Are You An Email Hoarder?

Did I get your attention?

Are you?

I am.

I never thought of myself as a hoarder before.  Yes, I recycle everyday things for the kids to use in art projects and I save stuff to repurpose but I do keep it organized or chuck it when I've had it awhile and it has been sitting unused and/or temporarily forgotten.  My front closet houses three plastic tower cabinets filled with craft items.

My email is another matter.  It's annoying clicking on each and every email I want to get rid of, not to mention it hurts my hand. 

This is why I have almost 4000 emails in my personal email.  That isn't counting the ones already sitting organized in folders.

Horrifying, isn't it?

Then, I got an email with the title, "Are You An Email Hoarder? Hotmail Can Help You Organize!"

My interest was piqued...and my skepticism.

Apparently, Hotmail now has a new Sweep feature that allows you to get rid of mass amounts of email in just a few clicks.  Do you hear angels singing?

Here's How It Works:
1) Locate a sender whose emails you want to sweep from your email.
2) Click the box next to the email.
3) Click Sweep to move or delete all of that sender's messages. (You can also choose to move or delete all future messages from that sender.)

Three easy steps!

Can it really be that easy?

The answer is yes.

Just by getting rid of the retailers emails I received, I was able to whittle my inbox down to about 1800 emails in mere minutes.

The rest are personal and need to be gone through but it is more doable now than before and I feel energized by getting rid of the other 2000 so easily that I am more optimistic that I WILL get around to spring cleaning my email.

Hotmail is also running the Hotmail Sweep:Messiest Desk Contest. Click here for the rules and visit their Windows Live Hotmail Facebook page to submit your entry. You have until Friday, April 15th to enter.

*I was not compensated in any way to write about this Hotmail feature or the contest.  I just think it is a wonderful and useful tool for any email hoarders out there like myself!