Confession time! I have a terrible habit of keeping emails that ”I’ll get to later”. How bad is this habit? Well, I once had over 10k emails in one of my accounts. 10k that at some point I was supposed to get back to and I never did. They just gathered dust in my inbox. 🤦🏾‍♀️

One day I decided that I was going to clean out my inboxes no matter how long it took. When I finally got down to zero it was the best feeling in the world. It was crazy that I had been holding on to emails that were 2-3 years old. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

After cleaning out my inboxes I decided that I was never going to let my email get so out of control again. I came up with an email maintenance practice that I try to uphold and I would love to share those tips with you.

 

1. Try to schedule/set a reminder to clear out your personal and business email accounts every 4-6 months if possible. Pick a time that is right for you. I originally tried to do this once a month, but it didn’t always work out.

2. File folders are your best friend! They are the easiest way to keep those emails organized and out of your inbox. I have them for the various newsletters and courses I have signed up for. I also have them for important emails like receipts.

3. Try not to keep anything in your inbox that is over 2-3 months old. If you haven’t gotten back to it by that time chances are you’re not going to. Delete or create a file folder for them, but get those emails out of your inbo. I really have to push myself to practice this one!

4. Maintaining your inbox can be done via desktop or mobile device. Did you know that if you have connected your email account(s) to your mobile device the email in your inbox is taking up storage space? Keep those inboxes as clear as you can to free up that space you need!

5. The amount of time it takes to clean out your inbox depends on the amount of emails you have. You can usually delete about 50 emails at a time depending on the provider you have. Again, the length of time varies so if you haven’t cleared your inbox in over a year, get comfy because you may be at this awhile.

Bonus tip: Don’t keep any emails in your inbox for nostalgia! If you must keep it, create a folder for it.

Those are my words of wisdom regarding email maintenance. Hopefully, this was helpful to you! If you have any tips to share, I would love to hear about them!