How to Optimize Storage on Your Mac: 7 Best Ways

Running out of storage space on your Mac can be frustrating, especially when you have important files to store. However, there are ways to optimize your Mac’s storage and maximize its capacity. This ensures your Mac runs smoothly and efficiently while saving you the headache of running out of space.

In this guide, I’ll take you through the steps to optimize storage on your Mac and give its performance a much-needed boost.

How to Check Storage Space on Your Mac

Checking your Mac’s storage space is essential to optimizing its performance. Regularly doing it allows you to determine how much space is being used and identify areas where you can free up space. Here’s how to check your storage space:

1. Click the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of the screen and select About This Mac from the drop-down menu.

2. Click More Info on the window.

3. In the About section, scroll down to the Storage section and tap the Storage Settings button.

4. You will see a breakdown of the storage space used by different categories, such as apps, documents, and photos. 

Using this method, you can easily check your Mac’s storage space and take the necessary steps to optimize it for better performance. Below, I’ve shared some tried and tested methods to optimize storage on your Mac.

Optimize Your Storage Easily With MacKeeper

MacKeeper is a comprehensive utility software for Mac operating systems that offers various tools and features to help users optimize and maintain their Macs. You can use the following features to optimize storage on your Mac without any hassle. 

1. Clear Your Mac Using Safe Cleanup

Here’s how you can quickly clean your Mac and resolve the black screen issue using the MacKeeper app:

1. Download and install MacKeeper. 
2. Launch MacKeeper and go to the Safe Cleanup tab.

3. Click Start Scan and wait for the results.

4. Review the items you want to remove. Select them individually or click Check All.

5. Next, click Clean Junk Files.

6. You’ll get a Cleaning Completed notification on your screen. Click Rescan to repeat the process.

2. Remove Apps Using Smart Uninstaller

MacKeeper’s can also remove unnecessary applications, related files, and settings to optimise storage on your system. Here’s how to uninstall any app on Mac using MacKeeper:

1. Download and install MacKeeper.
2. Launch MacKeeper and navigate to the Smart Uninstaller under Cleaning.

3. Click Start Scan.

4. Wait for the scan to complete, click Applications in the left panel, and select the apps you want to remove from the list. Click the Remove Selected button.

5. Confirm the deletion by clicking Remove on the pop-up.

6. It will remove the selected app from your Mac, and you’ll get a Removal Completed message. Click Rescan if you want to scan your Mac again.

3. Clear Duplicate Files

MacKeeper can help you quickly and easily identify and remove duplicate files on your Mac quickly and easily, freeing up valuable storage space and optimizing your Mac’s performance.

Here is how to remove duplicate files using MacKeeper:

1. Download and install MacKeeper.
2. Open MacKeeper and click the Duplicates Finder feature.

3. Click the Start Scan button to start the scanning process.

4. After the scan, MacKeeper will display a list of all the duplicate files found on your selected folders or drives. Review the list of duplicate files and select the ones you want to remove.

5. Click Check All and tap the Remove Selected button to delete the selected duplicate files.

6. MacKeeper will ask you to confirm the deletion of the selected duplicate files. Click Yes to proceed.

7. Wait for MacKeeper to complete the deletion process.
8. Once the deletion process is complete, MacKeeper will display a summary of the deleted files and the amount of space that has been freed up.

4 Methods to Optimize Storage on Your Mac

With the constant addition of files, photos, videos, and applications, your Mac’s storage space may get filled up over time, leading to slow performance and other issues. Fortunately, there are several methods you can use to optimize storage on your Mac.  

1. Clean Up Your Hard Drive

Once you’ve identified what’s taking up the most space on your computer, it’s time to clean up your hard drive. When your hard drive is full, it slows down your Mac and affects productivity. Here are some tips for cleaning your hard drive and optimizing storage on your Mac:

• 🗑️ Remove Files You No Longer Need: Go through your files and delete any that you no longer need, such as old documents, photos, and videos.
• 🔎 Use a Storage Management App: Several third-party apps can help you identify and delete large and duplicate files on your Mac, freeing up valuable space.
• 🚮 Empty the Trash: Don’t forget to empty the Trash on your Mac to delete files and free up more space.

2. Optimize Your Storage Settings

Optimizing your storage is an essential aspect of maintaining your Mac’s performance. Your Mac has built-in settings that can help you optimize your storage automatically, making it easy to manage and free up space on your device.

Here’s how to enable them:

1. Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen and go to System Settings.

2. Click Apple ID > iCloud.

3. Toggle on the Optimise Mac Storage option.

Enabling this feature will automatically remove files you’ve already downloaded to your computer from iCloud, freeing up space on your Mac.

3. Use iCloud to Store Your Files

Using iCloud to store your files can be a convenient way to free up space on your Mac. When you store your photos, videos, and documents in iCloud, they are accessible from any device signed in to your account, including your MacBook. It’ll also free up space on your Mac. Here’s how:

1. Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen and select System Settings.

2. Click Apple ID > iCloud.

3. Click Photos or Documents.

4. Toggle on the Sync this Mac option.

From here, you can store your photos and documents in iCloud instead of on your Mac.

4. Delete Unused Apps

When you install apps on your Mac, they take up valuable space on your hard drive, and over time, this can add up. If you have apps installed that you no longer use, they can waste space and resources.

They take up storage space and can consume memory, CPU power, and other resources your Mac needs to function efficiently.

Here’s how you can disable unused apps to optimize storage on your Mac:

1. Click on the Launchpad icon in your Dock.

2. Click and hold the app you want to disable.

3. Click the X that appears in the top left corner of the app icon.

4. Tap Delete to confirm.

5. After deleting the app, right-click the Bin icon in the Dock and select Empty Bin.

Final Words

Optimizing storage on your Mac is crucial for improving its performance and maintaining its longevity. Here are three unique tips for managing your storage in the future:

• Consider using cloud storage services or external hard drives to store larger files or backup important data. It will save space on your Mac and back up your Mac data.
• Clean up your Mac regularly to make sure it runs smoothly without crashing and lagging.
• Delete junk files on your Mac to prevent them from piling up and affecting your system’s performance.

Frequently Asked Questions