Like everything else, computers get messy! Even Macs. However, it turns out there are 3 little scripts hiding in your Mac that are intended to periodically clean your system. The problem is if you use a laptop they probably never get run. They're scheduled to run in the middle of the night and laptops are rarely left on overnight.

Whenever my Mac seems like it's getting a little sluggish I run these scripts. It may all be in my head, but I feel like the system is a bit more responsive after having run them. Here's how:

1. Open a terminal (for those of you that don't spend your days in a terminal like I do, open Finder, go to Applications > Utilities, and double-click Terminal)
2. Type:

   sudo periodic daily

   and hit return (it will ask you to enter your password).
3. Type:

   sudo periodic weekly

   and hit return (this one might take a few minutes).
4. Type:

   sudo periodic monthly

   and hit return.

It's that easy! If you're interested, read more for quick descriptions of what they do.