The step I take is to clear my inbox every January
Right now, I’m sitting here beaming because my inbox is empty. Indeed! Did I read and respond to every single message? Well, no. I’m not an “Inbox Zero” person. Watch this quick video if you don’t know what that means.
Before I regained control, I had 409 unread emails. But I have a trick to start each year with a clean slate. You can do it, too!
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Clear your inbox
You could try organizing your emails into a bunch of folders, but who has time for that? Here’s a surprisingly simple fix to start the new year off right: Archive your inbox. It’s like a magic wand for your digital clutter!
What is email archiving, you ask? Imagine this: A digital vault where every email you’ve ever sent or received is safely stored, complete with attachments. No more scrolling endlessly through a jam-packed inbox!
So, are you ready to beat email bloat? Here’s your first quick guide to mastering your inbox with the power of archiving.
Steps to archive emails in Gmail
- Open your Gmail account on the computer and click the button Inbox folder on the left.
- Above your emails, there is an empty checkbox. Click on a small arrow next to it, and select Everything to make conversations visible on your screen.
- To select all emails, click select all [number] conversations in Inboxand hit i Archive icon. (It looks like a folder with an arrow pointing down.)
Gmail will take some time to process your request, so be patient. You may have to do this step a few times to get everything.
Once you’ve archived a message, you can click All Mail on the left, under “Inbox” and your other email folders, to retrieve it. Search by name that you know was in the email or by the sender.
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Using Apple Mail? Here’s what you have to do
- Open the Mail app on your Mac. Look in your inbox or other folders and find those emails you want to hide. Click on an email to select it, or, if you have a bunch, grab it Cmd and click each one you want to archive.
- Got an archive button (it looks like a little box) on your toolbar? Click that and you’re golden. No button? Click The message up, and select Archive from descending. For a shortcut, click Ctrl + Cmd + A sending those emails directly to your archive.
- To see your archived emails, go to Archive the folder in the sidebar under “Mailboxes.” Have more than one email account? Each has its own “Archive” folder.
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How to save emails in Microsoft Outlook
Outlook does not put messages stored in a separate folder. Instead, they will go directly to a data file that you can access whenever you want.
- Select File > Cleaning Tools > Archiveand hit Archive this folder and all subfolders. Select the folder you want to archive (in this case, your inbox).
- Under Archive for older items, enter day. For example, you might want to archive everything from before 2012. Then, check the box which means Include things with “Don’t End By Default.” Click OKand you are ready to go.
You will see emails disappear from your inbox and subfolders. Find them again under the heading “Archives”.
Related: How to make sure the emails you want to see don’t end up lost in spam
Do you have a Yahoo email? Here’s what you have to do
- Hover your mouse over the Inbox in the left panel, and click downward arrow that appears. From the options, select Clean Out Your Inbox.
- A pop-up window will appear. Select Archive emails. Note, this may take a while.
Do you want to unarchive a message? Open the “Archive” folder, tap the desired email and select Restore to Inbox.
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Worried you missed something?
Archiving is not the same as deleting. It’s like putting things in a storage box. Even if you archive emails, they can be called legal cases. I do not provide legal advice, so consult an attorney if you have any questions.
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