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Step 1
Backup your hard drive. This helps protect your personal files if you accidentally delete a file by accident while cleaning up the Mac OS X hard drive. Use a portable hard drive or flash disk, blank CDs or DVDs, or an online backup service such as Mozy (see link in the Resources section).
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Step 2
Empty your Mac OS X trash bin. When you delete an item on a Mac, it is placed in the "Trash" in your Mac OS X dock. However, it still takes up hard drive space until you clean out the Mac hard drive by emptying the trash. In the "Finder," click "Finder" in the top menu bar and select "Empty Trash" from the drop-down menu.
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Step 3
Archive files that you do not regularly use. This consolidates multiple files and folders into a single file, and also compresses the data size so that it takes up less room on your Mac OS X hard drive. Drag any documents, pictures or folders into a single file. Right-click on the folder and select "Archive" from the pop-up menu. Mac OS X will compress each individual file into a single file. Optionally, drag this archived file onto a backup volume (such as a blank CD) and delete the original off of your Mac OS X hard drive.
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Step 4
Run a "cron" cleanup software program to delete unused system files and logs that may be taking up space on your Mac OS X hard drive; examples include Monolingual and Cocktail (links in the Resources section). Both programs run automated scripts that quickly scan your Mac OS X drive for unused system folders and erases them.
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Step 5
Uninstall unused applications. Over the course of time, you may have cluttered your Mac OS X hard drive with various software installations. Click "Applications" in your dock and drag any unused programs to the trash bin. Empty the trash (see Step 2).
