5.1. Empty Your Trash

I have no doubt that some readers are now concluding I'm out of my mind. Empty my Trash once a month?! What could he be thinking? The thing is, of those people, some of them are thinking that once a month is far too seldom, and others are thinking it's far too often!

Your Trash, as you probably know, is simply another folder. As a result, moving files or folders to the Trash does not delete them, just as tossing a crumpled paper in a physical trash can doesn't automatically turn it into landfill. On your Mac, as in your home, the contents of the Trash continue to take up space until you empty the Trash (using Finder > Empty Trash), freeing up that space for other files.