Short answer
The cleanup receipt shows how much space was freed, how many items were removed, which categories were cleaned, and why anything was skipped.
Use the receipt and the drive's current free-space reading to decide whether you are finished. The estimate shown before cleanup is not the final result.
When to use this method
Windows Storage cleanup summarizes reclaimed space; Osenpa Disk Analyzer also reports measured freed space, removed-item counts, cleaned categories and skips.
Before you start
Record the drive's free space and review the selected cleanup categories before running them. An estimate predicts reclaimable space before deletion. A receipt records what the completed operation actually removed, what it skipped and how much space it measured as freed.
How we checked this guide How measured cleanup results and safety boundaries were confirmed.
- What we reviewed
- Reviewed freed-space totals, removed-item counts, cleaned-category scope, skipped outcomes, localized receipt rendering and second-run behavior in Osenpa Disk Analyzer.
- What we confirmed
- Only confirmed removals contribute to freed space and removed-item counts. Categories appear only when something in that scope changed; skipped reasons remain separate, and the receipt is not a path-by-path log.
- Important limit
- An earlier 3 GB recommendation can yield 2.6 GB when 400 MB is locked. The receipt should show 2.6 GB recovered plus the skip reason, not repeat the forecast as the result.
Reconcile estimate, action and outcome
Recall the approved scope
Compare the receipt with the categories and locations shown before cleanup began.
Read freed space and item counts
Use Freed space plus the deleted file, folder and privacy-record counts as the measured outcome; the earlier recommendation was only an estimate.
Check the cleanup scope
Review the listed categories to see which approved areas changed; the receipt is not a path-by-path deletion log.
Read every skip reason
Locked, disappeared or otherwise ineligible entries remain unreclaimed and should not be counted as success.
Decide whether to stop
Remeasure free space and avoid repeating cleanup merely because the estimate was larger.
Receipt misreadings
- Reporting estimated bytes as reclaimed
- Ignoring locked-file skips
- Assuming an empty second receipt is a failure
- Repeating cleanup before measuring drive space
Checkpoint: Receipt checks
- Match receipt scope to approved categories.
- Record measured freed space and removed-item counts.
- Review every skip reason.
- Compare free space before and after.
Osenpa Disk Analyzer
Compare the approved cleanup scope with measured freed space, removed counts and every recorded skip reason.