Here is how I received my messy Google Maintain notes underneath management

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Google Maintain has been my go-to note-taking app for years, however I not too long ago seen that my disorganized notes had been turning into overwhelming, making it more durable to search out what I used to be on the lookout for. I had beforehand tried color-coding notes and pinning essential ones, nevertheless these fixes had been now not sufficient.

I made a decision to lastly get management over my notes through the use of options I’d typically ignored, together with labels and deleting previous notes I now not wanted. However I additionally moved a few of my notes to a different app with extra superior options.

How do you retain your Google Maintain notes organized? 391 votes

Deleting and archiving previous notes.

16%

Shade-coding notes.

22%

Pinning essential notes.

11%

Utilizing labels.

20%

Utilizing one other app for extra complicated notes.

20%

All the above.

10%

One thing else (tell us within the feedback).

1%

Lastly utilizing labels

<img class="e_Kg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="google keep with a list of custom labels" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-1920w-1080h.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="google keep with a list of custom labels" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-keep-with-a-list-of-custom-labels-scaled.jpg"/> Megan Ellis / Android Authority

My notes in Google Maintain fall into three primary classes: private notes like purchasing and medicine lists, notes for articles I’m writing, and notes about {hardware} I’m reviewing. The labels characteristic enables you to categorize notes, however the label itself will not be sufficient to maintain these notes organized.

Fairly, the power to filter your notes to view a single label is what helped me get my Google Maintain organized. As an alternative of being met with all my pinned notes and a sequence of disorganized notes spanning years, I can faucet on a selected label to solely view notes from a single class.

Labels assist by appearing as filters that allow you to see your notes in a much less cluttered view.

If you view a selected class in Google Maintain, it additionally remembers your pinned notes preferences. This implies you'll be able to nonetheless see your highest-priority notes with a selected label on the high of your display screen.

I do want, although, that Google made it a bit simpler to prepare notes on your private home display screen. Folders can be a very helpful addition, permitting you to drag-and-drop your notes moderately than assign them particular labels. It will additionally imply that whenever you open the app, your default display screen offers you an organized overview, moderately than requiring you to make use of labels as a filter.

Deleting a backlog of notes

<img class="e_Kg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="deleted notes in google keep" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-1920w-1080h.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="deleted notes in google keep" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/deleted-notes-in-google-keep-scaled.jpg"/> Megan Ellis / Android Authority

When taking a look at methods to prepare my Google Maintain notes, I noticed that I used to be hoarding a bunch of ineffective notes and data that I now not wanted. There have been previous notes for articles I had printed years in the past, random screenshots that I had no context for, and hyperlinks to previous purchasing carts. There was even a textual content observe that was only a sequence of 8’s taking on a number of strains, possible created throughout one of many many instances my cat has stepped on my keyboard.

I am a little bit of a digital hoarder, however even I noticed that a few of my notes wanted to go.

So I lastly determined to do a radical overview of my notes, deleting ones that I now not wanted. I'm a little bit of a digital hoarder, however even I can see how I now not want my duplicate purchasing lists and previous article notes. For the issues that I nonetheless needed to maintain round, I used the archive characteristic as a substitute to take away them from my house display screen view.

That is arguably one of the crucial essential steps for getting Google Maintain underneath management, particularly when you’re a prolific note-taker. Delete what you now not want, archive unimportant notes that you could be need to maintain simply in case, and ensure your private home display screen contains your most essential and up to date notes.

Shifting some notes to Notion as a substitute

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I like Google Maintain for its simplicity, particularly since I discover many productiveness apps overwhelming with their studying curves and abundance of options. However even I have to admit when Google Maintain’s sticky-note format now not cuts it.

I seen this primary with my medicine notes. As I modified between completely different therapies for my fibromyalgia and persistent migraines, it turned tougher to trace the dosages, why I ended taking sure drugs, and the complete historical past of various therapies.

Shifting sure notes to Notion has helped me make my Google Maintain web page much less cluttered.

Consequently, I created a Notion template that retains observe of my present and previous drugs in a extra nuanced means. This allowed for extra detailed notes and easy methods to mark whether or not I nonetheless take the medicine or complement. I additionally added a column to my template that notes the effectiveness of the remedy, together with any unintended effects.

I’m additionally doing this with my notes associated to my cats’ vet visits. I often use Maintain to record some questions I've for the vet, together with any notable issues my cats are experiencing. However these have additionally turn out to be scattered and disorganized, so I plan to create a dashboard in Notion that I can use to consolidate my notes. This may let me make way more detailed notes and simply arrange them in line with the date and which cat they apply to.

Technically I might’ve used textual content formatting in Google Maintain to make extra detailed notes, however they nonetheless wouldn’t have the extra superior advantages of Notion databases and templates.

Google Maintain’s easy method to note-taking signifies that I'll nonetheless use it as my major app for fast notes. It’s additionally the very best place to maintain my article concepts, since I can rapidly jot them down whether or not I’m on the transfer, working, or mendacity in mattress.

However I’ve additionally needed to begin utilizing the app extra thoughtfully to cease it from being a disorganized mess. This contains deleting and archiving previous notes, simplifying my view with labels, and realizing when a observe requires extra superior options than what Maintain affords.