Q: What’s the best way to free up space in my Gmail account?
A: If your Gmail account is warning you that storage is full — or worse, rejecting new messages — you’re running into a common problem: your Google account only includes 15GB of free space, and that total is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. That means you can delete hundreds of emails and still be out of room if your drive or photo library are stuffed with old files or backups.
Before deleting anything, the smartest first step is understanding what’s actually using the space. Google’s Storage Manager will show you a breakdown so you know where to focus your efforts.
Start with the quick wins
Two spots to check right away are your spam and trash folders. Anything sitting in either of those still counts against your limit until you permanently remove it.
Think of trash like a holding tank; nothing really disappears until you empty it yourself. Doing this alone can free up space in seconds, especially if you’ve deleted a lot of items recently.
Hunt down the space hogs
Big attachments are the usual suspects. Instead of scrolling forever, use Gmail’s built-in search filters.
Typing “has:attachment larger: 10M” will round up the emails carrying the heaviest load. Once you delete them, make sure to empty trash again to actually reclaim the storage — otherwise, it’s like taking out the garbage but leaving the bin in the kitchen.
If you’ve been using the same Gmail address for years, chances are you have thousands of messages you’ll never need again. Searches like “older_than: 1y or even older_than: 5y” can help you resurface the dead weight. Newsletters, automated receipts, outdated photos and long-finished conversations are all fair game for cleanup.
Automate the cleanup going forward
A smart long-term approach is creating filters from your computer that automatically archive or delete specific categories of email — newsletters, marketing mail, social media notifications, etc.
You can even apply these filters to existing messages to clear them out retroactively. This turns maintenance into a background task rather than an emergency project.
Don’t forget the other culprits: drive and photos
Here’s where many people get stuck: Gmail isn’t always the real problem. If you work with large files in drive or have years of full-resolution photos backed up, those may be eating the bulk of your 15GB.
Visit the quota page to sort drive files by size and remove the worst offenders. Check for large videos and images in Google Photos as well, especially if you’ve been backing up in “original” quality. And just like Gmail, both services have trash bins that must be emptied to finalize the space recovery.
If cleanup isn’t enough
There comes a point where manual cleanup isn’t worth the time, especially if you rely on Gmail for work or family communication.
In that case, upgrading to a paid Google One plan might make sense. It’s inexpensive, gives you more breathing room and avoids the constant delete-and-empty cycle.
The bottom line
Start with the easy fixes, target the biggest files, automate future cleanup and remember that Gmail isn’t the only piece of the puzzle. A little focused maintenance can save you some money and a lot of frustration, and ensure important messages aren’t bouncing when you need them most.
