Just click on that icon to open the stack. Consider the Use Stacks feature to automatically stack-up files of the same type into a single icon. Right-click (two-finger tap on a trackpad) any open space and choose Clean Up to get things arranged neatly, or Clean Up By to sort them as well. If your desktop is littered with icons, you should probably tidy things up a bit.

You can sort by size and type and manage these things here. In macOS Ventura or later, head to System Settings > General > Storage and click on the info button (i) next to the Applications, Documents, and other categories. Make sure you click the drive you want to securely delete: you do not want to erase some other hard drive by mistake When you’re ready, click the Erase button. Connect the drive you want to securely delete, then click it in the sidebar. But you may have old large files and documents, or apps that no longer even work on your version of macOS, that you can safely remove. To wipe your mechanical drive, open Disk Utility, which you’ll find in Applications > Utilities. Big library files (for apps like Lightroom or Final Cut Pro) are likely to show up here, and you might not want to mess with them. There are several sections here, like Large Files and Unsupported Apps, that are worth perusing.

Then, click on Documents in the left tab. You can see all your installed applications here and sort them by size, easily deleting apps you haven’t used in ages. While you’re in the Storage Management app, click on the Applications tab in the left column. If the Security Options button is not available, Disk Utility cannot perform a secure erase on the storage device.Foundry Take a look at your Applications and Documents Secure erase options are available only for some types of storage devices. (Optional) If available, click Security Options, use the slider to choose how many times to write over the erased data, then click OK. If the Scheme pop-up menu isn’t available, make sure you selected the storage device you want to erase-it’s at the top of the hierarchy.Ĭlick the Format pop-up menu, then choose a file system format. Ĭlick the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map. In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the Erase button. If you want to erase any other type of storage device: Double-click Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Note: If you want to get your Mac ready to trade in, sell, or give away, and your computer is a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel-based Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip, use Erase Assistant.

How to clean disk mac