10 Things to Clean Up on Your Mac to Speed It Up
Updated: Oct 13
Is your Mac starting to feel a little slower than it used to?
Apps may take longer to open. Your browser might start dragging. You may hear the fan running more often, or everything just feels slightly less responsive.
That does not necessarily mean you need a new computer.
Sometimes your Mac simply needs a cleanup.
Over time, computers collect old applications, downloads, startup programs, browser tabs, files and background processes. Individually, these things may not cause much trouble. Together, they can use storage, memory and processing power that you would rather have available for the things you are actually doing.
Here are 10 practical things you can clean up to speed up your Mac - without digging through obscure system folders or installing questionable Mac-cleaner software.
I also created a 10-Point Mac Cleanup Checklist to go with this article so you can work through each item and see where your Mac may need attention.
Before You Start: Back Up Your Mac
Before doing a major cleanup, make sure anything important is backed up.
You can use Time Machine, iCloud, another cloud service or an external drive.
You do not need an elaborate backup setup. The important thing is having another copy of files you would be upset to lose.
If you do not already have an external drive, here are two straightforward options.
For simple, affordable backup storage
This is a traditional external hard drive with plenty of room for Time Machine backups, photos, documents and files you want to archive.
Important: this drive connects using USB-C. If your Mac only has the older rectangular USB-A ports, you will need an adapter to connect it.
I recommend the Anker USB-C to USB Adapter - 2 Pack for Macs that need that connection.
The Seagate is a good choice if you want more storage for less money and primarily plan to use the drive for backups or archived files.
If you want something smaller and faster
An SSD is faster than a traditional hard drive and has no moving parts. This one includes USB-C connectivity, which makes it convenient for newer Macs.
You do not need both. Think of these as two different choices: more inexpensive storage with the Seagate, or a smaller and faster drive with the ORICO.
Neat Freak Tech Tip: An external drive does not automatically make your Mac faster. It can help if you use it to move large files you do not need stored on your Mac every day, freeing up internal storage. Just make sure important files exist in more than one place before deleting the original.
How to Speed Up Your Mac With a Simple Cleanup
Start with the basics.
You do not need to start deleting system files or installing special cleanup software. Most Mac performance cleanups begin with things you can easily see and understand: storage, applications, startup items, browser activity and software updates.
Work through these one at a time.
1. Restart Your Mac
Yes, start with the easy one.
If you are someone who closes the lid of your MacBook every night but rarely actually restarts it, give your Mac a restart before doing anything else.
Go to:
Apple menu → Restart
Restarting closes running processes and gives macOS a fresh start.
This is not a substitute for the rest of the cleanup, but sometimes it fixes a surprising amount by itself.
Neat Freak Tech Tip: Restarting your Mac is different from simply closing the lid of your MacBook.
2. Check How Much Storage You Have Left
One of the first things I check on a slow Mac is storage.
Go to:
Apple menu → System Settings → General → Storage
Your Mac will show you how its storage is being used, including applications, documents, photos and system data.
Pay particular attention if your drive is getting very full. It can take a while for this to come up and finish filling in all the numbers you need to see if your Mac is super slow.
On some MacOS versions, Mac will give you a Recommendations list that you can dig into, but if you don't see it, don't worry - I cover it here.
What if you actually need those files?
Cleaning up your Mac does not mean deleting everything!
If you have years of photos, completed client projects, videos or other large files that you want to keep but do not need sitting on your Mac every day, moving them to an external drive can be a better solution.
Neat Freak Tech Tip: If you move files to an external drive to free up space, confirm the files copied correctly before deleting them from your Mac. For anything important, keep a second backup somewhere else too.
3. Clean Out Your Downloads Folder
For many people, Downloads becomes the digital version of the junk drawer in the kitchen.
You download a PDF, an installer, a ZIP file or an attachment - and then it stays there indefinitely.
Open:
Finder → Downloads
Switch to List view and sort by Size or Date Modified.
Look for things like:
old software installers (PKG or DMG files)
PDFs you no longer need
ZIP files
photos you have already saved elsewhere
duplicate attachments
files from old projects
Delete files you recognize and no longer need.
Move anything important into the folder where it actually belongs.
Be careful here
Do not delete something just because you do not recognize the filename.
When in doubt, open it first.
4. Uninstall Apps You No Longer Use
Your Applications folder is worth reviewing periodically.
Open:
Finder → Applications
Look for applications you installed for one project, an old printer, a meeting platform you stopped using, software you tested once or an app you have replaced with something else.
If you know you no longer use an application, uninstall it.
Some apps can simply be moved to the Trash. Others - particularly security software, specialized utilities - may have their own uninstall process.
Do not start deleting unfamiliar Apple apps
The goal is not to remove everything you do not immediately recognize.
Stick with applications you know you installed and know you no longer need.
5. Check What Opens When You Log In
This is one of my favorite Mac cleanup steps because unnecessary startup software can quietly pile up over time.
Go to:
Apple menu → System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions
Look at Open at Login.
You may find apps that launch every single time your Mac starts even though you rarely use them.
Use the - (minus) sign to remove the ones that do not need to open automatically. You may be asked to enter your Mac password.
Then look at the apps allowed to run in the background using App Background Activity. Use the slider to turn off the ones you don't need. Backup, syncing and security software often have a legitimate reason to stay active if you are still using the tools, so do not randomly turn everything off.
Instead, ask:
Does this app really need to be running all day?
If you do not know what something is, check before changing it.
6. See Which Apps Are Using the Most CPU
Instead of guessing what is slowing your Mac down, take a look at what it is actually doing.
Open Spotlight and search for:
Activity Monitor
Then click the CPU tab.
Click the % CPU column to see which applications and processes are using the most processor power.
If an application you recognize is consistently using a lot of CPU when it should not be doing much, try closing and reopening it.
If the problem keeps happening, check for an update.
A word of caution
Activity Monitor includes many processes with strange-looking names. A lot of them belong to macOS. Do not start force-quitting processes just because you do not recognize them.
7. Check Your Memory Pressure
While you are in Activity Monitor, click:
Memory
At the bottom of the window, look for Memory Pressure.
This gives you a better picture of whether your Mac is struggling with available memory.
In general:
Green means your Mac is handling its memory well.
Yellow can mean your Mac is starting to work harder to manage memory.
Red may mean your Mac does not have enough available memory for everything you are asking it to do.
If your memory pressure is regularly yellow or red, look at which applications are using the most memory.
Browsers can be a major contributor. Which brings us to the next step.
8. Clean Up Your Browser
Sometimes your Mac is not actually the main problem.
Your browser is.
If you regularly keep dozens - or hundreds - of tabs open, all of that activity can add up.
Take a few minutes to:
close tabs you no longer need
bookmark pages you actually want to keep
remove browser extensions you no longer use
uninstall extensions you do not recognize
close old browser windows
restart the browser
If you use several browsers, check each one.
Are You Keeping Tabs Open Because You Don't Want to Log In Again?
This is something I see pretty often when I help people clean up their Macs.
They are not necessarily keeping 40 browser tabs open because they need all 40 websites at once. Sometimes they are afraid that if they close a tab, they will have to log back in - and they are not sure they remember the password.
If this sounds familiar, a password manager may be a better solution than keeping websites open indefinitely.
I recommend 1Password. It can securely store your passwords and help fill them in when you return to a website, so you do not have to rely on an open browser tab to stay signed in.
It also gives you a much better place to keep passwords than sticky notes, notebooks or trying to remember which version of a password you used.
Neat Freak Tech Tip: You do not have to move every password into a password manager in one afternoon. Start with the websites you use most often and build from there.
You don't have to erase everything
You don't need to constantly clear your entire browser history, cookies and saved website data just to maintain your Mac.
That can also sign you out of websites and remove useful settings.
Start with the easier cleanup: tabs and extensions.
Then, if staying logged in is what has been keeping those tabs open, consider setting up a password manager so you can confidently close them.
9. Empty the Trash - After Checking It
Deleting a file normally moves it to the Trash. It does not necessarily remove it from your drive right away. After cleaning out Downloads, old apps and unnecessary files, your Trash may contain quite a bit of data.
Open it first. Make sure you are not about to permanently delete something important.
Then empty it.
Control-click Trash → Empty Trash
My rule here is simple:
Review first. Empty second.
Before Step 10: Restart Your Mac Again
You already restarted at the beginning, so why do it again?
Because you have now made several changes.
You may have closed apps, removed startup items, cleaned up browser tabs, emptied the Trash and stopped some background activity. Restarting now lets macOS start fresh with those changes in place.
It also helps clear temporary processes and memory that may still be hanging around from before the cleanup.
Think of the first restart as your starting point and this one as your reset after cleanup.
Go to:
Apple menu → Restart
Once your Mac starts back up, use it for a minute and see how it feels before moving on to software updates.
Then continue with:
10. Update macOS and Your Apps
Now that you have cleaned things up and restarted your Mac, check for software updates.
Start with macOS:
Apple menu → System Settings → General → Software Update
If an update is available, review it and install it when you have time to let your Mac restart if needed.
Then check the apps you use most often.
For apps from the App Store:
App Store → Updates
Other apps may have their own update option inside the app itself, usually under the app name, Help, or Check for Updates.
Keeping both macOS and your regularly used apps current can help with performance, compatibility, bug fixes and security.
Use the Mac Cleanup Checklist
If you do not want to remember all 10 steps, I created a simple 10-Point Mac Cleanup Checklist that goes with this article.
It covers:
Restarting your Mac
Checking available storage
Cleaning your Downloads folder
Removing unused apps
Reviewing login items
Checking CPU usage
Checking memory pressure
Cleaning up your browser
Reviewing and emptying the Trash
Updating macOS and your apps
Each item includes Yes, No and Not Sure so you can quickly see where your Mac may need attention.
Want to Speed Up Your Mac? Start With the Basics
You do not need to download a mysterious cleanup utility or start deleting things from hidden system folders to speed up your Mac.
Start with the things you can identify:
Storage. Downloads. Applications. Startup items. Browser tabs. Software updates.
Use Activity Monitor when you want to see what is actually using your Mac's resources instead of guessing.
And remember that a cleanup is also useful because it helps you figure out whether your Mac simply needs maintenance or whether something else may actually be wrong.
If your Mac is still consistently slow after working through these steps, the cause could be an individual application, a syncing problem, limited memory, a nearly full drive, older hardware or another issue that needs a closer look.
If this is the case for you, I recommend CompRite NWT in Lake Oswego off State Street. Damon has taken good care of people I have sent to him, so I will keep recommending him if you are local to the Lake Oswego area!
A Final Neat Freak Tech Rule
Do not delete something just because you do not recognize it.
Cleaning up a Mac should mean removing things you know you do not need - not trying to make every unfamiliar file, process or application disappear.
When you are not sure what something is, stop and check first.
That is a much safer way to clean up your Mac - and usually a much more effective one too.
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Product recommendations are included because they are relevant to the topic and may be useful when backing up, archiving or connecting storage devices to your Mac.
