Do you have trouble finding Google documents, have emails or files you haven’t looked at in years, or spend more time than you’d like sorting through files and emails? You can be a good steward and have a well maintained Luther Google account by deleting unused files (particularly large files), removing large email attachments, and deleting unneeded apps data from your Google account.

Note: If you’re a current or former employee , you should be keeping files in Google Shared Drives , particularly for institutional records such as: syllabi, invoices, meeting notes, reports, etc. You can learn more about what to keep from the Archives Records Retention Schedule .

Learn more about managing your Google Drive Storage

• How much space is your Google Drive, Gmail and Photos each using?
• What items are taking up space in your @luther.edu account?

Before you delete items, consider the following

Hint: you can find files in Google Drive you own that are shared with others (or vice versa) using filters

• Does Luther College Archives Need a Copy? Can it stay or can it go?
• If I delete this file, who will be affected ?
  • If you are the owner, the file will not be available to anyone you shared it with once it is deleted.
  • If you don’t need the file but others do, transfer ownership or, if you’re an employee, move it to a Shared Drive.
• Do I need this file that was shared with me?
  • If you do not need the file and it’s owned by someone else, you can unshare the file with yourself and it will still be available to others.
  • If you need the file, and the person who owns it is no longer at Luther, contact the Technology Help Desk to discuss options.

Time to clean up

• Do you need the largest files in your Google Drive?
• Do you need the emails that take up the most space, are from a certain sender, etc ?

Going forward

Feel free to contact the Technology Help Desk for assistance.

More resources

• How to sort emails by various searches to mass delete
• Advanced Search options
• How to master advanced search and labeling
• Reading and Organizing Gmail