Carleton has seen exponential growth in the amount of data being stored on local and cloud servers. Much of that data is essential for your work and the work of the college; it requires deliberate and careful preservation. Some of that data may be less important . . . and may even be obsolete. Because of the continued cost, time, and effort required to manage digital content, Carleton is encouraging individual users to develop effective organizational strategies when they start at the College, when their roles change at the College, or when the time comes to leave the College.

Check Your Storage Now!

Strategies, Tips, and Tricks for Digital Storage Management

The best strategy is the strategy that works for you! Starting with a good strategy, and maintaining it throughout your time here, will help you Store Smart and Store Less. Discover a strategy that works for you by clicking through the headings below.

Use folders

Create folders and subfolders to organize your documents. For example, create a folder for Fall 2025 and then create a subfolder for each course. For more tips on using folders, see Google’s guide to organizing files.

Name your files

Name your files so that they will be easy to find later. For example, instead of Meeting Notes, consider EAC Meeting Notes 7 Dec 25.

Know which drive a file is stored on

The files you create can be added to different Drives, which will affect who owns them and who can view them. A file stored in a departmental Shared Drive, for example, might not be available to a student. (See My Drive vs. Shared Drives)

Review old files

Set aside time to regularly review your oldest files. Select the slider icon in the Search bar and use the Date Modified field to find your oldest files and see if they can be deleted.

Empty trash

Deleted items will be kept in the Trash folder for 30 days before they are deleted permanently. If you need to free up space quickly, you can “empty” the trash early.

Check your email

Email can contribute a considerable amount to your overall storage use, especially if you often send and receive large attachments. Follow these tips to cut down your email storage:

  • Sort Email by File Size and delete the largest emails (usually those with large attachments) first. If you need the attachment, make sure you download the attachment and store it somewhere! 
  • Sort Email by Sender, Subject, and More. You may receive emails through subscriptions or from frequent senders. You can quickly find and delete multiple emails using Gmail’s Search Options.
  • Delete Emails from Google Groups. Remember that you can always find the original emails in the Google Group itself.
  • Delete Emails in the Spam Folder.