How to Archive Emails in Outlook
Clear your Outlook inbox without deleting emails. Learn how to archive in seconds—on desktop, mobile, and web.
How to Archive Emails in Outlook
Archiving emails in Outlook is the fastest way to keep your inbox clean without nuking important conversations. Unlike deleting (which removes the email) or moving (which can mess with filters), archiving stores your emails out of sight, but not out of reach.
Here’s how to do it properly—on every version of Outlook—so you can declutter your day without losing data.
How to Archive Emails in Outlook – Platform by Platform
Different devices = different methods. It’s as simple as that. Outlook doesn’t always make it obvious, but you can archive emails from anywhere, desktop, web, or mobile. The trick? Knowing where the damn button is.
Outlook Desktop (Windows & Mac)
On desktop, archiving is fast and built-in if you're using a Microsoft 365, Exchange, or IMAP account.
Here’s how to do it:
- Select the email(s) you want to archive,
- Hit the Archive button in the top toolbar (or use the shortcut: Backspace),
- Done. Outlook moves the emails to the Archive folder (same account).
If you're using POP or local PST files, you may need to manually create an Archive folder or use AutoArchive for older messages.
Outlook Web (Outlook.com / Office365)
Outlook Web makes it even easier and faster.
Here are the few steps to follow:
- Open Outlook in your browser,
- Hover over the email or select multiple,
- Click the Archive icon (it looks like a box with a downward arrow),
- Poof. Archived instantly.
All archived messages go to the “Archive” folder in the left-hand menu. And the good thing here is that it's still searchable and always accessible, just not in your main inbox.
Outlook Mobile App (iOS & Android)
On mobile, archiving is even faster, but only if you’ve set up swipe actions. You don’t know how to do it? Here are some tips:
- Open the Outlook app,
- Swipe the email left or right (depending on your settings),
- If Archive is assigned to that swipe, it’s instant,
- If not, go to Settings > Swipe Options and assign Archive to one side.
And if you want to archive in bulk, just long-press to select multiple emails, then tap Archive in the menu bar. That’s it.
When Should You Archive vs Delete or Move?
Archiving is a smarter alternative to deleting or endlessly dragging emails into folders.
If you still hesitate, here’s when you should archive:
- You want to clear your inbox without losing the email forever,
- You might need the info later (e.g. invoices, threads, references),
- You don’t have time to sort but want to keep it accessible,
- You’re managing cold outreach replies you want to keep but not deal with now.
When to delete:
- Obvious spam or irrelevant content,
- You’re 100% sure you’ll never need it again.
And especially when to move:
- You have a detailed folder system and want to stay hyper-organized,
- You use filters or rules that depend on folder location.
An organized inbox is good, but keep in mind that a warmed-up inbox is way better. Why? Simply because even with zero clutter, your emails won’t land if your domain isn’t trusted.
Our solution? Leverage Mailreach’s Email Warmup to boost deliverability, build domain reputation and keep your emails out of spam, all-in-one.
Where Do Archived Emails Go in Outlook?
You hit “Archive”… and now what? Where does that email actually go?
Outlook has a dedicated Archive folder, separate from your Inbox, Deleted Items, or custom folders. You’ll find it in the left-hand panel of Outlook Desktop, Web, or Mobile, usually under your inbox structure.
Here are some key facts:
- Archived emails are still searchable
- They aren’t deleted or hidden
- They don’t affect your inbox quota (in most cases)
- They won’t show up in your inbox unless manually moved back
And no, archived doesn’t mean archived forever. It simply means that you can move them back, reply to them or re-label them anytime.
Pro Tips to Organize Your Outlook Inbox
Archiving helps, sure, but if your inbox still feels like digital chaos, you need a system. The smartest users don’t just archive emails, they rather automate, prioritize, and clean house regularly. Good news, here are some pro tips that will help you build an inbox that runs like a machine, so you can spend less time clicking and more time closing.
Set up rules to auto-archive newsletters or old threads
If you’re manually archiving the same types of emails every week, stop. Outlook’s rule system can handle that work for you—automatically. Set rules to identify newsletters, transactional emails, or any thread older than X days, and instantly move them to your Archive or a custom folder. It declutters your inbox in real time, without lifting a finger. Pro tip: pair auto-archive rules with keyword filters to keep low-priority messages out of your way—without deleting anything important.
Use categories and flags to triage what needs follow-up
If you think that inbox zero is just about cleaning, you’re totally wrong. It’s more about knowing what really needs action.
Categories and flags let you turn your inbox into a simple, color-coded task manager. This is why you must assign categories like “Client,” “Urgent,” or “To Review,” and use flags to mark emails that need follow-up this week.
The whole point here is to stay consistent, as this will allow you to filter your inbox by action type, not just sender or subject. It’s a quick way to see what’s hot, what’s waiting, and what you can safely ignore.
Enable Focused Inbox to split signal from noise
Outlook’s Focused Inbox is your built-in signal filter. It means that it automatically splits your inbox into two tabs based on your behavior.
So in practice, important emails stay up front, distractions get sidelined. It’s not perfect out of the box, but the more you use it, the smarter it gets. You can even train it by moving emails between tabs, and it’ll start prioritizing what matters.
If you’re drowning in updates, alerts, and CCs, this one setting can cut your mental load in half.
Schedule a weekly Inbox Zero session—clear, archive, clean
Don’t wait for inbox chaos to fix itself, as the best solution remains to block time each week to reset. A weekly “Inbox Zero” session lets you archive what’s done, delete what’s useless, and re-prioritize what matters.
And yes, it only takes 15–20 minutes, but it saves hours of context-switching and missed follow-ups later. As a bonus, you can also use this time to clear your Sent folder and clean up your Drafts too. Think of it as maintenance for your brain. You don’t need to respond to everything, but you just do need to see it.
Combine with tools like Mailreach to monitor deliverability while you stay organized
Even a perfectly organized inbox won’t help if your emails don’t get delivered. That’s where Mailreach comes in. While Outlook helps you stay on top of replies and clutter, Mailreach works in the background to keep your sender reputation healthy.
It monitors deliverability, warms up your domain, and helps prevent your cold emails from hitting spam. Combine that with a clean inbox, and you’re unstoppable, organized, responsive, and always inbox-ready when it counts.
A messy inbox is bad, but a blocked email is really worse. To avoid that, the best thing to do is to run your email or your newsletter through Mailreach’s Spam Test, before even sending it.
We’ll show you exactly where it lands, and especially how to fix it fast if it doesn’t hit inbox. You’re welcome!
Get your Free Spam Test right now
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