When your drive fills up, Windows slows down and updates can fail. Storage Sense is built into Windows and cleans up temporary files, old downloads, and your Recycle Bin automatically — you just turn it on once.
Turn it on
- Open Settings and go to System > Storage.
- Turn on Storage Sense.
- Click Storage Sense itself to choose how it runs.
Set it up your way
- Run it: pick every day, week, month, or only when space is low. “When space is low” is a good set-and-forget choice.
- Recycle Bin: delete files that have sat there for more than 30 days.
- Downloads folder: leave this on “Never” unless you are sure — Storage Sense can delete old downloads too, and you might still want some of them.
Free space right now
- Go back to Settings > System > Storage.
- Click Temporary files.
- Tick the boxes you are happy to clear, then click Remove files.
Turn it on once, and keeping space free stops being a chore you have to remember.
