8 Simple Ways To Clean Up Your Windows 11/10 PC

To ensure your Windows 10 or 11 PC continues to run smoothly, you should clean up your PC on a regular basis. Cleaning a PC basically involves getting rid of unwanted files, adjusting the startup programs list, and defragging the drives.

In both Windows 10 and 11 operating systems, you have built-in tools to clean up your system. You can also manually clear your unwanted folders and files if you want.

Remove Unwanted Apps To Clean Up Your PC

If you have any unused apps sitting on your PC, it’s best to remove them to clear your storage space. You can do so using the Settings app on both Windows 10 and 11.

1. Open the Settings app on your PC by pressing Windows + I keys at the same time.
2. Select Apps on the Settings screen.

3. Find the app that you’d like to remove and select that app.
4. Select Uninstall in the section that opens for your app.

5. Choose Uninstall in the prompt that opens to remove the selected app.

6. Your app should now be removed.

Follow the above process for each app that you want to uninstall on your computer.

Use Disk Cleanup to Clean Up Your Windows 10/11 PC

Disk Cleanup is a built-in tool in Windows that you can use to find and delete unwanted files from your system. This tool automatically scans for junk files and helps you get rid of them.

1. Open the Start menu, search for Disk Cleanup, and select Disk Cleanup in the search results.

2. Choose the drive you’d like to clean up and select OK.

3. Wait for Disk Cleanup to analyze the selected drive.
4. On the Disk Cleanup window, choose the files that you’d like to let go from your computer. Then, select OK at the bottom.

5. Select Delete Files in the prompt that appears to remove the selected files from your machine.

Delete Large Folders To Make Space on Your Windows PC

Nothing occupies more space on your hard drive than those old and unused large folders. Luckily, Windows has a built-in tool to quickly find those memory-hogging folders on your computer. You can then manually remove those folders if you want.

1. Press the Windows + I keys simultaneously to open the Settings app.
2. Select System on the Settings window.

3. Choose Storage from the sidebar on the left.
4. Select Other in the pane on the right.

5. You’ll see a list of folders that occupy a significant chunk of your storage space.

6. Select a folder to open it in File Explorer. You can then manually delete the folder in File Explorer.

Uninstall Built-In Apps and Make Your PC Bloatware-Free

Both Windows 10 and 11 come preloaded with certain apps. If you don’t make use of these apps, you can remove these apps and clean up your PC.

1. Access the Start menu and find the built-in app you’d like to remove.
2. Right-click on the app and select Uninstall from the menu.

3. Select Uninstall in the prompt that opens to remove the app from your PC.

Use these steps to remove any other built-in apps from your computer.

Empty the Recycle Bin

When you delete a file from your PC, that file goes straight into the Recycle Bin. This means, if you don’t clear the contents of the Recycle Bin on a regular basis, the Bin will grow large.

Luckily, there’s a single option you can use to empty the entire Recycle Bin at once:

1. Locate the Recycle Bin shortcut on your desktop.
2. Right-click the Recycle Bin shortcut and choose Empty Recycle Bin from the menu.

3. Select Yes in the prompt that appears.

Defrag Your Drives

By defragging your drives, you bring the relevant data together on your disks. This doesn’t change how the files appear on your PC as these changes are only internal.

1. Open the Start menu, search for Defragment and Optimize Drives, and select that option in the search results.

2. Select your main hard drive on the Optimize Drives window and choose the Optimize button.

3. Wait for Windows to defrag your drive.

Disable Startup Apps To Make Your PC Boot Up Faster

Your PC has certain apps, called startup apps, that automatically launch when you turn on your computer. If your computer takes too long to boot up, you should remove non-essential apps from this startup apps list.

This doesn’t delete your apps, and you can always re-add your apps to the startup apps list.

1. Launch the Settings app by pressing Windows + I keys simultaneously.
2. Select Apps on the Settings window.
3. Choose Startup from the sidebar on the left.
4. Find the app you want to stop launching on your PC’s boot. Then turn the toggle for that app to the off position. Repeat this process for each app you don’t want to launch when you turn on your machine.

Remove Browser Extensions and History

While cleaning your Windows 10 or 11 PC, cleaning your web browsers is also important as they are part of your system. In most browsers, you can clean up the contents by deleting your browsing history and removing unused extensions.

In most web browsers, you can remove the extensions by right-clicking the extensions and selecting Remove.

You can clear your browsing history by heading into your browser’s Settings menu and choosing an appropriate option. You can remove cookies and other site data as well.

Built-In Tools Make It Easier To Clean Up Your Windows 10/11 PC

Whether your PC has already become sluggish, or you don’t want your PC to ever get there, the methods outlined above should help you keep your PC clean and tidy. We hope the guide helps you out.