If your inbox has gotten a little out of control, here are some ideas to help you regain control as you clear it out:

Create sub-folders for individuals, work groups, or projects to contain email that you still want to hold onto, but that no longer belongs in your inbox. Once your folders are in place, you simply drag emails into them for safe storage.

When clearing large amounts of email, it can be easiest to sort by person, rather than date to scroll through messages. Just click on the header line in your inbox that says “from,” and your messages will be sorted by sender. This allows you to see all of your messages from individuals, and from there you can drag messages into sub folders, or into the trash.

Move messages that are items belonging on your to-do list onto your calendar or to-do list – either paper or electronic.

Create a folder for the random items you can’t bear to part with. Give the file a name according to the dates it represents. For example, you can make a folder called Nov09-May10, and then drag everything into the file you are not ready to delete.

The Quotes

"Don't ignore the small things - the kite flies because of its tail."
~Hawaiian Proverb

"Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself."
~from The Gospel According To Zen