How to clean and organize your Mac

The more time uses anything, your mac included, the more crowded it is likely to turn. A solution is to update to a new machine, but the cheapest movement is to make what has already worked better. To help your computer feel almost as new, or at least cleaner and less chaotic, we assemble this guide with useful techniques and applications that have helped us maintain a more civilized computer. I have been using these tips since I published this guide in 2021 for the first time, and they have helped maintain my 2018 Macbook Air Search and in operation (almost) like new.

How to clean the screen and body of your Mac

While there are many products especially made to help you clean your computer, I have found that the simplest approach works best, and is the only one Apple recommends. To start, you need some water in a spray bottle and a clean microfiber fabric. You can use regular or distilled water; The advantage of the latter is that they are much less likely to leave waste in their MAC, particularly on the screen. You can buy distilled water in a grocery store or Do it yourself with some simple kitchen utensils. Anyway, it is more affordable than dedicated cleaning solutions. If you still have no microfiber fabric, amazon <a target="_blank" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=66ea567a-c987-4c2e-a2ff-02904efde6ea&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&contentUuid=c57bbd6e-3461-4780-b110-739b386130e2&featureId=text-link&merchantName=amazon&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL2RwL0IwMDlGVUY2RE0_dGFnPWdkZ3QwYy0yMCIsImNvbnRlbnRVdWlkIjoiYzU3YmJkNmUtMzQ2MS00NzgwLWIxMTAtNzM5YjM4NjEzMGUyIiwib3JpZ2luYWxVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL2RwL0IwMDlGVUY2RE0iLCJkeW5hbWljQ2VudHJhbFRyYWNraW5nSWQiOnRydWUsInNpdGVJZCI6InVzLWVuZ2FkZ2V0IiwicGFnZUlkIjoiMXAtYXV0b2xpbmsiLCJmZWF0dXJlSWQiOiJ0ZXh0LWxpbmsifQ&signature=AQAAAZw3NyixjwPcrsoOM55fI1ay1IvyiYO81ncAwRVLOJjl&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB009FUF6DM” class=”rapid-with-clickid”>Sells 24 affordable packages You can get around $ 11.

Another product that I have found that can facilitate work is a <a target="_blank" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=66ea567a-c987-4c2e-a2ff-02904efde6ea&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&contentUuid=c57bbd6e-3461-4780-b110-739b386130e2&featureId=text-link&merchantName=amazon&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL2dwL3Byb2R1Y3QvQjAwMDE3TFNQSS8_dGFnPWdkZ3QwYy0yMCIsImNvbnRlbnRVdWlkIjoiYzU3YmJkNmUtMzQ2MS00NzgwLWIxMTAtNzM5YjM4NjEzMGUyIiwib3JpZ2luYWxVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL2dwL3Byb2R1Y3QvQjAwMDE3TFNQSS8iLCJkeW5hbWljQ2VudHJhbFRyYWNraW5nSWQiOnRydWUsInNpdGVJZCI6InVzLWVuZ2FkZ2V0IiwicGFnZUlkIjoiMXAtYXV0b2xpbmsiLCJmZWF0dXJlSWQiOiJ0ZXh0LWxpbmsifQ&signature=AQAAAW5eQ15DiBY4pM5MJyD4-U-x-P3FNPBzYRlL4DR39eu7&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB00017LSPI%2F” class=”rapid-with-clickid”>Giottos rocket blower. I can't say enough good things about this little tool. It will prevent you from buying expensive cans and compressed air waste.

As for the cleaning process of your MAC, the most important advice to remember is to start with a clean cloth (that is part of the reason we recommend buying them in bulk). You will save time and frustration in this way. Start turning off your computer and disconnecting it. If you bought a rocket blower, use it now to remove any dust. If not, take a dry microfiber cloth and check your computer. Have special care around the keys, especially if you have an older MAC with a butterfly keyboard.

Then, cushion one side of your cleaning with water. Never spray any liquid directly on your computer. You will have more control in this way and avoid obtaining moisture in the internal parts of your Mac. The screen always cleanses first, since the last thing I want to do is create more work for myself by transferring dirt from another part of my computer to the screen.

The last step is to polish and polish your computer with the dry side of the fabric. Be a gentle here, since you don't want to scratch the screen or any other part. That's all. Your Mac should be seen again.

How to organize your hard drive

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

One of the most difficult parts to clean the hard drive of your MAC is to know where to start. After all, most of us have applications on our computers that we don't even remember to have installed first. The good news is that Macos comes with a tool to help him with that exact problem.

Navigate System configuration > General > Storage. Here you will find a tool that separates its storage into broad categories such as “applications”, “documents”, “music”, “photos”, etc. Double click on an element of the list, such as applications, to see the last time you used an application and how much space is occupying. You can delete applications of the same window.

The application section is particularly useful, since you can see the last time you used a program, as well as if the operating system no longer supports it or if it is outdated thanks to a more recent version.

You do not need to tell you to uninstall the programs that you do not use, but what you may not know is that there is a better way to erase them than to simply drag them into the garbage can. A free program called Appleaner It will help you track any file and folders that would be left behind if only to delete an application.

After deleting any application you do not need, move to the documents section. The name is something misleading here, since you will find more than only text files and Excel spreadsheets. The documents, in this case, turn out to be the term of catching everything from the tool for a variety of files, including those that occupy a lot of space. You can also safely eliminate any DMGS (Disc Image Archips with the .DMG extension) for which you have installed the related application. The other sections in the storage space explain themselves. The only thing I will mention is that if you have been using an iPhone for a while, there is a good possibility that you have the back of old iOS stored on your computer. You can also remove them safely.

Tips and tricks to keep a desk and an orderly search engine

Let's start with the menu bar. It may not be part of the desk technically, but one ordered can contribute largely to make everything else look less messy. My recommendation here is to download an application called Bartender. At first glance, it is a simple program that allows you to hide unwanted menu elements behind a three -point icon. However, Bartender's strength is that you get many customization options. For example, you can establish a trigger that will automatically move the battery status icon from the hiding place when your computer is not connected to a power outlet.

While we are on the subject of the menu bar, take a second to navigate to the system Settings > General > Login items And look at all the applications that start when your system starts. You can accelerate your system by reducing this list only to the programs you use frequently.

When it comes to the desk itself, the best advice is less is more. Nothing will make your computer look like a messy disorder rather than an occupied desk. Folders and batteries can help, but for most people, I suspect that part of the problem is that they use their desk as a way of finding files that are important to them.

If you have ever had problems finding a specific file or folder on your computer, try to use your MAC labeling capabilities in place. Start to open the Finder configuration menu (Domain + + ,) and click on the Tags eyelash. You can use the default provided by macOS or do your own. Drag those who believe it will use the favorite areas at the bottom of the preferences. This will do it to be easily accessible when you want to use them. To add a label to a file or folder, click on it while holding the CTRL key and select the one you want in the drop -down menu. You can also label a file while working on it inside an application. Keep in mind that you can apply several labels to a single file or folder, and you can even apply them to applications.

What makes the labels so useful in macOS is that they can appear in the sidebar of the search engine window, and can be easily searching directly with fixing or using Siri. Whenever you have a system to organize your files, even a simple one, it will be easier to track them. As an example, I like to apply an Engadget label to any file related to my work. I will add an “important” label if it is critical and I want to find quickly.

A tool that can help overcome the experience of your search engine is Alfred. It is effectively a more powerful version of Apple's Spotlight function. Among other things, you can use Alfred to find and start applications quickly. There is a little learning curve, but once you get used to, Alfred will change the way you use your Mac for better.

How to organize its windows and eyelashes

If you have used Macos and Windows 10, you will know that Apple's operating system does not come with the best window administration tools. You can click and save the full -screen green button to place a window to the left or right side of your screen, but that is all and the function has always felt less precise than your Windows counterpart.

My suggestion is to download an application that replicates the Windows 10 adjustment function. It has several competitive options that more or less offer the same functionality. My option is a $ 5 program called Magnet. If you want a free alternative, see Rectangle. Another option is Bettersnaptoolwhich offers more functionality than Magnet but does not have such a clean interface. The three applications give you many more ways to configure your windows than what you get through the tool built into macOS. They also come with direct access support, which means that you can quickly configure your windows and get to work.

This article originally appeared in Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/how-to-co-Your-mac-macbook-cleaning-supplies-digital-organization-153007592.html?src=rsss