Does your OneDrive feel more like a digital junk drawer than a streamlined cloud storage solution? Microsoft OneDrive is an excellent cloud storage service that eases accessibility across devices. However, without effective management, it can quickly become a space hog. This guide lists tips to manage and stretch your OneDrive storage more efficiently, to ensure you’re always space-rich.
Table of Contents
- 1. Analyze Your Storage Usage
- 2. Optimize Sync Settings
- 3. Leverage Files On-Demand
- 4. Clean Up Old and Large Files
- 5. Manage Outlook Attachments
- 6. Use Image Compression
- 7. Implement Version History Cleanup
- 8. Share Files Instead of Duplicating
- 9. Use OneDrive’s Recycle Bin Wisely
- 10. Consider OneDrive’s Storage Plans
1. Analyze Your Storage Usage
Before making any changes, identify the issues with your storage. Log in to OneDrive via the Web or mobile app, and go to the Settings menu. Locate the Manage Storage option to see the visual breakdown of what’s consuming your storage space.
Since most Microsoft apps and services use OneDrive to sync your data, you’ll notice them in the breakdown. It isn’t abnormal to find forgotten files, photos, or old projects that have stacked up and are using more room than they deserve.
2. Optimize Sync Settings
Stop syncing local files to OneDrive. This is a rookie mistake that easily takes up space. For example, during a Windows installation, the system asks you to sync local folders to OneDrive. However, not everything on your OneDrive needs to be synced to every device.
To curb this, right-click OneDrive in the system tray, and click Settings. Navigate to Account -> Choose folders.
Uncheck folders you don’t want to sync to your device, and click OK to put the changes into effect.
Moving forward, your device will sync only the checked folders. Remember, once your storage eclipses 90%, you will consistently run into OneDrive syncing issues.
3. Leverage Files On-Demand
This is one of the coolest tricks to make the most of your Microsoft OneDrive storage. It allows you to see all your files in File Explorer without actually taking up local disk space until they’re opened.
Enable it by right-clicking the OneDrive icon and selecting Settings. Navigate to Sync and Backup -> Advanced Settings -> Files On-Demand -> Free up disk space.
This trick allows you to significantly reduce your OneDrive storage usage while maintaining cloud access. Additionally, only files marked with cloud icons are online.
4. Clean Up Old and Large Files
One of the fastest ways to manage OneDrive storage and declutter the space is by removing all the large files that you can do without.
Locate the Manage Storage menu as outlined in the first OneDrive trick above. Select OneDrive besides Free up space to show the large files. Select the irrelevant files and press delete.
Alternatively, move the unnecessary files to an external drive or compress them as a way to expand space without deleting anything on your PC.
5. Manage Outlook Attachments
If you are a major Outlook user, watch out for attachments. They can quickly add up if your sent items and deleted items folders are not regularly cleaned up. This can be a major issue for those who belong to teams that share files this way.
Clear the piled-up attachments by locating the storage summary section in OneDrive. Select Outlook Attachments, choose large attachments, and delete them.
Consider using OneDrive links instead of sending attachments in your email. Another trick is to sync OneDrive to your PC to manage the file space even more.
6. Use Image Compression
Images are silent space hogs. They easily sync and can be quickly forgotten. Before uploading to OneDrive, try compressing them.
You can use numerous free tools to compress images without losing picture quality. However, if you don’t want to go down this lane, a quick resize in your photo editor will cut down the size.
7. Implement Version History Cleanup
OneDrive keeps versions of your documents for recovery purposes. While this is a great feature, when you are running low on space, it becomes a luxury you can’t afford.
To avoid this pile-up, right-click any file in OneDrive and select Version History. Click the three dots next to each version and choose to Delete.
Just to be clear, this trick won’t make you lose your work and will keep only the essentials in OneDrive storage.
8. Share Files Instead of Duplicating
When collaborating with your teammates on projects, try to share links as a way to manage your OneDrive storage. Rather than duplicate the files, sharing the original link prevents cluttering and keeps everyone on the same page.
Right-click the file, then select Share -> Copy Link. Although overlooked, this is a common mistake that causes storage stress in OneDrive.
Note: explore some of these recommendations to find and delete duplicate files on Windows.
9. Use OneDrive’s Recycle Bin Wisely
All deleted files are automatically moved to your OneDrive’s Recycle Bin. They still count as part of your storage, so you’ll need to periodically check and empty it.
Go to the OneDrive Web interface, and click Recycle bin. Select all the files and empty the bin.
Think of this tip as taking out the trash, a necessary process to ensure proper management of your OneDrive storage.
10. Consider OneDrive’s Storage Plans
As a last resort, after trying all the tricks above, you find that you’re still running low on storage space, it’s time to upgrade your OneDrive plan. Although the plans start at $2 per month for 100 GB, you can buy considerably more.
Also, getting the Microsoft 365 subscription may be worth it, as you get an extra 1 TB of OneDrive space. You can also extend the 1 TB with additional purchases.
Implementing these tricks will save you space and enhance your OneDrive experience, to make it faster, cleaner, and more organized. Remember, the goal is to use your space wisely, and the best way to do that is to manage your OneDrive storage consistently.
Image and all screenshots by Henderson Jayden Harper.
