5 tips to clean up your Mac

Tips to clean up your Mac: Every now and then, it’s wise to give your Mac a good clean up. Over time, your Mac accumulates endless files, apps, and clutter that can impede on its performance. So, here are five very practical tips to help clean up your Mac.

Tip 1: Delete unused Apps

First and foremost, it’s a wise first step to delete any apps that you no longer use. A lot of the time we download a certain tool, say to mount an ISO file onto a virtual drive, but fail to ever use it again. It’s important to remember that with today’s internet speeds, it’s easier to delete and reinstall later on if you really need it – rather than let it take up your limited storage space.

Plus, when you delete these unused apps, they will often take the clutter created by them along the way (which helps with tips 2 and 4).

Tip 2: Cleaning Cache

Cleaning cache can be done in a few different ways. A Mac cleaner 3rd party software can be used to do it in one click, otherwise, you can do it manually. To do it manually, go to the ~/Library/Caches/ directory and delete the temporary files inside the folders. You can also clear logs, and your internet browser (usually found in the area where you delete browsing history). This can clear up a lot of your startup disk space, which can significantly slow your Mac down.

Tip 3: Updating Software

Tip number 3 is to update your software. Not doing so can jeopardize your security and performance, so head to System Preferences and click Software Update. If the box for automatic updates isn’t checked, make sure it is so this doesn’t happen again. Secondly, make sure all software and apps are up to date.

Tip 4: Cleaning the Startup Disk

Cleaning up your startup disk can be done in a few different ways. First and foremost, you can remove the Time Machine snapshots on your machine, which are essentially old backups that you may no longer need. Do the same with redundant iOS backups too.

Next up is to head to the Apple menu, click About this Mac, and then Storage. You should see what storage space you’re left with after doing the previous measures. If you’re still running at over 85% storage capacity, it’s important to do the next step: click on Manage on the right. This will present four functions: Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter. Each of these can significantly clear up storage space and optimize it for the future.

Tip 5: Take out the Trash

Finally, everything you have deleted will be in the Trash. Click on the Trash icon and empty it; this will permanently delete the files you have already opted to delete. This is a quick process, particularly because you have already made the decision to delete the items within it. This can be done automatically if you turn on the function from tip 4.