How to Clean Up Your Mac and Make It Run Smoother

Is your Mac running slow? Do you find yourself waiting for minutes just for a simple task to complete? If so, it's likely due to a buildup of cluttered files and resource-hungry applications. In this article, we'll show you some simple steps to clean up your Mac and boost its performance.

Step 1: Clear Out Your Cache Folder

Start by clicking on the 'Library' folder and finding the 'Cache' folder. From there, select all files and send them to the trash. You can verify that this has cleaned out your cache by opening Activity Monitor and clicking on the Memory tab.

Step 2: Close Unnecessary Applications

Leaving thirsty web apps like Google Drive, Facebook, and Gmail open is a bad idea. Additionally, having multiple tabs open at once can slow down your Mac. Consider removing any non-essential browser extensions to speed things up.

Step 3: Limit Browser Extensions and Tabs

If you're using Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or another browser, consider removing any non-essential extensions. This will help reduce CPU and memory usage while browsing. You'll also get longer battery life on your MacBook and snappier performance compared to other browsers.

Step 4: Identify Resource-Hungry Applications

To find an app that's stressing your processor, click the CPU tab in Activity Monitor and arrange the '% CPU' column in descending order. This will show you which apps are using the most CPU resources. You can then select an app and click on the 'X' in the top-left corner to quit it.

Step 5: Close Thirsty Apps

Apps like Steam often run by default in the background, sapping resources. Get into the habit of closing thirsty apps like Photoshop or Excel when you're not using them. This will help free up memory and CPU resources for other applications.

By following these simple steps, you can clean up your Mac and make it run smoother than ever before. Remember to regularly maintain your Mac's performance by closing unnecessary applications and clearing out cluttered files.

Mac running slow how to clean up