What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

If you've been using Gmail for a decade or so, you're probably running into your storage limit. You can pay for more space, or you can simply delete old emails and make room.

Since 2013, Googlehas offered users 15 gigabytes of free storage. This space can be used for your Gmail, Google Drive files and Google Photo images. For many users like me, emails take up the bulk of this space.

Below is a 30-minute process I use about once a year to delete thousands of emails in bulk. I recently used this technique to delete about 18,000 emails from my inbox, freeing up about half a gigabyte. That's about 3 percent of the total storage Google offers.

Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Identify email you can delete

You might think all your emails are precious, but they're not. Most people subscribe to newsletters and news alerts that are valuable in the moment but become clutter immediately after. For instance, I receive Google Alerts, newsletters, fantasy football alerts and promotional emails from Netflix, HBO Now and many more services. Identify these types of emails as the ones you want to delete.

Step 2: Seek

On your computer, head to Gmail.com, and click on one of the repeat emails you've identified. Once open, click on the three dot icon at the top of the email on at the far right side of the icon menu. Select "Filter messages like these."

You can delete clutter emails in bulk by using Gmail's "Filter messages like these" feature.

Check the open square at the top left of the screen and then click "Select all conversations that match this search." This will select every single email in your inbox like the one you first chose. Click on the trash icon and delete the emails. Do this for every type of repeat email you want to delete.

If you're worried about deleting receipts, don't fret. Companies tend to use different email addresses for marketing material and customer receipts. You can double-check this if you're feeling cautious, but in most cases, these emails will come from different email addresses.

Step 3: Seek older emails

Companies will sometimes change the email addresses they use to send newsletters and alerts, so you may also want to find older versions of those emails and repeat this process. This will allow you to delete even more copies of these emails.

This link will take you into the depths of your inbox -- 100 pages deep, to be exact. Once there, you can find older emails and repeat the process from Step 2 to delete in bulk. You can also jump around through your inbox by editing the URL. At the end of the URL, it should say "p100." The larger the number, the further back in your inbox you will go.

Step 4: Destroy

Deleted emails disappear from your inbox, but they'll linger for another 30 days in your Trash. If you're in desperate need for space, scroll down on the left-hand menu of the screen and open your Trash folder. There, select "Empty Trash now" and delete everything.

Step 5: Unsubscribe

Now that you've cleared up space, you can also take a step to keep your inbox open using the Gmail unsubscribe button. You can use this feature to easily stop receiving any clutter newsletters you no longer want.

To do so, click on one of these newsletter emails. Once open, look for the light gray underlined "Unsubscribe" button in small letters. Click on that and then click on the large blue "Unsubscribe" button that pops up. Repeat this for any newsletter you no longer want.

Gmail's filter feature can be used to automatically mark certain types of emails as "read" as soon as they hit your inbox. The feature can also be used to retroactively mark emails as "read."

Step 6: Set up filters

Now that you're cleared out, let's do something about that constantly rising counter of unread emails.

I suggest using Gmail's filter features to automatically mark certain emails read without deleting them. This is best used for things like receipts from services you often use, such as Uber, Venmo, Netflix or Apple.

Start by clicking on one of these emails. Click on the three dot icon on the top left, followed by "Filter messages like these." On the next screen, click "Create filter" and then check the box for "Mark as read." If you have a bunch of these emails that are unread, you can also check the box that says "Also apply filter to matching conversations." Finish the process by clicking on "Create filter."

If you need to edit or delete filters, you can find all of them by clicking on the gear icon at the top right corner of the screen and selecting "Settings." You can find all of your filters by clicking "Filters and Blocked Addresses."

At the beta launch in 2004, Gmail provided a storage capacity of one gigabyte per user, which was significantly higher than Yahoo! and Hotmail at the time. Today, Gmail comes with 15 gigabytes of free storage with upgrades up to 2TB for only $10/mo.

 

Users of Gmail can receive emails up to 50 megabytes in size, including attachments, while they can send emails up to 25 megabytes in attachments. If you need to send larger attachments, you can use Google Drive to insert links.

 

Gmail has a search-oriented interface and a “conversation view” similar to an Internet message board. Gmail’s interface focuses on searching and archiving email instead of the traditional approach that folder-based services like iCloud or Yahoo! use. Gmail uses Labels in place of folders, with the main difference being that one email can have multiple labels applied to it. An example of this use might be an Amazon receipt having the label of Amazon, but also Receipts applied to it.

 

Even though there is plenty of space in your Gmail inbox, there still are reasons to clean up your Gmail inbox, though. If you have 15 years’ worth of email, you may have trouble finding what you’re looking for as you search or look through old labels. Let’s look at the easy ways to clean up a Gmail inbox.

 

 

1. Remove Old Attachments

Attachments are a vital part of email, but they can easily junk up your Gmail inbox. When you’re looking to clean up a Gmail inbox, getting rid of old attachments is the easiest way to do it. In Gmail, the search function makes it easy to find large attachments in the search setting. You can build a customized search to show all emails above 2MB. See the image below to see how to configure it.

 

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

 

The danger of having large attachments cluttering up your inbox is you can get near the 15GB limit of a free Gmail account. If your account hits that limit, you’ll no longer be able to receive new emails or upload new photos.

 

While it might seem like you’d never get close to the 15GB storage limit, it can easily happen if you regularly receive emails with multiple PDF attachments that can add up over time. Gmail doesn’t offer the ability to simply remove attachments while keeping the email message.

 


Discover More:

How to delete an email account


 

2. Remove Unused Categories

Gmail sorts your emails into different inbox tabs, like Social or Promotions. It’s designed this way so when you open your Gmail inbox, you won’t have to see all emails at once. While removing unused categories doesn’t clean up space, it can make it easier to find your email later. When you use too many categories, it creates a situation where you have to check so many spots that it ends up taking more time than if you just had a couple of them.

 

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

How to delete unused Gmail categories on your computer:

  1. On your computer, open Gmail.

  2. At the top right, click Settings and then See all settings.

  3. Click the Inbox tab.

  4. In the “Inbox type” section, select Default.

     

    Note: To hide all tabs, select another inbox type. 

  5. In the “Categories” section, check the boxes of tabs you want to show.

     

    Note: You can’t make new tabs; you can only show or hide existing ones. 

  6. Scroll to the bottom, then click Save Changes.

How to delete Gmail categories on Android:

  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app.

  2. At the top left, tap Menu.

  3. Tap Settings.

  4. Choose your account.

  5. Tap Inbox type.

  6. Select Default Inbox.

  7. Tap Inbox categories.

  8. Add or remove categories.

     

    Tip: If you only use the Primary category on your computer, you won’t be able to choose “Inbox categories.” 

How to remove Gmail categories on iPhone and iPad:

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app.

  2. At the top left, tap Menu and then Settings.

  3. Choose your account.

  4. Tap Inbox type.

  5. Select Default inbox.

  6. Tap back, then Inbox Categories.

  7. Add or remove categories.

 

3. Remove Yourself From Unnecessary Emailing Lists

Getting a constant barrage of email newsletters, social media alerts, and other nonessential senders is a fast way to slow yourself down. These emails often come from organizations you’ve shopped with in the past or from services you’ve signed up for previously. Just because you bought a pair of shoes last Christmas doesn’t mean that you want a weekly email with a free shipping coupon or 15% off.

 

Gmail already filters many messages into Social or Promotional categories by default, but there are always instances where you may want to stop that sender from even hitting your inbox. The Gmail Unsubscribe feature built directly into Gmail is an easy way to unsubscribe from unwanted email.

 

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

 

To unsubscribe from emails in your Gmail inbox that are promotional in nature, you can use the Gmail unsubscribe link that appears at the top of most marketing or newsletter messages. This link is located to the right of the sender information at the top of the Gmail message. Once you click “unsubscribe,” Gmail will automatically sort any emails from the sender you unsubscribe from to your spam folder.

 

Gmail Unsubscribe is only available through the desktop version of Gmail as of this writing, though, so you won’t be able to unsubscribe from emails this way within the mobile app or using a desktop email client.

 

A good way to get started on this process is to do a search for unsubscribing to see what emails come up. Clicking through each one will give you a place to start removing yourself from lists and cleaning up your Gmail Inbox.

 

 

4. Block Spammers and Unwanted Senders

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

 

We worked through how to unsubscribe from unwanted senders, but what if you want to block spammers at the door? Gmail actually allows you to block certain email addresses directly from Gmail’s desktop or mobile app. To do this, simply click “More Options” next to the email address info of the sender, then choose “Block.”

 

If you create a filter, you can build an automation to automatically delete email messages that have a mention of free shipping or hot deal depending on what kind of message you’re having trouble removing.

 

In Gmail, search for something, tap on the icon for Settings, then look for the create filter button.

 

 

5.  Filter and Delete by Date, Sender, or Content

Gmail search is incredibly powerful, and since Google wants you to search over manually finding items as your scroll. Let’s say, for example, you want to create a filter to automatically apply the Gmail Label of Amazon to all Amazon emails. In the Gmail search, type in Amazon, and then look for the Advanced Search icon next to the X.

 

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

 

Click on that icon will bring up the Advanced Search Menu. This menu contains a wealth of tools designed to help clean up and optimize a Gmail inbox. You can search for emails based on date, size, from, subject, etc. Once you set your terms, you can create a filter to let email automations take over.

  • Searching by Sender lets you search for all emails from a specific sender.

  • Searching by Subject will only search in the email subject.

  • Search by date will let you dial the search down to a specific date and range around it.

 

An example might be creating a search for email attachments above 2MB within the past year. Once the filter is applied, you could check it periodically to delete old messages you no longer need.

 

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

6. Use Labels

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

 

Gmail Labels are a tag that can be added to every email in your inbox. You can also add them to drafts that have not been sent yet. These labels can be used to keep your inbox organized. They are similar to email folders that other email services use, but unlike folders, you can apply more than one label to a single message.

 

If you want to create a Gmail label to clean up your Gmail inbox, look for the ‘create a new label’ button in the left sidebar, above the GChat window. You will have to press ‘more’ and scroll down to see the button.

 

Note: if you delete a Label, it doesn’t delete the corresponding emails attached to it.

 

If you want to apply a Label manually to an email, you can tap on the label icon above the subject and manually apply a Label.

 

 

Use Spike to Organize and Clean Your Inbox

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

 

Check out the Spike email app if you’re looking for an email client to help clean up and organize your Inbox. Spike comes in as the top email client since its features ultimately simplify and streamline your workflow without adding any extra  clutters

 

Spike’s interface transforms your existing email into a chat-like inbox making email as simple and organized as sending a text message but still appearing in email form to any person who isn’t using Spike. Plus, it gives users collaborative work features like shared docs, video/audio messages, synced calendars, and more!

 

With Spike, you make it super easy to communicate and collaborate through email. Basically, Spike helps you get work done better and more efficiently.

 

Spike includes two vital features for cleaning up your Inbox:

 

Priority Inbox: Spike sorts and manages your email for you. Priority Inbox puts all your most crucial mail upfront while filing away less critical emails for you to check later.

 

Super search: With Spike, there is no need to search threads endlessly. This feature allows you to search any keyword or file across your entire inbox. And just like that, you can find anything with a click of a button. File management has never been easier.

 

 

Summary on Cleaning up Your Gmail Inbox

The best day to start cleaning your Gmail inbox was when you opened the account. The second best day is today. If you’re very overwhelmed, here are some basic steps you can take to start small and get some early wins:

  1. Search for Unsubscribe and start removing yourself from unwanted email lists and then delete those unwanted emails.

  2. Delete emails with attachments larger than 2MB.

  3. Search for Amazon and delete old shopping receipts.

  4. Setup Gmail Labels and Create Filters to Apply those Labels for Common Emails (kids school, etc.)

  5. Download Spike and use Priority Inbox to keep your Gmail Inbox clean on an ongoing basis.

Gmail Inbox Clean Up FAQ

How much space does Gmail give for free?

15GB is included with free accounts. Upgrade options start at $1.99/mo.

Does Gmail work with Spike?

Yes, Spike uses OAuth technology to access your Gmail messages securely.

Does Priority Inbox keep your inbox clean?

Priority Inbox puts all your most important mail upfront while filing away less essential emails for you to check later in the Other Inbox. 

What is the easiest way to clean up gmail

Spike Team The Spike team posts about productivity, time management, and the future of email, messaging and collaboration.

How do I delete thousands of emails in Gmail?

How to mass delete emails in your Gmail inbox.
Open Gmail..
Click Inbox on the left..
Check the checkbox near the top of the page..
A message tells you that you've only selected the messages on this page. Click the text that says Select all conversations in Primary..
Click the trashcan-shaped Delete button..

Does Gmail have a cleanup tool?

Gmail Cleaner allows Google Apps administrators to search and delete emails from user's mailboxes. Possible use-cases are undetected phishing attempts, undetected viruses, unintentionally sent emails etc. Gmail Cleaner allows Google Apps administrators to search and delete emails from user's mailboxes.

How do I clean up my Gmail quickly?

How to Clean Up Gmail Quickly and Easily.
How to use Categories. Google's Gmail has an incredible sorting system. ... .
Block or Unsubscribe Marketing Emails. ... .
Delete Particular Sender Emails. ... .
Handle Older Emails. ... .
Using Filters. ... .
Gmail Labeling. ... .
Storage Cleanup..

Is there a way to mass delete emails in Gmail?

To delete all emails on Gmail, click the "Select all" box, then "Select all conversations." Use your search bar to find emails from specific senders for mass deletion. If you accidentally delete an email, you can recover it from the Trash folder within 30 days.