DIGITAL TRASH CAN? RECYCLE BIN?

WHAT ARE THEY?

On your Windows computer you’ll have noticed on the desktop a ‘Recycle Bin’ or on an Apple computer the ‘Trash Can’. 

Put simply, the trash can or recycle bin are the folders that your deleted files/photos go to! But they’re not gone forever and are still taking up disk space.

If you’ve ever tried deleting a whole bunch of files or photos to clear up space you’ll notice that it doesn’t seem to always work. That’s because the trash can or recycle bin are storing the deleted files! When you press delete, you’re just moving them to the garbage folder. You then have to empty this garbage folder to really clear the space.

Empty the Recycle Bin on Windows Computers

• Navigate to the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop.
• Right click it
• Click ‘Empty Recycle Bin’

Empty the Recycle Bin on Apple Computers

• Click and hold on the Trash Can icon in the Dock
• A popup will appear that says ‘Empty Trash’
• Click ‘Empty Trash’

BE CAREFUL!

When you empty your trash can or recycle bin, EVERY file that was in it will be gone forever. So make sure that you check what you’re going to be deleting forever as you don’t want to lose anything important!