How to organize your Mac desktop with Stacks, sorting and a few rules

Stacks tidy a crowded Mac desktop in one keystroke. How to use them, how to sort and clean up the rest, and the habits that stop it filling up again.

Guide · Updated 16 October 2026

How do I organize my Mac desktop?

Turn on Stacks. Right click the desktop and choose Use Stacks, or press ⌃ ⌘ 0. Every file is grouped by kind into one pile per kind: images, documents, screenshots, PDFs. Click a stack to open it, click again to close it.

How do I change how Stacks group files?

Right click the desktop and choose Group Stacks By: Kind, Date Last Opened, Date Added, Date Modified, Date Created or Tags. Date Added is useful for a desktop that collects downloads: this week's files sit together.

How do I tidy desktop icons without Stacks?

Right click the desktop and choose Clean Up to line icons up on the grid, or Sort By to keep them in name, kind or date order as files arrive. Show View Options sets icon size and spacing.

How do I stop the desktop filling up again?

  • Send screenshots elsewhere. They are the biggest source of desktop clutter. See change where screenshots save.
  • Keep downloads in Downloads. Check your browser saves there, not to the desktop.
  • Empty it weekly. Move what you need into folders and delete the rest.

Hiding the lot for a screen share: hide desktop icons. For open windows rather than files, see arrange windows on a Mac.

Checked on 16 October 2026 on a MacBook Air (M1) running macOS 27.0.1, by reading its settings and the labels in System Settings. Nothing was changed.

Questions

How do I use Stacks on my Mac desktop?

Right click the desktop and choose Use Stacks, or press Control Command 0.

How do I clean up my Mac desktop quickly?

Turn on Stacks, or right click the desktop and choose Clean Up or Sort By.

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