A Complete Guide to Cleaning a Mac

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Are you looking for ways to improve your Mac’s functionality and production? Are you tired of getting midway through a project and having your Mac’s speed slow down? If so, then you need to learn all that you can about cleaning a Mac.

Doing so will help you in a variety of ways. By cleaning and optimizing your Mac computers, you can guarantee a higher level of productivity. Not to mention that your desktop will be more organized and tidy.

See below for an in-depth guide on how to clean a Mac and get it ready for your next big project.

Perform a Software Update

Perhaps you’ve noticed lately that your Mac has slowed down with any function you ask of it. Maybe it seems as if your Mac’s production slowed down almost overnight. Surprisingly enough, that might literally be what happened.

To try and avoid installing updates during the workday, your Apple products will try to perform system and software updates at night. We’ve all seen the button that says “download tonight” on it.

However, those system updates might not have been able to be installed if your Mac lacks the proper room for it.

Generally, apple products (especially Macs and Macbooks) are pretty insistent when you have a software update that hasn’t been installed. There will literally be a notification on your screen that reasons “Updates Not Installed”. This is a sign that you need to free up some storage.

To see where you can cut the fat from your computer’s storage, check on the storage breakdown by hitting the Apple icon at the top left corner, then going to “About this Mac” and clicking on the “storage” tab.

Use that information to decide what files you can delete or move to a USB drive. Once you’ve cleared up some space, reupdate the software and you should notice a significant boost in speed.

Clear Out Your Caches

When looking at the breakdown of your Mac’s storage in the step above, did you notice a sizeable portion of your store dedicated to “other”? What does that “other” entail? Why doesn’t it have a name?

Generally, that “other” is referring to prompts that your system has, such as caches. Caches, for those of you that are unfamiliar with the term, are temporary forms of data that your Mac stores to keep the processing speed at an ideal level.

That’s a tremendous tool to have, but here’s the issue: those caches add up quickly. Your Mac catches (pun intended) them from your browser, your system, and even the way you use your Mac.

The good news is that you can always remove them. Simply open up finder and click on “Go”, then “Go to Folder”. In the search bar, type in “~/Library/Caches”, then clear up the caches that you find in the collection, as you see fit.

Once you’ve deleted those caches (and double-checked to ensure you didn’t delete any folders), empty your trash bin. You should see an uptick in performance right away.

For more details on how to clean out your caches, as well as other ways to clean up your Mac, be sure to visit this link for the best way to clean Mac computers.

Purge Those Applications

To be honest, you use very few of the applications that you’ve downloaded from the App Store. We’re all guilty of it. We download “HouseParty” one time to catch up with friends, then never use it (and other apps like it) again.

Here’s the bad news: those apps are eating away at your memory. The more functional the app, the more of your storage that it will require.

To find the top culprits for your computer, be sure to open Finder, click on “Applications”, then “Utilities”, then “Activity Monitor”. Once you’re there, click on the memory key and CPU prompt.

You can reorganize this list to see what apps you don’t use that are requiring the most memory, then delete them forever.

Delete the Copycats

Duplications happen all the time with files. Sometimes you duplicate a file for storage purposes, other times it’s by accident. Whatever the reasoning, you’ll want to dedicate some time every so often to delete them.

Fortunately, it isn’t as hard to find them as you might think. There are several apps in the App Store that can help scan your computer for duplicates, almost like hiring a Private Investigator for your computer.

The app will find duplicates, bring them to your attention, and then allow you to delete them as you see fit. So long, copycats!

Organize Your Files

Some of you are wondering why your Mac is operating so slowly while looking at a desktop full of individual files without a home. Believe it or not, that can affect your Mac’s performance as well.

If you want to clean your Mac efficiently, then find a home for all your files. Open and create folders to ensure that every file has its place.

Most people never do this because they’re afraid they won’t be able to locate the file if they forget what folder they placed it in. Lucky for you, Finder would be able to locate it for you in mere seconds.

Dedicate Time to Cleaning a Mac the Right Way

Now that you have seen an in-depth guide on cleaning a mac the correct way, be sure to use this information to your advantage.

Be sure to browse our website for more articles on cleaning and optimizing your Mac, as well as many other topics that you will enjoy.