On a computer, open Google Drive and choose Storage in the sidebar. Drive lists your files by space used, with the largest first. Review the files before taking action.
Opening folders at random is a slow way to make room. The folder with many documents might use less space than one recording. Start with file size and you can spend your time where it matters.
Start with the Storage view
Use the link below to open Drive's storage list in your browser. Check that you are in the Google account you want to tidy. This is especially useful if your browser has both a personal and a work account signed in.
The biggest files are listed first. Open a file's details and preview it before deciding what to do. Look for long recordings, finished video exports, large scans, or collections you no longer use.
Source: Google Help
Review a few files, not your whole history
Start at the top and ask a concrete question for each file: do I need this exact version? A completed presentation recording might be useful to watch but no longer needed for editing. A camera original may be worth keeping exactly as captured.
- Preview it: check the content, not just the filename.
- Check its purpose: original, working project, or everyday copy.
- Check who needs it: a shared file may still be part of someone else's work.
- Choose an action: keep it, make it smaller, or remove it after checking.
Avoid a blanket rule such as deleting everything older than 1 year. Age tells you when a file was made, not whether it matters.
Think in space saved, not files cleared
Imagine a folder with 50 tiny notes and one long video. Tidying the notes can make the folder look nicer while barely changing storage. Reviewing the video may do more to solve the warning. This is a planning example, not a promise about how much any file will shrink.
Renaming a file or moving it to another folder is useful for organization, but it does not make the file smaller. Keep those tasks separate so you can tell whether your cleanup is actually helping.
Keep useful files in less space
If you want to keep your everyday Drive files, FreeUp can shrink supported photos, videos, PDFs, and audio. Files stay in their existing folders with the same names and links. The results show the space actually saved.
There is no reliable way to promise a fixed percentage before a file is processed. Some files are already compact. Others may become noticeably smaller. Keep a separate original before shrinking anything you need at full detail, and review the free run before deciding to continue.
If the list does not explain your total
Do not keep deleting small files just because the account still looks full. Compare the Drive list with your account's overall storage breakdown. You may be dealing with Photos, email, or a different signed-in account.