It’s easy to overlook the clutter accumulating in your digital space, but an overabundance of stuff (even digital stuff) can make life harder. Every year, Digital Cleanup Day is a reminder to take our digital clean-up duty seriously, since a messy system can be a huge distraction. Whether you're struggling to find what you're looking for or pressing up against your storage limits, keeping your cloud storage under control helps you prevent major headaches down the road.
🔍 Find (and Delete) the Biggest Offenders
If you're looking to reclaim storage space fast, the easiest place to start is with your largest files. Old videos, uncompressed images, and massive project archives are the most common storage hogs. A single recorded meeting, an uncompressed photo, or a PowerPoint with embedded videos can take up the same amount of space as hundreds of Word documents. These files tend to accumulate quietly in the background while steadily eating into your available storage.
That's why sorting by size is such a high-value first move: A small number of files is often responsible for a large chunk of your storage use. Both OneDrive and SharePoint make it easy to sort your files by size so the biggest culprits rise right to the top. Once you can see what's taking up the most space, it's much easier to make quick decisions about what to keep and what to cut. If you can't remember why you saved something, take that as your sign that it's time to let it go. You might be surprised how much breathing room a handful of forgotten files can free up.
For the step-by-step details on how to find and sort your largest files, check out Pitt Digital's guides for OneDrive and SharePoint.
📁 Tackle the Clutter You've Been Avoiding
Once you've handled the big files, it's time to look at the stuff you've been putting off: duplicates, screenshots, and old projects.
Duplicates are sneaky storage wasters. If you tend to save multiple versions of the same document, search your library for keywords like “draft,” “copy,” or “v1.” Once you find them, either consolidate them into a single folder or delete the ones you don't need. Just make sure to keep the most recent version before you start deleting.
Screenshots are another easy win. Unless you regularly reference them, they're almost always safe to delete. Check your screenshots folders for files you forgot you had — then get rid of them.
Old projects are trickier. It can be hard to let go of work you put a lot of effort into, but ask yourself:
- When did you last reference this project? If it's been longer than five years, it might be time to move on.
- Does a record of this project exist somewhere else, like a website, portfolio, or shared drive?
- Do you really need the whole project, or just the final version? If a project went through a lot of iterations or came with a mountain of reference material, consider saving just the end result and clearing out the rest.
🗑️ Empty the Recycle Bin
Did you know that deleting files doesn't actually free up storage space until you empty the recycle bin? If you've done a big cleanup but your storage use hasn't budged, this is probably why.
Think of the recycle bin as the last stop before files are truly gone. Until you empty it, they're still counting against your storage limit. One thing to know about SharePoint specifically: it has a two-stage recycle bin, which means files pass through two separate stages before they're fully deleted. Both stages need to be emptied for storage to be freed up, so it's worth double-checking that you've completed both steps.
🌱 A Cleaner Digital Space Starts Today
Whether you carve out 15 minutes or spend an afternoon deep cleaning, taking these steps will make a noticeable difference in the performance and ease of use for your cloud storage. And once you're done, go ahead and mark Digital Cleanup Day on your calendar for next year. That way, you can make an annual habit to prevent your digital clutter from getting out of hand.
Happy cleaning, Panthers! 🧹
— Pitt Digital
