How to empty Trash on Mac in 2023

A file, image, or application that is deleted from your Mac is placed in the Trash folder. Comparable to Windows’ Recycling Bin is Mac’s trash. Everything stays there until you empty it.

It’s a good idea to periodically empty the Trash folder because it can accumulate stuff that consume up space on your Computer. Either physically empty the trash or programmed the Trash to empty itself every 30 days.

Remember that the contents of the Trash are permanently erased from your Computer when you empty it.

View the size of the Trash folder

You can quickly check the total number of items in the Trash folder’s contents if you’re wondering about its size.

Step 1: Open the Trash icon in your Dock.

Step 2: By pressing Command + A or choosing Edit > Select all from the menu bar, you can select every item in the folder.

Step 3: You can see the number of items and their combined size in the folder’s preview on the right.

If you don’t see the preview, select View > Show preview in the menu bar.

Manually empty the Trash on Mac

On the right side of your Dock, the icon appears as a trash can filled with items when the Trash folder contains items.

Step 1: To empty the items in the folder, select the Trash icon.

Step 2: On the top-right of the folder, choose Empty.

Step 3: Choose Empty Trash to proceed and delete the items after the confirmation notice appears.

Step 4: As an alternative, you can select Empty Trash by right-clicking on an item in the folder. Furthermore, you can Select Finder from the menu bar and then Empty Trash.

Use the keyboard shortcut Option + Shift + Command + Delete to empty the Trash without the confirmation message.

Automatically empty the Trash

The Trash can be difficult to remember to empty, thus MacOS offers the option to empty it automatically after 30 days.

Step 1: With Finder active on your Mac, select Finder > Preferences in the menu bar.

Step 2: Go to the Advanced tab.

Step 3: Check the box for Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.

You can choose to enable or disable the warning before emptying the trash by clicking the button just above this setting, as you can see.

Remove a certain item from the Trash folder

Perhaps you don’t want to remove everything from the Trash folder since you might need to retrieve something later. Instead, you can delete particular objects from the Trash.

Step 1: Select the Trash icon in your Dock.

Step 2: Right-click the item you want to remove and choose Delete immediately.

Step 3: Confirm this action in the pop-up box by picking Delete.

That item is then permanently removed from your Mac, just as if you emptied the entire Trash folder.

Recover an item from the Trash folder

As previously noted, if you decide you still need anything, you can reclaim it from the trash. Use these instructions to retrieve the item if you have the Trash configured to empty automatically after 30 days to prevent permanent deletion.

Step 1: Select the Trash icon in your Dock.

Step 2: Put back can be selected by right-clicking the object you want to recover. A different option is to pick the item and select File > Put back from the menu bar.

Step 3: The object is then returned to its original position, such as your desktop or its original folder. To view it, go to the location where you threw the item in the trash.

Keep an eye on your trash so you can empty it as it fills up and make room on your Computer if necessary.