Give the batch an identity
Name the account privately and number the batch. Record a plain-language selection such as completed delivery notices from one sender before a chosen date. Avoid copying message bodies or addresses into a shared document. A batch identifier helps distinguish two similar actions later. It also gives you a place to record uncertainty without relying on memory of a temporary selection shown in an application.
Separate four decisions
Use four headings: include, exclude, action and check. Include describes the intended group; exclude describes important exceptions. Action states the actual change, such as moving inspected messages to a named folder. Check states how you will inspect the result. If two headings contradict each other, revise the batch before execution. For example, keeping order records cannot coexist with indiscriminately deleting everything from the retailer.
Budget attention rather than speed
Estimate how many small batches you can comfortably inspect and how much review and verification time each needs. The calculator on this page performs only that arithmetic. It does not predict Clean Email performance, how many messages are safe to remove or money saved. Stop when attention slips. Finishing fewer well-understood batches is preferable to expanding a selection because a timer or a large unread count feels uncomfortable.
Close the record honestly
After the action, record observed results separately from expectations. Note whether the changed group is where you intended and whether the wanted examples remain retrievable. If an outcome is uncertain, write uncertain rather than repeating the action. The worksheet is not a recovery system or proof that every message survived. Its value is a clear record of what you intended, what you checked and where further work should stop.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- Clean Email: getting started — Merchant documentation · clean.email · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-26