• Your Google Workspace storage includes Gmail and Google Drive. Over time, emails, attachments, and older files can quickly add up. The tips below can help you free up space and keep your account organized.

  Clean Up Gmail

  • Delete old or large emails: Focus on promotions, updates, and social notifications you no longer need.
    
    
  • Save important attachments: Move attachments you want to keep into a Shared Drive, then delete the original email.
    
    
  • Unsubscribe from newsletters: Fewer incoming emails means less storage used over time.
    
    
  • Empty Trash and Spam: Messages in Trash and Spam still count toward storage until they’re permanently deleted. Empty them manually to see immediate results.

  Clean Up Google Drive

  • Find large or old files: In Drive, go to Settings → Storage and sort files by size or date.
    
    
  • Delete what you no longer need: Large videos or photos, duplicate files, and outdated drafts or older versions of documents can consume a lot of space.

  Good Storage Habits

  • Make it routine: Schedule time each week or month to review and clean up your storage.
    
    
  • Check your usage periodically: Visit drive.google.com/settings/storage to see what’s using space.
    
    
  • Review Drive files often: Sorting by size or date makes it easier to decide what to delete.
    
    
  • Remember Docs count, too: Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides all count toward your total storage.
    
    
  • Store files in the appropriate location: Save team and department files in Shared Drives or department storage so they’re accessible to others and not tied to your individual account.
    
    
  • Keep work and personal files separate: Use your UA account for university work only and move personal files to a private Google account.

Your Microsoft 365 storage includes OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. Over time, files, old versions, and recordings can quietly use up space. The steps below can help you clean up and stay within your storage limits.

Clean Up Your OneDrive

• Empty your Recycle Bin: Files you delete still count toward your storage until the Recycle Bin is emptied. Check it regularly.
  
  
• Find large files: In OneDrive on the web, open Manage storage to see which files are using the most space—old videos and presentations are common culprits.
  
  
• Remove old file versions: OneDrive saves earlier versions of files, which can add up. You can delete older versions you no longer need.
  
  
• Review shared folders: Remove shortcuts to shared folders you no longer use. Shortcuts don’t take up space unless downloaded.

Clean Up SharePoint and Teams

• Archive old sites: Inactive SharePoint sites can be archived so the content is kept but uses less storage.
  
  
• Delete unused Teams or channels: Teams and channels that are no longer needed can be deleted to free up space.
  
  
• Manage meeting recordings: Though old Teams meeting recordings automatically expire after 120 days, prior to expiration they can use significant storage. Deleting newer recordings you no longer need does help reduce usage. 

Good Storage Habits

• Move rarely used files elsewhere: Files you must keep but don’t use often can be stored on your computer or a dedicated external backup drive instead of OneDrive.
  
  
• Turn off automatic uploads: Check apps (such as mobile photo backups) that automatically upload files to OneDrive and disable them if they aren’t needed.