Clean Up Messages and Files in Google Workspace

Are you storing files in Google Drive and messages in Google Email that you no longer need? Do you want to easily clean up files and messages to become better organized, use less resources and also reduce your storage? Here are some tips for easily finding files or messages that you can delete in Google Workspace.

Google Drive Files

To delete the largest files first:

  1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
  2. On the left, click Storage https://drive.google.com/drive/quota
  3. The largest files will be displayed first
  4. To delete a file or multiple files, select one or more files on the list by clicking on them.
  5. Once the files you want are selected, click the Move to Trash icon on the bar above the list and confirm that you want to delete the files. Files moved to Trash will be permanently deleted after 30 days. Caution: After files are permanently deleted in the next step, you can’t recover them.
  6. To delete them immediately, select the Trash folder from the left and select Empty Trash from the bar above. This action permanently deletes your files and frees up their storage space. If you delete many files at once, it can take some time for the space to be freed up.

You can also find files and folders that you might want to delete using Drive search. For example:

  1. Video files that you no longer need (try it in Drive)
  2. Audio recordings that you no longer need (try it in Drive)
  3. Old presentations (try it in Drive)
  4. Old drafts or copies of files
  5. Select the files that you want to delete and click Move to Trash. Caution: After files are permanently deleted in the next step, you can’t recover them.
  6. When you are done moving files to Trash, the files will be permanently deleted after 30 days. To delete them immediately, select the Trash folder from the left and select Empty Trash from the bar above. This action permanently deletes your files and frees up their storage space. If you delete many files at once, it can take some time for the space to be freed up.

Google Email Messages

  1. Find emails that you can delete using Gmail search . For example:
    • Emails that are greater than a certain size, such as 15 MB (try it in Gmail)
    • Older emails, such as emails you got more than 3 years ago (try it in Gmail)
    • Emails with attachments (try it in Gmail)
    • Newsletters, emails from groups, or organizational updates that come from the same sender or have a standard subject line
  2. Select one or multiple boxes next to emails that you want to delete and click Delete.
  3. Email messages you delete will be automatically deleted from Trash after 30 days. Caution: After emails are permanently deleted in the next step, you can’t recover them.
  4. To delete email messages immediately, select the Trash label from the left menu and select Empty Trash now. This action permanently deletes your emails and frees up their storage space. If you delete many emails at once, it can take some time for the space to be freed up.

If you would like assistance, please feel free to contact the Binghamton University ITS Help Desk at 607-777-6420 or Submit a Request, and we'll be happy to help.

 

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