6 Lesser-Known Gmail Tips to Organize Your Inbox and Save Time
TL;DR – Gmail Hacks at a Glance
✅ Turn threaded conversations on or off for easier reading
✅ Quickly unsubscribe from email lists with a search trick
✅ Use archive instead of delete to reduce inbox stress
✅ Snooze emails you can’t reply to right away
✅ Free up storage space with size search filters
✅ Enable offline email access for travel or weak Wi-Fi
Many of us use Gmail every single day, but few of us take advantage of all its features. Whether your inbox feels overwhelming or you just want to get more efficient, these lesser-known Gmail tips will help you stay organized, reduce stress, and reclaim your time.
1. Turn Threaded Conversations Off (or On)
Not everyone loves Gmail’s “conversation view.” Some people find threaded emails helpful, others find them confusing. The good news? You can toggle it.
In Gmail: go to Settings → General → Conversation View.
In Outlook: go to View → Show as Conversations and check/uncheck.
👉 This person wrote a great blog showing what it looks like both ways. Try both settings and see which feels more natural for your brain.
2. Unsubscribe from Lists Faster
One of the fastest ways to clear unwanted emails is to search for the word "unsubscribe." This will pull up newsletters and marketing emails with unsubscribe links.
From there, you can decide what stays and what goes.
You can also visit mail.google.com/mail/#sub to view all your subscriptions and manage them in one place.
💡 Outlook users: Outlook has a built-in unsubscribe button—see my 24-second video tutorial for how it works.
3. Archive Emails Instead of Deleting
Big inboxes = big stress. Research shows that cluttered inboxes waste up to 30 minutes per day.
But if deleting emails feels risky, try archiving instead. Archiving removes emails from your inbox without deleting them—you can always search and find them later.
📌 I dive into this in my Complete Gmail Cleanup Toolkit, which includes this pep talk along with additional quick lessons and guided cleanup sessions.
4. Snooze Emails You Can’t Deal With Yet
Sometimes you can’t respond to an email right away—you’re waiting on info, you haven’t finished the related task, or you just need time. Instead of letting it sit and stress you out, hit Snooze (I made this 2-minute video describing how I handle this in both Outlook and Gmail).
In Gmail, hover over the email → click the clock icon → choose when you want it to reappear.
This way, the message pops back into your inbox when you’re ready to act.
5. Free Up Email Storage Space
Running out of space? The culprit is usually large attachments. Use Gmail’s size filter:
Type into search bar:
size:25mb(then trysize:20mborsize:10mb).Delete the big ones you don’t need.
Go to Trash → click “Empty Trash Now.”
That’s it—your account will instantly feel lighter.
6. Access Emails Offline
Perfect for flights, travel, or spotty Wi-Fi.
How to enable:
Go to Settings → Offline.
Check “Enable offline mail.”
Bookmark Gmail in your browser (Ctrl + D).
Now you can read and draft emails even without an internet connection—Gmail syncs them once you’re back online.
FAQs
Q1: How do I clean up Gmail quickly?
Start with a search for unsubscribe and size:25mb to delete newsletters and large attachments. Then archive the rest.
Q2: What’s the difference between archive and delete in Gmail?
Deleting removes the email permanently (after 30 days in Trash). Archiving hides it from your inbox but keeps it searchable forever.
Q3: Can I use Gmail without Wi-Fi?
Yes—enable offline mode in Settings, and Gmail will let you read, search, and draft emails offline.
Q4: How do I stop getting so many marketing emails?
Search for unsubscribe and use Gmail’s unsubscribe button or manually opt out of lists you no longer want.
About The Author
Jessica Eastman Stewart is a consultant, workshop facilitator, and podcast guest expert. She teaches busy professionals how to get more organized at home and at work so they can stop feeling worn out and start living a Joyfully Managed Life! Thousands of readers drop everything when her weekly newsletter, The Friday Five, arrives in their inbox. Every Friday, you’ll get FIVE amazing tips to help life feel INSTANTLY more joyful and easy!
