How to clean up a messy bookmark collection

Do this once

1. Export your bookmarks to an HTML file as a backup.
2. Check them for dead links and remove the ones that no longer open.
3. Remove duplicates. Importing into a tool that skips duplicates does this for you.
4. Drop the folders you never open. Tags or automatic sorting work better than deep folder trees.

Keep it small afterwards

• Treat "read later" as a queue, not a store. If you have not opened something in a week, you probably will not.
• Save fewer things, with a short note on why.
• Review once a month rather than all at once.

A note on dead links

Pages disappear or move, so some link rot is normal in an old collection. A checker only tells you which links fail now. A site that is briefly down can look dead, so re-check before deleting anything you care about.