Develop, and then choose the Empty caches option. Naturally, every browser has its own features like this, so try to keep that in mind and give it a shot, it will be well worth it.

Identify and delete hidden files

Sometimes, your Mac will hide files or you might even try to hide files as well. If that’s the case, a very good idea is to go to the Documents directory or any other, and then press the “Shift+Command+Period” combination. That’s great because it will unhide files. And once you can see hidden files, it just makes things much easier to manage. 

Delete your old backups

iTunes and Time Machine are 2 apps that create backups often. And it’s good, because if there is any system instability, you can revert to an old backup. However, once you have 10 or more backups, it’s just waste of space. For some people, even having more than a backup is a waste. That’s why it’s a very good idea to delete those old backups.

For Time Machine, you can enter the app and then browse the current backups. Delete the ones that you don’t need anymore. If you have backups in your iCloud, you can try to delete those as well, enter the System Settings, Apple ID and iCloud, then press Manage. Here you can easily click Backups and then remove the ones that you don’t need anymore. 

Remove old files

If you have old apps or files that you don’t need anymore, removing them is a great idea. It will make it easier to reclaim space and ensure that you can use it for stuff that you actually need. Go to Finder and then manage everything by the last date it was used. That way, you know what apps and files are barely used. Such a decluttering method is handy, and it will certainly make things easier.

Closing thoughts

Cleary, decluttering your Mac is something that you should consider doing as often as you can. It’s a great idea to try and remove clutter from your device, and doing that from time to time can lead to performance improvements for your device. Clearly, it helps a lot to do this from time to time, and adhering to these methods/tips shown above will help improve the experience!