How to Clear the Clutter From Your Gmail Inbox
Gmail's been around long enough that many business users have been using it for years. And the longer you use it, the more mail you accumulate. I've seen people who have tens of thousands of messages in their inbox.
That may not seem like a big deal, as Gmail is basically one big database you can search -- but I'm a firm believer in keeping your inbox tidy. Indeed, only current and important messages should reside there; everything else belongs in the archive.
Ah, but how can you move all your old messages? Gmail lets you select only a page's worth at a time. It would take forever to archive mail in chunks of 20 or 50.
Below, I've outlined a simple process for archiving older mail. Note that this doesn't delete your messages; it simply moves them out of the inbox and into Gmail's archive (which is accessible by clicking All Mail in the left-side menu).
1. Start your Web browser, head to Gmail, and sign into your account.
2. Next to the Search the Web button up top, click Create a filter. (It's a tiny link, and easy to miss.)
3. In the field marked "Has the words," type before:2011/01/01. That's just an example; it would archive all messages received prior to January 1 of this year. You can use any date you want, as long as it conforms to the format YYYY/MM/DD.
4. Click Next step.
5. Check the box marked Skip the inbox (Archive it), then check the box for Also apply filter to ### conversations below.
6. Finally, click Create Filter. Depending on how many messages meet the filter criteria, the archiving process may take a minute or two.
When it's all done, your inbox should be significantly smaller. Remember, you haven't lost anything; you've simply relocated old mail. Those messages will still appear when you search your Gmail account.
Got any Gmail tips of your own to share? You know where to do it: the comments!
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