iCloud Clean up
Don't use it for offline storage!
iCloud took up too much space on my iMac, so I reduced its storage capacity. iCloud stores all of your photos, documents, and other files on the cloud, so they can be accessed from any device. However, if it takes up too much space on your device, it can slow down your computer and make it difficult to access other programs. The storage capacity can be reduced to free up more space on your device.
Cleanup Plan
My original plan was to use iCloud simply as a backup drive and store files I may not use often. However, I found that it is really more useful as a backup folder than as extra storage.-The files you store in iCloud are not deleted from your computer.
To free up space on my iCloud drive, I use an external SSD drive and copy files over to that drive and then delete them from the iCloud drive.
Backing up files in iCloud without downloading them to your computer is really difficult, especially if you don't have a lot of space on your computer.
As I was backing up the files, I didn't want to lose the creation date, so I couldn't use the browser or anything like that to download the files. Applications like Path Finder and Transmit didn't really work well to move files.
Clean out Media First
In these processes, my first step was to search for all the movies as they take up the majority of space. Once those were all located, I sorted through zip files and disk images to remove them. This allowed me to free up a significant amount of storage space on my computer and made it easier to find the files I was looking for. It also helped me to identify which files were no longer needed and could be discarded.
As I cleaned out my iCloud drive, I also reorganized my data. My problem was that I did not have a logical method of storing files - I would organize certain files by the date I created them. This made it difficult to find files similar to Affinity Designer templates and fonts. Now I have files stored in an easy-to-find manner.
SSD Drive
SSD drives are a really smart solution. This is because now I can use that device between two computers and not have to worry about it using space on my main computer. I think of it as my mini-icloud. SSD drives are much smaller and lighter than traditional hard drives, making them easier to transport. They are also much faster and more reliable, so you don't have to worry about data loss. Plus, they use less power and generate less heat, making them more energy efficient.
Conclusion
My iCloud Drive is still home to a few things, but about 60% of its storage space has been reduced.
If you have Apple iCloud, perhaps your most effective strategy is not to use it all that much. Instead, consider backing up some of your critical or frequently used files to an external hard drive. For instance, it's not necessary for me to have access to Christmas and Halloween files in the spring.-