Right now, I’m sitting here beaming because my inbox is empty. Really! Did I read and reply to every single message? Well, no. I’m not an “Inbox Zero” person. Watch this quick video if you have no clue what that means.
Before I took back control, I had 409 unread emails. But I have a trick to starting each year with a clean slate. You can do it, too!
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Clear out your inbox
You could try sorting your emails into a maze of folders, but who has the time for that? Here’s a surprisingly easy fix to start the new year right: Archive your inbox. It’s like a magic wand for your digital clutter!
What’s email archiving, you ask? Picture 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 the email bloat? Here’s your quickstart guide to mastering your inbox with the power of archiving.
Archiving your inbox is the quickest way to ease your email burden going into 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.
- Above your emails, there’s an empty checkbox. Click the small arrow next to it, and choose All to get the conversations visible on your screen.
- To select all emails, click Select all [number] conversations in Inbox, then hit the Archive icon. (It looks like a folder with a downward-pointing arrow.)
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 hit All Mail to the left, under “Inbox” and your other email folders, to find it. Search by a term you know was in the email or by the sender.
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Using Apple Mail? Here’s what to do
- Open the Mail app on your Mac. Look through your inbox or other folders and find those emails you want to stash away. Click on an email to select it, or, if you’ve got a bunch, hold down Cmd and click each one you want to archive.
- Got an Archive button (it looks like a small box) on your toolbar? Click that and you’re golden. No button? Click Message at the top, then choose Archive from the dropdown. For a shortcut, hit Ctrl + Cmd + A to send those emails right into your archive.
- To see your archived emails, head to the Archive folder in the sidebar under “Mailboxes.” Got more than one email account? Each has its own “Archive” folder.
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How to archive emails in Microsoft Outlook
Outlook doesn’t put archived messages into a separate folder. Instead, they’ll go straight to a data file you can access whenever you want.
- Select File > Cleanup Tools > Archive, 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 may want to archive everything from before 2012. Then, check the box that says Include items with “Do not AutoArchive.” Click OK, and you’re good to go.
You’ll see emails disappear from your inbox and subfolders. Find them again under the “Archives” heading.
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You can archive emails in GMail, Outlook, and even Yahoo. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
Got a Yahoo email? Here’s what to do
- Hold your mouse over Inbox in the left panel, and click the dropdown arrow that appears. From the options, choose Clean Your Inbox.
- A pop-up window will appear. Choose Archive emails. Be warned, this might take a while.
Want to take a message out of the archive? Open the “Archive” folder, tap on the email you want and select Restore to Inbox.
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Worried you missed something?
Archiving isn’t the same as deleting. It’s like putting stuff in a storage box. Even if you archive emails, they can be subpoenaed for legal cases. I don’t give legal advice, so consult a lawyer if you have any questions.
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