Running out of storage in Gmail can be frustrating, especially when important emails start bouncing. Managing your Gmail storage will not only keep your inbox clutter-free but also ensure that you don’t miss out on new messages due to space limitations.
In this guide, we’ll give you practical steps on how to manage storage in Gmail. First, we’ll discuss some basics about Gmail storage and then move on to ways of cleaning up Gmail storage. So, if you’re ready to reclaim your Gmail space, let's jump in!
How much Gmail storage do I have?
If you have a free Gmail account, you have 15 GB of free storage. Your storage limit will vary according to your plan if you have a Google Workspace account. Since the issue of storage space running out is typically associated with the free Gmail account, we’ll discuss that.
The most important thing is that the free 15 GB storage is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. This means your emails, including attachments, contribute to this overall 15 GB storage limit.
To check how much storage you have left, you can visit your Google Account’s storage page or scroll to the bottom of your Gmail inbox, where you’ll see a storage indicator.
5 best ways to clean up Gmail storage
While deleting all emails at once is undoubtedly effective, here are some gentler ways of freeing up some Gmail storage:
Clear your spam folder
Clearing up your spam folder is one of the simplest and safest ways to free up some storage. This is because important emails are unlikely to land there. On the other hand, they accumulate unwanted emails, many of which can contain large attachments that eat into your storage.
When you mark an email as spam, Gmail sends it to the spam folder and automatically deletes it in 30 days. However, you can also manually clear your spam folder to free up some space instantly.
To do this, navigate to your spam folder, check to review the recent emails, select all emails, and click ‘Delete forever.’ Learn how to check your spam folder on Gmail on desktop and mobile.
Delete emails that have large files
Attachments like photos, videos, and documents can quickly consume your available space. That's why deleting emails with large files is an effective way to clean up Gmail storage.
To find these space hogs, use Gmail’s search feature. Type ‘size:10mb’ (without space) and click search. This will give you all the emails containing attachments larger than 10 MB. Once you have them, review them to download any attachments that might be needed later and then delete the emails.
If this exercise is successful, you can move on to searching for emails with a slightly smaller file size and repeat the process. Doing this regularly will help you keep your Gmail storage under the limit.
Bulk delete emails with search filters
Identifying emails with large emails is just one way of filtering emails. You can choose to filter emails based on other criteria like date, size, sender, or label. Then, you can bulk delete these emails to free up some storage space.
This method is especially useful for clearing out newsletters, promotions, or old conversations that are no longer relevant. The key is knowing which emails you want to bulk delete so that you can choose the correct filter.
For example, suppose you decide that you want to delete all emails older than one year. You could use the Gmail search operator ‘older_than:1year’. Then it’s just a matter of selecting all and hitting delete. Here’s a list of all the Gmail search operators.
Empty your trash folder after deleting
Now that you’ve bulk deleted emails, you might be surprised to find your storage still at the same limit. This is because all the messages you deleted have gone into your trash.
The trash folder retains your deleted emails for 30 days before permanently deleting them, occupying space. So, to free up this storage, empty the trash folder by navigating to it, selecting all items, and clicking ‘Delete forever.’
Increase your Gmail storage
Finally, if you find yourself constantly trying to resuscitate your dwindling Gmail storage, you may want to look into buying more storage. Upgrading your Gmail storage through Google One is a convenient and inexpensive option.
It costs just a few dollars a month and gives you additional space for Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Learn more about the Google 1 storage plans and how to increase your Gmail storage.
Learn more about how to use Gmail effectively on the YAMM blog
Whether you decide to buy more storage or not, managing Gmail effectively goes a long way. A more organized and efficiently used Gmail inbox can save you time and effort and make you more productive.
So, if you want to maximize your Gmail experience, you’ll find the YAMM blog a valuable resource. Regularly updated with fresh content, the YAMM blog helps users of all levels stay informed about Gmail features, best practices, and ways to get the most out of Gmail. Get better at Gmail with the YAMM blog!