Summary If you want your MacBook Air/Pro, iMac, or Mac mini to perform just like new, you need to clean up your storage drive regularly. “Other” storage is the place to find all the unwanted files, such as caches, junks, logs, dmg files, etc. And cleaning “Other” storage on Mac is 100% possible through the methods shared in this blog.
You can even try out SpeedUp Mac software to clean up your Mac storage (including unwanted files present in the Other storage) without worrying about where to locate and what to delete.
What is Other storage in Mac?
When you navigate to the Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage tab, you’ll find a bar containing different file categories shown in color—such as Apps, Documents, Music, Pictures, etc. The last category in grey is “Other,” which estimates the storage space used by files that don’t fit any category.
Should I clean Other storage on Mac?
Other storage present in your Mac hard drive or SSD contains uncategorized files—out of which, many are for a temporary purpose, such as temp files, caches, logs, trashes, leftovers, dmg files, etc. So, if you clean the rubbish present in the Other storage, you’ll increase free space on your Mac disk, thereby boosting your Mac’s performance.
Is it safe to clean Mac’s Other storage?
Yes, it is safe to clean Other storage. But you should be on the safer side by backing up your Mac using Time Machine before you remove anything from the Other storage. Backup ensures you can restore the essential files that you have accidentally deleted from the Other storage. Cleaning the Other storage without losing any valuable files is crucial. So, you should remove only those files that you know are unwanted. In case you don’t know about any file, don’t remove it. Also always pick the best & trusted clean-up software for safe and secure cleaning of your Mac systems.
How to clean Other storage?
You can clean Other storage on Mac by using the following methods:
1. Using Finder
The steps to use Finder to access and remove unwanted files from Other storage are as follows:
a) In the Finder window, go to the Menu bar > Go.
b) Press the Option key, then select Library.
c) Find the Other storage in this hidden Library folder.
d) Check the folders that contain unwanted files.
e) Drag and drop the files to trash, then empty Trash.
You can access the specific folder inside Other storage to delete caches, logs, temporary files, unneeded downloads, etc.
To remove caches, perform the following:
a) In the Finder window, navigate to the Menu bar > Go > Go to Folder.
b) In the text box, type /Library/Caches, then click Go.
c) Remove the unwanted caches from the Caches folder present in the Other storage.
d) Also, remove user caches from ~/Library/Caches using the above steps.
Also Read: How to Remove Caches from Mac?
To remove logs, perform the following:
a) In the text box of Go to Folder, type ~/Library/Logs, then click Go.
b) Remove the unwanted logs from the logs folder present in the Other storage.
To remove temporary files, perform the following:
a) In the text box of Go to Folder, type ~/Library/Application Support and click Go.
b) Remove the unwanted temporary files from the Application Support present in Other storage.
To remove unneeded downloads, perform the following:
a) In the Finder window, go to the Menu bar > Go.
b) Select Downloads from the menu.
c) Find and remove the large old files from the Downloads folder present in the Other storage.
2. Using Storage Management App
The steps to clean Other storage on your Mac using the Storage Management app are as follows:
a) Navigate to Apple menu > About This Mac.
b) Click the Storage tab, then click Manage.
c) Click the Reduce Clutter button to remove unwanted files from Other storage.
d) From the list of recommendations shown in the left pane, perform the suggested task.
3. Using Mac Disk Clean Up Software
Besides the Storage Management app and Finder method, you can use third-party software meant for Mac drive cleaning and resolving Mac Other storage problem. A clean-up software can help you remove unwanted files, such as caches, logs, trashes, leftovers, and other junk files present on your Other storage space. The steps to clean up your Mac are as follows:
a) Download and install *SpeedUp Mac software on your MacBook Air/Pro, Mac mini, or iMac.
b) Provide full disk access permission to the software if your Mac runs on macOS Mojave or later.
c) Launch the Mac clean-up tool. The software opens with the Speed Up tab open.
d) Select the boot volume from the left pane, then click the Scan button from the right.
e) Allow the software to perform a complete scan of your disk drive.
f) After the scan completion, unselect the required scanned files present in the Other folder.
g) Click the CleanUp Now button to start the clean-up task from the Other storage.
The *SpeedUp Mac tool is free for 30 days, and you can use all its features without any restriction. And, when the free trial time is about to be complete, you can get a 1-year subscription plan to continue using the software.
Conclusion
We hope the blog helped you clean Other storage in Mac. The native method to clean Other storage is easy but tedious. So, you can try SpeedUp Mac software to perform the clean-up task with a click of a button. You can even schedule the clean-up task to automate the Mac optimization task. This way, you can spend your time on Mac more fruitfully.
