Tabs and extensions in Firefox are great functionalities. But when both are used thorougly, Firefox memory usage grows in an exponential way: Firefox Memory usage can be several hundred of MB and growing quickly. I listed below some tips taken from a ThinkTechno post  that can help to reduce and control Firefox memory consumption.

1. Use Firefox portable edition instead of the standard edition: This Smashing magazine article states that portable edition uses 35% less memory. I copied the screenshot for Firefox 2.0.0.3 from Smashing Magazine below:

• Standard Firefox:

         

• Portable Firefox:

         

2. Remove extensions that generates Memory leaks.

This page contains a comprehensive list of Firefox entension’s bugs and some fixes.

3. Clear the download history.

This can be done manually, clicking on the Clean-Up button of the Downloads Window. But this can be done automatically navigating to Tools > Options > Privacy > and Uncheck Remember what I’ve downloaded.

4. Restart Firefox periodically