Right now I’m sitting here beaming because my inbox is empty. Real! Have I read and responded to every message? Well no. I’m not an “Inbox Zero” person. Watch this short video if you have no idea what that means.
Before I took back 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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Clean up your inbox
You could try sorting your emails into a maze of folders, but who has the time for that? Here’s a surprisingly simple solution to get you started New Year right: Archive your inbox. It’s like a magic wand for your digital clutter!
What is email archiving, you ask? Picture this: a digital vault that securely stores every email you’ve ever sent or received, complete with attachments. No more endless scrolling through an overcrowded inbox!
So, are you ready to beat email bloat? Here’s your quick start guide to managing your inbox with the power of archiving.
Archiving your inbox is the fastest way to lighten your email load during the new year. (Photo illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
Steps to archive emails in Gmail
- Open your Gmail account on a computer and click the Inbox folder on the left.
- There will be an empty checkbox above your emails. Click on the small arrow next to it and choose All to make the conversations visible on your screen.
- To select all emails, click Select all (number) conversations in Inboxand then press the Archive icon. (It looks like a folder with a downward-pointing arrow.)
It will take some time for Gmail to process your request, so please be patient. You may have to do this step a few times to get everything.
After you archive a message, you can click All Messages on the left under Inbox and your other email folders to find it. Search for a term that you know appears in the email or from the sender.
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Using Apple Mail? Here’s what you need to do
- Open the Mail app on your Mac. Look through your inbox or other folders and find the emails you want to file away. Click on an email to select it, or press and hold if you have multiple Cmd and click on each folder you want to archive.
- Do you have an Archive button (it looks like a little box) on your toolbar? Click on that and you are worth gold. No button? Click Message at the top and then choose Archive from the drop-down list. For a shortcut, press Ctrl+Cmd+A to send those emails directly to your archive.
- To view your archived emails, go to the Archive folder in the sidebar under ‘Mailboxes’. Do you have more than one email account? Each has its own “Archive” folder.
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How to archive emails in Microsoft Outlook
Outlook does not place archived messages in a separate folder. Instead, they go straight to a data file that you can access whenever you want.
- Select File > Cleanup tools > Archiveand then hit Archive this folder and all subfolders. Choose the folder you want to archive (in this case your inbox).
- Under Archive items older than, enter a date. For example, you want to archive everything from before 2012. Then check the box that says Include items with “Do not auto-archive.” Click OKand you’re good to go.
You will see emails disappear from your inbox and subfolders. Find them again under the heading “Archives”.
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You can archive emails in Gmail, Outlook and even Yahoo. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
Do you have a Yahoo email? Here’s what you need to do
- Hover your mouse over Inbox in the left panel and click the dropdown arrow it shows. Choose from the options Clean your inbox.
- A pop-up window will appear. To elect Archive emails. Be warned, this may take a while.
Would you like to retrieve a message from the archive? Open the “Archive” folder, tap the desired email and select Restore to Inbox.
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Afraid you missed something?
Archiving is not the same as deleting. It’s like putting stuff in a storage box. Even if you archive emails, they can be subject to subpoenas legal cases. I do not provide legal advice, so please consult an attorney if you have any questions.
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