Clean Out Your Downloads Folder

September 2022 — Tip of the Month

How many files are in your Downloads folder? If you haven't checked in a while, you might be surprised. While a cluttered desktop is easy to spot, a crowded Downloads folder is more insidious, steadily growing behind the scenes.

Just like it's wise to organize your photos monthly, it's also a good idea to clean out your Downloads folder on a regular basis. The default folder for your Internet downloads is likely filled with installers, compressed archives, and other documents.

You can delete most installers since they have already served their purpose. Compressed archives you've expanded are redundant data, so you can remove those as well. If other documents are floating around your Downloads folder, you can manually review them, move the ones you want to keep, and delete the ones you don't need.

Similar to cleaning up your desktop, cleaning out your Downloads folder is an important maintenance task. While it might not be as visually noticeable as a fresh desktop, chances are it will free up much more disk space.

- Per Christensson