How to get to inbox zero
Clean Up Your Emails and Stay Organized
Let’s be honest: nothing kills productivity faster than an overflowing inbox. You sit down to check one important email, but before you know it, you're lost in a sea of unread messages, sales promos, and things you meant to unsubscribe from three Black Fridays ago. Sound familiar? You’re not alone.
I’m on a LOT of lists. By choice. Yes, I want the discount. Yes, I want insider access. Yes, I want to admire a well-executed sales pitch. Yes, I want to keep tabs on what my competitors are doing.
But being on all those lists doesn’t mean I want to drown in them. There’s a fine line between staying informed and feeling overwhelmed—and trust me, I’ve been on both sides. 22k at my highest. This is a no judgement zone OKAY 😅
The good news? Taking back control of your inbox is totally doable. In this post, I’ll walk you through how to:
Organize your emails so they make sense (and stop stealing your focus)
Clear out the clutter (looking at you, unread promo tab)
Maintain inbox zero without spending your whole life refreshing Gmail
And yes, I’m sharing this as someone who truly loves nurturing her own email list. Oh, the irony! But here’s the thing: I want a HEALTHY list of people who are into what I have to share. If you like content like this, I’ll invite you to join it below (and create a folder/label/rule to sort and save my emails, ofc!)
LET’S DO THIS.
“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality.”
A messy inbox is more than an eyesoreA cluttered inbox doesn’t just look bad—it actively makes your life harder. Here’s how:
You miss important messages. Ever dig through hundreds of emails looking for your hotel confirmation or concert tickets? Or worse- how many client inquiries have you missed? When everything is buried, urgent emails can slip through the cracks.
You run out of storage. If you use free email services like Gmail, hitting the storage limit is a real possibility. Suddenly, you’re faced with the dreaded “Inbox Full” message when you need to send something important.
It wastes time. Sorting through irrelevant emails every day is distracting (hello squirrel brain) and the time adds up. Five minutes here, ten minutes there—by the end of the week, it’s hours of lost productivity.
It creates stress. Seeing that unread count tick higher every day? It’s a constant reminder of things left undone.
You can’t stay on top of tasks. If you’re using your inbox as a to-do list, chances are things are slipping through the cracks. An overloaded inbox is a breeding ground for missed deadlines.
You’re subscribing to things you don’t need. Maybe you signed up for a few holiday deals or freebies, and now your inbox is swamped with daily emails that you don’t even open.
Q&A time, let’s go!
Step 1: Organize Your Inbox for Your Needs
The key to a successful inbox cleanup is setting up categories (or folders) that actually match how you work and what you care about. Everyone’s life and business are different, so there’s no one-size-fits-all here. The good news? You already know what’s important—you just need to name it.
Before we clean up our inbox, we need to create places to move emails to. In other words- folders and labels (depending on what your email service provider calls them).
Here are a few things to think about as you decide what bucks to sort your emails into.
What kinds of emails do I need to keep?
What types of emails do I reference often?
What’s taking up space but still feels valuable?
I don’t love to throw stuff away. Only when it no longer serves me or aligns with where I’m at. Here are some snapshots of how I organize my own inboxes for 3 of my email addresses. One is personal, one is for sign ups and one is for work.
A few personal folders from my old-school hotmail box.
I’m ~kinda obsessed with email marketing,and I learn by observing those who are excellent at this craft. I save well-crafted emails like they’re school books.
And this is my work email. I protect this address at all costs. I don’t subscribe to anything wit this account and it stays exceptionally clean.
Create your own folders and labels
Start with broad categories. Think in terms of major areas of your life or business:
Clients
Projects
Finances
Travel or Reservations
Purchases and Receipts
Break it down. Within each main folder, create subfolders as needed. *optional
Clients: Subfolders for each client or project.
Finances: Subfolders for invoices, tax documents, and personal expenses.
Travel: Subfolders for each trip or reservation.
Use labels if your email supports them. In Gmail, for example, labels can act as tags across multiple categories. You can tag an email with “Client” and “Invoice” to keep track of both aspects.
Step 2: Deep clean your inbox
Now that you’ve dreamed up your ideal inbox setup and created folders, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start clearing out the clutter. This is where the magic happens—turning a chaotic inbox into an organized, functional space. Think of it like decluttering your closet: you’re not just tossing things out; you’re deciding what stays, what goes, and where everything belongs.
The key here is to take it slow and steady. This isn’t about hitting “Select All” and nuking everything (tempting, I know). It’s about going through your emails thoughtfully so you can:
Keep important messages you might need later.
Unsubscribe from newsletters or promotions you no longer care about.
Set up systems that keep your inbox manageable moving forward.
And yes, this is totally the part where you can multitask. Put on a Netflix show, listen to a podcast, or queue up your favorite playlist. The goal is progress, not perfection. Even spending 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference.
Here’s how to do this:
Pick one sender at a time. Tyep their name in the search bar to pull up all of their emails.
Unsubscribe if needed. Open one email, scroll to the bottom, and find the tiny “unsubscribe” link.
Sort or delete. Move emails you want to keep into folders. Then, bulk delete the rest by selecting all and hitting delete.
Create rules for the future. Set up filters or rules so future emails from that sender go straight to the correct folder (or skip your inbox entirely).
Step 3: Long term maintenance
You’ve done the hard part: sorting through the mess and getting everything in order. Cue the victory music! But here’s the thing—staying organized is where the real challenge lies. It’s a bit like keeping your kitchen clean after a deep scrub. You don’t want to slide back into chaos, right?
Maintaining a tidy inbox isn’t about perfection or checking it constantly. It’s about building simple habits that keep things manageable without eating up your time. The point is to set up boundaries and systems that let you focus on what matters—like actual work or, you know, living your life—without your inbox running the show.
Here are some simple practices to maintain your clean inbox:
Sort messages (and tasks) as they come in.
Your inbox should be for communication, not project management. When a client sends a request, move the task to your actual task manager (Trello, Asana, or even an actual paper list), or into a to-do folder just for that purpose. Archive them when done or move them into your client folder.Use the “Touch Once” rule.
Don’t open an email unless you are ready to handle it. This could be responding, forwarding to someone else, moving to a folder or taking some other action. I do this with my text messages too.Or use the “Two-Minute” rule.
If you can handle an email in under two minutes, do it immediately. If not, move it to your To-Do folder or task manager.
Schedule email time.
Set specific times during the day to check your email—maybe once in the morning and once in the afternoon. This keeps email from dominating your entire day.Turn off notifications.
Constant notifications are a distraction. Turn them off. Then go into whatever apps are sending you pointless email notifications - like Facebook everytime someone tags you.
3rd party email clean up servcies
Now, I get it. After hearing “sort manually,” the thought of handing over the keys to a fancy third-party app might sound very tempting. These apps promise to sweep through your inbox like a digital Marie Kondo, instantly deleting and organizing thousands of emails. But before you hit “sign up,” let’s take a closer look.
Most of these tools work by requesting full access to your inbox. That’s right—full access. And if you’re thinking, “Wait, my inbox has sensitive stuff like bank info, client conversations, and personal details,” you’re not wrong. Giving a third-party app access means trusting them to handle that data responsibly. The catch? Not all of them do.
Many of these apps have been known to:
Sell user data to third parties.
Place “cleaned” emails in a hidden folder or trash rather than truly deleting them.
Fail to unsubscribe you properly, meaning those emails keep showing up.
Use shady tactics that compromise your privacy.
Even with apps that seem more reputable, you need to tread carefully. Make sure to research their privacy policies, read reviews, and understand exactly what data you’re giving them access to.
Yes, going through emails one by one is tedious—but it’s also thorough. By manually unsubscribing, deleting, and organizing, you retain control over your inbox and your data. You know exactly what’s happening, where things are going, and can trust the results.
Plus, when you do the work yourself, you’re laying the groundwork for a more mindful relationship with your inbox. You’re actively deciding what deserves space and what doesn’t—and that awareness can help curb future clutter.
Quick tips:
Don’t abuse the spam button
Only mark emails as spam if they’re truly unwanted junk. The spam button can damage a sender’s reputation, which can hurt small businesses or creators. If you’re just tired of someone’s emails, use the unsubscribe option instead or set up a filter to direct their messages elsewhere.
Be selective when unsubscribing
Think carefully before unsubscribing from newsletters or business emails, especially if they’re related to a course you took or a product you bought. Many businesses offer the option to choose what types of emails you want to keep receiving. If they don’t, try replying and asking to stay on certain lists—otherwise, hitting unsubscribe might cut off all future updates, and it can be tough to get back on the list later.
Create a to-do folder
If you often leave emails sitting in your inbox because they require action, create a “To-Do” folder. Move actionable emails there and work through them when you have time. Once you’ve completed the task, archive or delete the message to keep things tidy.
Practice better daily habits
When you open an email, handle it right away. Reply, archive, or move it to a folder so it doesn’t linger in your inbox. Letting emails pile up “for later” is how clutter creeps back in
If a task will take less than two minutes to complete—like replying to a quick email—do it immediately. It’s a small habit that can prevent an avalanche of tiny, undone tasks.
Turn off notifications
Constant notifications for new emails can be distracting and overwhelming. Turn off alerts on your phone and computer to help stay focused. You can also disable notifications from specific apps or accounts that aren’t time-sensitive (looking at you, social media updates).
Schedule time to check your email
Instead of checking your inbox all day, set dedicated times—maybe once in the morning and once in the afternoon. This way, you stay in control of your time and only check emails when it fits your schedule. If something is urgent, use other communication tools like text, Slack, or WhatsApp.
Set up filters and rules
Automate your inbox by creating rules that sort emails into folders as they arrive. You can filter by sender, subject line, or keywords. This keeps your inbox clean and ensures important messages go to the right place.
Use a separate account for junk
Consider creating a secondary email for online shopping, newsletters, and forms. This keeps your primary inbox focused on important communication while letting you collect offers and updates in a separate place you can check when you want.
Tackle the cleanup in small chunks
There’s no such thing as an overnight success. Cleaning out your entire inbox can feel overwhelming. Instead of doing it all at once, spend 10-15 minutes a day working through old emails. Over time, these small sessions add up, and you’ll feel more in control without the stress.
Final thoughts
Cleaning up your inbox doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start small—10 to 15 minutes a day—and chip away at it. Chip away while watching Hallmark movies or while waiting in the pickup line. Remember to take it one sender at a time.
Over time, you’ll build habits that keep your inbox manageable and stress-free and your future self will thank you for it.
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