Keep your menu bar clutter-free with Bartender

Bartender is a Mac app that helps users declutter their menu bar by allowing them to easily hide, rearrange, and manage menu bar icons according to their preferences.

The menu bar gets messy quickly

It’s an unfortunate eventuality that virtually every Mac user has to face: the dreaded problem of having way too many items in your menu bar. So many menu bar items clutter the top right hand corner of your screen, that they’re starting to flood into the app menu items on the left-hand side of the screen. That, folks, is the sign of a serious problem.

But don’t worry, we’ve all been there. For me, it got to the point where it was downright embarrassing when I would take screenshots and my menu bar would appear in the shot. I had a real problem keeping my menu bar organized, and many of you reading this probably do to.

Make room for the Bartender

I needed help, but I couldn’t fight this uphill battle without assistance. Thankfully, that helping-hand came in the form of an awesome little Mac utility called Bartender. Bartender is a utility that lets your organize and tidy up the contents of your menu bar with relative ease.

It can turn an overweight and overstuffed menu bar into a svelte menu akin to a stock macOS installation. It’s the tool that you need if you’re like me and you sufferer from menu-bar-itis. Watch our full video walkthrough above, and you’ll see what I mean.

With stock macOS, you’re extremely limited as to what you can do with the items in your menu bar. You can organize your menu bar to a slight degree, as I showcased in our stock menu bar tutorial, but without any third-party utilities you’re significantly restrained when it comes to true menu bar customization.

Without Bartender

A long and messy menu bar

With Bartender

A clean and tidy menu bar thanks to Bartender

Bartender takes a hardcore approach to organization, and it works with any items in your menu bar. It allows you to hide, rearrange, move items and more. It lets you decide to display items in the menu bar only when they have new updates, or you can select to always make them visible no matter what.

The main point I want to emphasize is that you can make Bartender work in a way that works for you. End users are no longer relegated to arbitrary rules; you can make your menu bar look just how you want it to look.

Bartender for Mac preferences

Bartender’s preferences allows to to customize the menu bar to your liking

If you think that you’d benefit from what Bartender does, then you should head over to its official site and download it today. Bartender comes with a ridiculously long four-week trial, so there’s nothing for you to lose. If you don’t like it, uninstall it; but something tells me that most will find that they can’t live without it, and you’ll be eager to hand over the $16 asking price for a license.

What do you think? Are you a former menu-bar-iris suffer who has found relief courtesy of Bartender? Share your thoughts, comments, and experiences below.