Your Windows downloads folder is a mess, here's the quickest way to clean it

Your Windows downloads folder is a mess, here's the quickest way to clean it By  Goran Damnjanovic Published May 31, 2026, 6:30 AM EDT Ever since he got his first smartphone, the legendary Nokia 6600, back in 2005, Goran became obsessed with technology. This obsession had only gotten worse after he received his first gaming PC a couple of months later. He fell in love with video games in the early '90s, shortly after embarking on his gaming journey with the Sega Master System II and SNES. Since then, he has built dozens of PCs, played thousands of games, and authored hundreds of articles about PC hardware, gaming hardware, and video games. He knows everything there is to know about the PC gaming and PC hardware space, and while his console gaming knowledge isn't as comprehensive, he considers himself a console veteran. Goran has almost a decade of experience writing about tech and video games for numerous web publications including TechSpot , TechPowerUp , and EsportsHeadlines . He has been writing for How-To Geek since December 2022. When he isn't gaming or deciding which component of his PC to upgrade next, you can find him strolling around Novi Sad while listening to music and contemplating what to play next. Sign in to your How-To Geek account Add Us On Jump links Jump Links Step 1 - Sort the files by size and then delete the worst offenders Step 2 - Sort the files by type and purge the Downloads folder of unnecessary files Step 3 - Delete any subfolders in the Downloads folder that you don’t need Step 4 - Reorganize the downloads folder by creating subfolders for different file types Step 5 - Enable your browser's "Ask where to save downloaded files" option Step 6 (Optional) - Create a secondary downloads folder on another drive follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap There's n