Freeing up space on a storage drive can seem like a daunting task. You may be concerned about deleting certain files, just in case you ever need them again, which is understandable. Luckily, Windows has some nifty built-in features that can help you free up space without losing any of your important files. These tips can have you freeing up space in a matter of minutes in most cases.

Of course, these are only going to buy you some time, and you will likely still need to look into upgrading your storage. However, with the current prices of SSDs, upgrading your storage doesn't need to be a costly endeavor.

7 Compress files and folders

One of the lesser-known functions of Windows 10 and 11 is the ability to compress files, folders, and even a whole drive. Of course, you have to make sure they are using the NTFS file system, and this will reduce the overall performance as the system will have to uncompress every single file or app before you can use it later. This should only be used if you are in desperate need of a bit of extra storage ASAP.

1. Right-click the folder or drive you want to compress and select Properties.
2. Click the Advanced button.
3. Select Compress contents to save disk space.
4. Click Apply.
5. Check Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files and click OK.
6. If asked to provide administrator privileges, click Continue.

This will now compress the folder or drive that you chose. The larger the folder or drive size, the longer it will take to compress, and you could even be looking at well over 10 hours to compress a full drive if this is what you are trying to do.

6 Disk Clean-up

This is a great way to clean up some files quite easily. Using Disk Clean-up you can delete temporary internet files, empty your recycling bin, and even delete unneeded thumbnails. This can be a great place to start when you need to free up some space.

1. Hit the Windows key on your keyboard, type Disk Clean-up, and select it.
2. Select all the file types you want to delete. Click OK then click Delete Files on the popup that should appear.
3. Open Disk Clean-up again and click Clean up system files.
4. Select all the file types you want to delete. Click OK then click Delete Files on the popup that should appear.

5 Storage Sense

Storage Sense offers an easy way to get rid of old and unwanted files to help ensure your Windows is running smoothly. It can delete temporary system and app files automatically, and even has some features that kick in when disk space is low. You can configure it to run when storage is low or every day, week, or month, depending on your preferences.

1. Hit the Windows key on your keyboard, type storage and click Storage settings.
2. Make sure Storage sense is turned on and click the > to the right of the on/off toggle.
3. Under the Cleanup of temporary files, make sure that Keep Windows running smoothly by automatically cleaning up temporary system and app files is selected.
4. Under Automatic User content cleanup, make sure the on/off toggle is On.
5. Under Configure cleanup schedules, choose your preferred settings for Run Storage Sense, Delete files in my recycle bin if they have been there for over, and Delete files in my Downloads folder if they haven't been opened for more than.
6. Click Run Storage Sense now.

4 Cleanup recommendations

This is a great way to reclaim space on your laptop or PC on Windows 11. It will automatically tell you which files or programs you might want to remove to free up some space. It includes some large files and also lets you know which files you have locally on your PC that are also already backed up in the cloud so that you could safely delete them from your system, as well as a couple of other easy suggestions to free up space.

1. Hit the Windows key on your keyboard, type storage, and click Storage settings.
2. Click on Cleanup recommendations.
3. Click on Temporary Files, select the files you want to delete, and click Clean up.
4. Click Large or unused files, select the files you want to get rid of, and click Clean up.
5. Do the same for both Files synced to the cloud and Unused apps. Click the dropdown menu and select what you want to get rid of and click Clean Up for each one. You may also notice there is nothing there, which is normal too.

3 Delete temporary files

Manually deleting temporary files is a quick and easy way to free up some storage space. Some of the other options in this article include this as well, but this is how to do it manually and on its own.

Any time you see a prompt about deleting downloads, be warned that this is your Downloads folder on your PC and will delete everything inside it. Make sure there is nothing inside you want saved or else you will lose it.

1. Hit the Windows key on your keyboard, type storage, and click Storage settings.
2. Click Temporary Files.
3. Select any and all files you want to delete and click Remove files.

2 Delete or Uninstall unused apps and games

For most, this will be the easiest way to free up the biggest amount of space on your storage device, especially if you've never done this before. Not only can you uninstall the apps and games you've installed, but there are also some preinstalled Windows apps you can uninstall as well, while you're at it.

1. Hit the Windows key on your keyboard, type storage, and click Storage settings.
2. You will now want to look at the list of installed apps, find the one you want to uninstall, click the three dots on the right, and click Uninstall.
3. A popup will show confirming the app will be uninstalled, then click Uninstall.

   From here, you will likely have to click Yes/Continue/Uninstall again depending on the app you are trying to uninstall. It could be once, it could be multiple times. Just make sure to read the popups as they appear and choose the option to continue the uninstallation.

1 Move files and folders to another drive

This is my favorite solution. I have no problem deleting unused apps, but I like to keep all my photos, videos, and other files just in case. There are several ways you can accomplish this, most of which are quite easy. If you have another drive on your device, you can just copy the files over to it. If you have an external drive of some type, plug it in and drag the files over to move them offboard. It is as simple as copying and pasting the files onto the new drive. Once your files are on the new drive, you may need to delete them from the original drive. Just make sure to double-check they have transferred to the new drive before you delete them.

If you have a Network Attached Storage (NAS), you can copy the files over to this as well. Using a NAS, you can also create backups of all your files. Not only can this help to free up space, but it will ensure your files are safe and secure, which is a bonus. NAS devices are worth their weight in gold and are quickly becoming a must-have for most users. One of the great features is being able to connect all your devices to it over your network, meaning you don't need to physically move it to access it from multiple PCs. If you don't have a NAS but have multiple devices in the house, it is well worth looking into.

Do I really need free space on my storage?

Yes, you most certainly do! However, how much space you need is up to you, but it is recommended to keep at least 10% of your drive's capacity free at all times. If you have less than this, your storage can enter the red zone and start to slow down. This is more prevalent in hard drives but still also something to be wary of when it comes to SSDs. If you can keep more than 10% open, this is advisable as you never know when Windows or your favorite programs or games may have an update and need some extra space.

As mentioned, there are quite a few options that will help to manage your storage automatically. This is great, but I am a big advocate of double-checking and doing things manually so that you retain full control and can double-check what files and apps are being deleted. It's always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your files!