Everything from one store, in one folder
Make your mail sort itself, so the statements and receipts never touch your inbox again.
A rule is a standing instruction to your mail: when something like this arrives, do that with it. You write it once and it works for ever, including while you are asleep.
Every rule has two halves. Which messages — nearly always "from this address". What to do — nearly always "put it in this folder".
Some mail calls them rules, some calls them filters, and Gmail calls the folders labels. The idea is identical in all of them.
Key points
- Make a rule from a message you already have, in about a minute
- Send every future message from one sender straight to a folder, and tidy the old ones at the same time
- Find every rule you have made, and switch one off when it hides something you wanted
What to remember
- Always build a rule from a message you already have. Half of it is written for you.
- A rule you have completely forgotten about is still working. That is the point of it — and it is also the one thing to keep an eye on.
- Every rule you have ever made is in one list, and any of them can be turned off without being deleted.
Try this
Look at your own inbox and find the company that writes to you most often. Make one rule for them. One is enough to feel the difference by the end of the week.
Practice: Everything from one store, in one folder. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.