THE STAY CLEAN GUIDE
A cleaner inbox is a start.
Keep it that way.
Whether you have just finished a reset or are getting started, choose a few habits that make new mail easier to manage. This guide does not connect to your inbox or ask for your email.
1. Choose your inbox
2. What would help most?
Your filter assistant
Keep the newsletters you actually read
A label separates chosen reading from urgent mail. Unlike deleting, a filter also handles future messages.
- Open a newsletter you want to keep.
- Open More and choose Filter messages like these, or use the search options in Gmail.
- Check the sender address. Choose Create filter.
- Apply a label such as Reading. Optionally choose Skip the Inbox if you prefer to read it later.
- Test with one sender first. Avoid automatically deleting mail from a whole domain.
This is a walkthrough, not an automatic change to your mailbox. Your choices are not sent to in-boxed. We only count anonymous guide interactions and the selected email provider.
3. A five-minute weekly reset
Once a week, archive messages you have finished with, check your Reading or Other folder, unsubscribe from marketing you no longer want, and review any filters that hide useful mail. You do not need an elaborate folder system.
Avoid automatically deleting receipts, security alerts or account recovery messages. And remember: an unsubscribe request is not always immediate confirmation.
4. Remember to check in
Set a reminder in your own calendar for three months from now. No account, tracking email or recurring connection required.
Based on official Gmail and Microsoft support documentation linked in each recommendation. Gmail filters are easiest to configure on desktop. Outlook menus and rule availability depend on the account and version. Menu names can differ by account type and app version. This guide is educational and does not guarantee delivery or unsubscribe outcomes.