Whats the best way to keep hard drive space clear

I have a macbook that is getting close to a full hard drive.  I have backed up the computer using an extrenal drive but with mostly videos and pictures on the drive it is really close to full. 
Can anyone help with suggestions as to how to store things externally on the drive and not on the computer itself?

Simple solution. Store stuff on the external drive not on the computer itself.
Replace the computer's drive with a larger capacity drive.
Get a bigger external drive.
These are not mutually exclusive. Do all of them.

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