Where the clutter comes from
6 sources of WordPress database bloat
Post revisions
Every save stacks another copy in wp_posts.
Expired transients
Temporary cache values that never clean up.
Autoloaded options
Loaded into memory on every request.
Orphaned metadata
Meta rows left behind after deletes.
Spam & trash
Deleted content that still gets scanned.
Plugin leftovers
Tables and options from removed plugins.