
Folders and stacks can help, but, for most people, I suspect part of the problem is they use their desktop as a way to quickly and easily find files that are important to them. Nothing will make your computer look like a cluttered mess more than a busy desktop. When it comes to the desktop itself, the best advice is less is more. You can speed up your system by paring this list down to only the programs you use frequently. Now click on the “Login Items” tab at the bottom of the interface and take a look at all the apps that launch when you boot up your system. While we’re on the subject of the menu bar, take a second to open your Mac’s System Preferences menu and go to the “Users & Groups” section. For example, you can set a trigger that will automatically move the battery status icon out from hiding when your computer isn’t connected to a power outlet. However, the strength of Bartender is that you get a lot of customization options. At first glance, it’s a simple program allowing you to hide unwanted menu bar items behind a three dots icon. My recommendation here is to download a $16 app called Bartender. It may not technically be part of the desktop, but a tidy one can go a long way toward making everything else look less cluttered. To check the size of messages and mailboxes, view account information.Let’s start with the menu bar. Choose Mail > Settings, click Accounts, select the account, click Advanced, then choose a different option from the pop-up menu below “Remove copy from server after retrieving a message.” Choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items, then choose to remove them from all accounts or a specific account.įor POP accounts, reduce the amount of time that copies of messages and attachments remain on the mail server before being removed. Messages you recently deleted are in the Trash mailbox but haven’t yet been removed from the mail server.

Choose Message > Remove Attachments the message remains in the mailbox and Mail indicates attachments were manually removed.įor IMAP accounts, be sure to download the attachments first-attachments are deleted from the mail server and can’t be retrieved.Įmpty your Trash mailbox. Tip: To quickly identify large messages, choose View > Sort By, then choose Size.ĭelete attachments that you saved. Use information found in Mail in other apps.View, save, or delete email attachments.Use Remind Me to come back to emails later.Reply to, forward, or follow up on emails.Log out of or temporarily turn off an email account.
