Your inbox has 4,782 messages. Somewhere in there is that quote from last month. Or was it two months ago? You type the customer’s name into the search bar and get 47 results. Good luck.
This scenario plays out every day in offices across the Netherlands. Not because people are careless, but simply because email wasn’t designed to store documents. In this blog, Christiaan Ferreira, a SharePoint specialist and owner of Docubird, explains why your inbox isn’t an archive and what does work.
Why email isn't a good place to store files
Email is designed for communication, not for archiving. Yet most people use their inbox as a digital filing cabinet. It’s understandable—it feels convenient. You receive a file, it’s in your email, and that’s it.
But then a colleague goes on vacation. Or someone leaves. That important attachment? It’s in an email account that no one else can access. And Outlook’s search function isn’t designed to search through hundreds of folders and thousands of messages.
The result: wasting valuable time searching. Or worse, documents that simply can’t be found anymore.
Three habits that actually work
Save attachments separately, not the entire email
That quote or contract belongs in a shared folder, not in your personal inbox. That way, everyone can access it, even when you're not around.
Choose a logical spot and stick to it
SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive—it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Just be consistent. A document that could be anywhere is a document that can’t be found anywhere.
Clean out your inbox every week
Five minutes on Friday afternoon. Which emails have attachments that belong elsewhere? Which conversations are finished and can be deleted? A little maintenance goes a long way in preventing major searches.
The real solution lies in your approach
The problem isn't your inbox. The problem is that saving something in the right place often takes more effort than not saving it at all. And when you're pressed for time, convenience always wins out.
Docubird makes saving files as easy as doing nothing. From within Outlook, you can save emails and attachments to SharePoint, Teams, or OneDrive with a single click. The right folder, the right metadata—all without leaving Outlook.
Want to see how it works? Christiaan would be happy to show you in a quick demo.