diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 74bcdde0..147a87ea 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ install_requires=
     dictdiffer>=0.8.1
     pygtrie>=2.3.2
     shortuuid>=0.5.0
-    dvc-objects==0.16.0
+    dvc-objects==0.17.0
     diskcache>=5.2.1
     nanotime>=0.5.2
     attrs>=21.3.0
diff --git a/src/dvc_data/hashfile/gc.py b/src/dvc_data/hashfile/gc.py
index 1eee197a..7de90b93 100644
--- a/src/dvc_data/hashfile/gc.py
+++ b/src/dvc_data/hashfile/gc.py
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ def _is_dir_hash(_hash):
         return _hash.endswith(HASH_DIR_SUFFIX)
 
     removed = False
-    # hashes must be sorted to ensure we always remove .dir files first
 
-    hashes = QueryingProgress(odb.all(jobs), name=odb.path)
-    for hash_ in sorted(hashes, key=_is_dir_hash, reverse=True):
+    dir_paths = []
+    file_paths = []
+    for hash_ in QueryingProgress(odb.all(jobs), name=odb.path):
         if hash_ in used_hashes:
             continue
         path = odb.oid_to_path(hash_)
@@ -34,7 +34,13 @@ def _is_dir_hash(_hash):
             # backward compatibility
             # pylint: disable=protected-access
             odb._remove_unpacked_dir(hash_)
-        odb.fs.remove(path)
-        removed = True
+            dir_paths.append(path)
+        else:
+            file_paths.append(path)
+
+    for paths in (dir_paths, file_paths):
+        if paths:
+            removed = True
+            odb.fs.remove(paths)
 
     return removed