Why do i have 148gb of used space that is labeled other in my system preferences?

My system info breaks down my hard drive into sections like apps, audio, movies, photos, and then a section called others. Is this just a lot of old data that I don't use? How can I permanently delete all the junk I dont need?

"Erasing" can mean different things depending on perspective.
Emptying the trash frees the space once occupied by the files in the trash. According to many refernces secure deletion of individual files on an SSD by means of OS X is not possible. At least, as in emptying the trash. All "Secure Delete" is doing is wasting time and possibly putting wear on the finite life of your SSD.
If you truly want security of your data, then encryption of the data is the most practical means. If unencrypted "erased" data is truly that sensitive, then don't transfer an SSD to an untrusted party. Otherwise you will need to use tools developed for Windows, but not ported to OS X.
I stopped stressing about the situation long ago. I don't plan on selling any of my MBA's with the original SSD's intact, if it ever becomes necessary. Which it probably wouldn't be.
Just erasing/deleting via the trash is all you need to do to free space though. (if that is what you are wanting to do)

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    From: [email protected]
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    Subject: Why won't files open in Camera Raw from Bridge?
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