How to Organize Your Email Folders in Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is the email application that is part of the Windows bundle on all PCs. Outlook has a number of helpful tools to help keep your inbox and the rest of your email organized. Many of the tools are even automated to make the task even simpler once you set it up.
Many people unfortunately do not know how to use these great features or are just plain unaware of them. This can result in an over-abundance of unwanted emails which can prevent you  from finding that important email when you need it, or having your work emails lost in the midst of newsletters, spam and emails from your friends.

The Filter Tool

Filtering your messages allows you to see only the emails you want, and that meet certain criteria. You can then sort these emails into folders accordingly and have them automatically sorted in the future. To access the Filter tool just click on "View". A drop-down menu will appear and you can select one or more categories that have been established like Unread or even Social Updates, which are emails from Facebook and other social networks.

The Sweep Tool

Sweeping is how you send all of a certain type of email to a designated folder. An easy way to sweep is to do so by sender. For example, if you want all of your work emails in a separate folder, you'll want to use Sweep after selecting an email from your boss or co-workers. Click Sweep and then from the drop-down menu select "Move all from". After this you will be sent to another screen where you can select the folder to either sweep to or create a new folder. Sweep is great because you only need to select one email in order to send them all where you want them to end up.

The Sweep tool will also allow you to automate the sorting of emails in the future. All you need to do is select the check-box for "Also move future messages". Sweep can also be used to delete all of the messages from a specific sender. This feature is excellent for getting rid of all of your Facebook notification emails at one time.

The Schedule Cleanup Feature

Schedule Cleanup keeps your inbox and your folders from being overrun by old emails that are no longer relevant. It can be set to delete certain emails after ten, thirty, sixty or ninety days - whichever works best for you. This makes it so that you will only have to deal with more recent emails. You may also use Schedule Cleanup to send emails to folders and have them bypass your inbox entirely. Click on Schedule Cleanup and all you need to do is select the options that are right for your needs.

Turning to Professional Organization

There are also great professional organizing services that can do all of your email organizing for you. They will handle all of your digital needs to your specifications and get you started with staying organized in the future. They are great if you are less computer savvy, just do not have time to sit down and deal with the email clutter or if you are overwhelmed by the prospect. If you have just begun using Outlook and imported all of your emails from over the years it can easily become overwhelming.

A digital data storage organizer can take care of more than just Outlook. They can also help you with a cluttered desktop and help clear space on your hard drive. They will set up automation tasks within all of your programs, sort your folders and get rid of duplicate files. They will get the job done quickly and easily, so that you can get back to your business as soon as possible and never have to dig through your inbox for hours again.

Robert Mizrahi
Chaos Commandos
NYCOrganizers.com