How to Manage Email Storage

Keeping your mailbox tidy isn't just about staying organized-it's essential for making sure your email account functions smoothly and doesn't hit storage limits. Whether you're trying to boost your email performance or simply free up space, this guide walks you through smart ways to manage your Vivint Host email storage.

1. Clear Out Unnecessary Emails

Let’s start with the basics. If an email doesn’t serve any purpose-delete it. One of the easiest and most effective ways to free up space is by removing messages you don’t need. This includes promotions, old notifications, and newsletters you’ve already read. The cleaner your inbox, the faster you’ll find what actually matters.

2. Empty Your Trash and Spam Folders Regularly

Even after deleting emails, they still take up space in the Trash or Spam folder. Make it a habit to clear these folders:

• Go to Trash or Spam
• Click on the action icon beside the folder name
• Select Empty trash or Delete all messages

Doing this regularly ensures your email storage is used only for important messages.

3. Archive Older Messages

Instead of deleting older emails you might reference later, archive them. Archiving keeps them accessible without cluttering your main folders. Here's how:

To archive selected emails, simply select them and click the Archive icon.

To archive all emails older than 90 days in a folder:

• Click on the folder-specific action icon next to the folder
• Choose Archive old messages

Archived emails are stored by year in the Archive folder for easy access.

Pro Tip: Archive first, then delete from the archive folder if you're certain you won’t need them.

4. Use Folders to Organize Your Mailbox

Keeping thousands of emails in one folder (especially the Inbox) can slow things down. Create specific folders for clients, projects, or newsletters. You can:

• Manually move emails into designated folders
• Set up filters in your Vivint Host Webmail so new emails are automatically sorted

Note: Try to keep fewer than 10,000 emails in a single folder for better performance. Hover over a folder name to see the email count.

5. Review and Remove Unused Folders

If you’ve got folders created for temporary tasks or old projects, clean them out. Here's how:

• Select the folder
• Click on the action icon
• Choose Delete all messages or Delete folder
  
  

Important: If these folders are tied to filter rules, be sure to remove the filters too-otherwise, future emails could disappear into a non-existent folder.

6. Delete Emails with Large Attachments

Large attachments can eat up your mailbox space fast. To locate and remove them:

• Go to your inbox
• Use the Sort dropdown
• Select Sort by Size

Review large emails and decide which ones to delete.

For attachments you need to keep:

• Save them to your Vivint Host Drive
• Or download them to your local system for backup

7. Optimize Outlook for Better Performance

If you’re using Outlook with a large email account, performance might lag. Large PST/OST files can cause Outlook to freeze or become unresponsive. Optimize your Outlook storage settings to maintain smooth performance. [Refer to our detailed guide on optimizing Outlook storage.]

8. Reduce Clutter from Unwanted Emails

Even though our spam filters do a good job, some unwanted messages might still land in your inbox. Here’s what you can do:

• Unsubscribe from newsletters or updates you no longer need
• Block repetitive or unnecessary senders directly through your Vivint Host Webmail interface

This helps you focus on what really matters-and keeps storage usage in check.

9. Expand or Reallocate Email Storage

Still running out of space? No worries. With Vivint Host, you can:

• Shift unused storage from one mailbox to another
• Or create a new mailbox to access additional storage

You can monitor how much space each mailbox uses directly in your Vivint Host dashboard or via the Webmail sidebar.

Final Tip: Make It Routine

Storage issues rarely happen overnight-they build up. Set a monthly reminder to review your email storage. A bit of regular maintenance goes a long way in keeping your email account fast, organized, and fully functional.