What I learned from cleaning out my inbox

My physical clutter game is on point, but digitally I'm a hoarder.

It's probably because I don't really see it. If I had almost 2,000 magazines in my living room, I'd freak out, but 2,000 emails and I hardly bat an eye... Until there's an email I need to find.

I will give myself credit, a few years ago I easily had over 7,000 emails.  ​I feel like it was closer to 10,000 but either way it's too much. 

I don't know about you, but I have a bad habit of thinking, "I'll read that later."

Truth is, there's only about 5 people I ever go back & read later. The rest just sit there. Piling up. There are people I've subscribed to that I don't think I've ever read anything they sent me, but I keep them because....

What if I need that specific information in some future mystery scenario!?!?!

Even if I did need that specific information I'm pretty sure I wouldn't know where to look for it in my email.

So, I started on my decluttering. 

This is my decluttering strategy. I like it because you don't have to do it all at once & it gets rid of big chunks.

​I like to start by sender. I search the sender. If I don't ever open their emails, I unsubscribe them delete them all and move on. If it's someone I read, I delete everything over 1 month old. Logins, receipts, and other important emails get sorted into folders.

​The first time I did this I learned that I subscribed to a lot of people who weren't aligned with me (a big reason I never opened an email from them). I found out my inbox was filled with emails from people I had forgotten I ever subscribed to. I had saved a ton of replays that promised to let me in on "the secret" for something or another. 

Second step in email decluttering is getting rid of all the starting soon and replay emails. If you're like me, that could be substantial.

Third I get rid of any sale or specials emails.

Finally, I get rid of all the emails that are more than 3 months old. This might bring up some anxiety, but honestly if you haven't read it by now you're not going to. You can always start with this step, but personally I have a harder time letting go if I start here. 

So what has all this decluttering taught me??

I change a lot Every Year. You're with yourself all the time. Sometimes it's hard to notice, but each new level of you seeks out different things, people, messages. That's 100%  normal.

I was resisting unsubscribing from Big Names. People who had, or claimed to have, the results I wanted, even though their messages or strategies felt off to me.

I am NOT going to go back and read it later.

I go through webinar phases. I sign up for them, then I don't watch 90% of them. 

I'd love to know what decluttering your inbox teaches you.

Do you notice a theme? Is there a Big name you were afraid to unsubscribe? Was it easy for you? What did you keep? Leave a comment or send me an email about your decluttering experience.