Using Labels instead of Folders
Actually, Gmail doesn't use folders. To help you organize your mail more effectively, Gmail uses labels instead.
Here's why we think labels are better than folders:
Labels
A conversation can have more than one label
A conversation can be in several locations (Inbox, All Mail, Sent Mail, etc.) at once, making it easier to find later
You can search conversations by label
Learn how to create, edit, delete, and search labels.
Folders
You can only put a message in one folder
You have to remember where you filed a message to retrieve it
You can't always do folder-specific searches
Using labels
Labels help you organize your messages into categories -- work, family, to do, read later, jokes, recipes, any category you want. Labels do all the work that folders do, but with an added bonus: you can add more than one to a message.
Only you can see your labels, so whether you mark a message with "Best friend" or "Read later," the sender will never know.
Click here to see detailed instructions on how to use labels