Most Downloads folders look the same: hundreds of screenshots, PDFs you opened once, three copies of the same CV and a zip file nobody remembers. You can clean it by hand every few months, or you can set up rules once and let the computer do it.
None of the options below need any code. They work by watching a folder (or running when you ask) and applying rules like “move every PDF with invoice in the name to Documents\Invoices”.
Option 1: Storage Sense (built into Windows, for clearing old files)
If your main problem is clutter piling up, Windows can already delete old downloads for you.
- Open Settings > System > Storage and turn on Storage Sense.
- Click Storage Sense to open its options.
- Under Delete files in my Downloads folder if they haven’t been opened for more than, pick a period such as 30 or 60 days.
- Set Run Storage Sense to run every week or every month.
It only deletes, it doesn’t sort, so move anything you want to keep out of Downloads first. It’s the simplest way to stop the folder growing forever.
Option 2: Power Automate (free, Microsoft’s own tool)
Power Automate for desktop comes with Windows 11 and is a free download for Windows 10. You build a flow by dragging actions into a list, no code involved. The free version can’t watch a folder on its own, so you run the flow with one click whenever you want a tidy-up.
- Open Power Automate from the Start menu and sign in with a Microsoft account.
- Click New flow and give it a name, such as Tidy Downloads.
- Add the action Get files in folder, point it at your Downloads folder, and set the file filter, for example
*.pdf. - Add Move file(s), choose the files from the previous step, and pick the destination folder.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each file type you want to sort, then save and click Run.
If you want it to run on a schedule without paying for Microsoft’s cloud plans, you can start the flow from Windows Task Scheduler, but at that point one of the background apps below is easier.
Option 3: An app that watches folders for you
These run quietly in the background and apply your rules the moment a file lands.
File Juggler (Windows, paid with a free trial) is the most polished. You create rules from three parts:
- Folder to watch: for example Downloads or the Desktop.
- Conditions: file type, words in the name, date created, size, or even text inside a PDF.
- Actions: move, copy, rename (for example Invoice_2026-11_supplier.pdf), or delete.
DropIt (Windows, free and open source) does the same job with a simpler interface. You can drop files onto its floating icon, or have it monitor folders on a timer. It also runs as a portable app from a USB stick. It hasn’t had a major update in years, so test your rules before relying on it.
On a Mac, the equivalent paid app is Hazel, and macOS’s built-in Automator can attach a “folder action” to any folder for free.
Rules worth setting up
| Files | Rule |
|---|---|
| PDFs with “invoice” or “receipt” in the name | Move to Documents\Invoices |
| Screenshots (PNG files starting “Screenshot”) | Move to Pictures\Screenshots |
Installers (.exe, .msi) older than 14 days |
Delete |
Videos (.mp4, .mkv) |
Move to Videos |
| Zip files older than 7 days | Delete (their contents are usually extracted already) |
Is it safe?
Yes, as long as you start carefully. These tools only touch the folders you point them at. Start with move rules only, check after a week that nothing ended up somewhere odd, and add delete rules last. If you use OneDrive or another sync service, remember that deleting a synced file also deletes it from the cloud.
