Unclutter Your GMail Without Missing Out On Your Newsletters

I try to keep my email inbox fairly clean but I do subscribe to some daily and weekly newsletters. Usually I skim the newsletters and delete them on a daily or weekly basis. However, if I miss a day or two I am doomed with clutter.

I could unsubscribe but there are a few I like to read regularly. Or I could setup a filter and send them out of my inbox and off to a folder automatically. However, out of sight, out of mind, and I have found when I do this I never read the archived email.

Here’s a solution that I found works for me using an Android phone and Gmail (but you could do a similar thing on iPhones and any web based email):

1. On your computer (this is easier on your computer then on mobile), open your browser and log in to your Gmail account
2. For each newsletter, create a filter which archives and labels them with the name of the newsletter.

   For example:

   Start by creating the label/folder:

After creating the label, click “Filter Messages Like These”:

Click “Create Filter”


Click “Skip the Inbox (Archive It)
Click Apply the Label and select the label you created above.
Click “Create Filter”

3. In your browser, navigate to the Gmail folder/label you just created and click on it. The URL in your browser should reflect this. In my example, my URL is “https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#label/Codewars”. Bookmark the URL.
4. Now send that URL to your mobile phone. I use Firefox both on mobile and on my desktop, so this is easily done by the “Send Tab to Device” option. I believe Chrome has a similar feature.
5. On your mobile phone, open the link to your folder in your browser.
6. In your browser, click on the Menu and select “Add to Home Screen” (both in Firefox and Chrome). The phone will allow you to rename the icon link and drag it to the desktop.

7. Drag the Icon to a new folder labeled “News” or some other appropiate label. I also put other reading apps and links in this folder.

8. Now when I am in the mood for reading and catching up on my newsletters, I just go the News folder and click on the shortcut. I can read when I want and my email inbox stays uncluttered.