You'd be surprised at how quickly your computer can get clogged with unnecessary junk. Whether it's outdated downloads, unused programs, or just messy folder structures, keeping things neat and organized will not only give you peace of mind, it'll free up your drive space, improve navigation, and potentially benefit performance.

It's clear, then, that keeping your computer organized and free of junk is vital. But how do you go about doing that? To help you out, we've rounded up all the ways to keep your Windows 10 or Windows 11 system tidy.

1. Remove Duplicate Files

It doesn't take long to build up countless files on your computer—personal photos, school essays, work documents, and so on. The more data you store, the more likely it is that you hold duplicates. Windows doesn't warn you of duplicate data. You could hold the same photo across multiple folders, for example, and be none the wiser.

Storing duplicate data on your drive is a waste of space. If you're storing duplicate data on a single drive in an attempt to create a backup, you need to stop doing this. Your backup must be stored on a separate storage solution from your primary drive to achieve redundancy—otherwise, if the drive fails, you lose all copies of the data. Ideally, the backup should be off-site on another device; you could back up your system to the cloud to achieve this.

On top of duplicates, you may have similar data. This could take the form of text documents that only differ in a few lines, or images that have minor alterations. Providing you don't need these for version control, it's time to give your drive a clean and tidy up your folders.

There are various free tools you can use to find and remove duplicate files. One of the best is dupeGuru. It scans all your files by their name or content to find duplicates, including fuzzy matches (where the files are similar, but not the same). Once the scan finishes, which usually only takes a few minutes, you can then clear out what you don't need.

2. Automatically Delete Unused Data

Windows offers several features to help you automatically keep your data in check. To access them, press Windows key + I to open Settings and go to System > Storage.

From this page, both Windows 10 and Windows 11 include a facility called Storage Sense. On Windows 10, click Configure Storage Sense or run it now. On Windows 11, click Storage Sense.

windows 11 storage sense

From here, you can enable and configure Storage Sense. It can automatically clean up temporary system and app files, along with removing files from your Recycle Bin and Downloads folder after a set number of days. You can also run Storage Sense manually from this page, either instead of or as well as the automatic scheduled cleanup.

windows 11 cleanup recommendations

Windows 11 also provides general cleanup recommendations. Return to the Storage page and click Cleanup recommendations. Here, open each category (Temporary files, Large or unused files, Files synced to the cloud, and Unused apps) in turn to see the suggested data to remove. It's best to check these recommendations periodically.

3. Uninstall Unwanted Programs

Have you ever gone through your programs and wondered why you installed some of them? If you can't remember the last time you used them, it's probably best that you uninstall them and clear some space. Plus, some of those unwanted programs might be automatically launching on Windows startup and slowing down your system.

If you use Windows 11, you should still do this even if you've used the cleanup recommendations tool, since that only accounts for apps.

To uninstall a program on Windows:

  1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
  2. Select Apps > Apps & features.
  3. On Windows 10, select a program. On Windows 11, click the three vertical dots.
  4. Click Uninstall.
windows 11 apps and features

To get a better sense of what it might be wise to remove, use the Sort by dropdown to organize by Size and Installation date.

If you have a lot that you wish to uninstall, consider using a tool to uninstall Windows programs in bulk. A good, free option for this is Absolute Uninstaller, which lets you select what you want to uninstall and process that action in a single click.

absolute uninstaller

If you're unsure what you should remove, try a tool called Should I Remove It?, which scans all programs on your system and lets you know how often other people remove them and how they rate them. It's a way to gauge unsavory programs, like adware or bloatware.

4. Manage Your Folders

It's all well and good to ditch useless data and clean up your hard drive, but it's pointless if your folders are unorganized. It's essential that you follow Windows file management techniques, like using a consistent naming convention, pinning often-accessed folders, and archiving old folders.

To assist with your folder management, consider a program like DropIt. This automatically sorts your files into folders based on rules you define and can perform actions based on file type.

You may even want to move away from the Windows File Manager. There are plenty of free alternatives to Windows File Manager, which you can use to browse and manage your files and folders.

5. Clear Out Your Browser

As you surf online, your browser tracks your history and builds a cache. This cache is useful for pages you often visit because the browser doesn't need to download everything fresh. However, the cache can quickly get unwieldy, storing data that has long passed its usefulness.

Clearing Firefox cache

Each browser also lets you automatically clear cache, which avoids you needing to manually repeat the process. The process is slightly different depending on your browser, so refer to one of our guides:

Keep Your System Clean All Year Round

It's easy for your computer to get bogged down with useless junk quickly, but use our advice above and you can automate the cleaning process. Your productivity and storage space will thank you.

Once you've taken care of the data, don't forget to give your computer or laptop a physical clean too! Dust builds up just as quickly as digital debris.