Remember when you used to be happy when you heard that ding that meant “You’ve Got Mail!”   My how times have changed.

There are times when we all get too much email.  Go away for a day or two and your inbox is overflowing.  Sure some of the messages are important, but  many or advertisements or sales messages.   But they still take your time to sort through.

Last month I was away for a week and it took me two weeks to sort through it all when I returned.  I know the secret is to unsubscribe, but that takes time as well.

There are some unsubscribe tricks that I learned to make it a bit simpler. These hacks make it easier to unsubscribe in bulk.

Email Unsubscribe Tips

1. Use a service like Unroll.me. Many of you have mentioned how much you love it. (I tried it, but I still got emails from services I opted out of. Anyone else?)

2. Search your email archives. Search for the term “unsubscribe” or “subscription preferences.” Simply open the ones you want to opt out of and click the link.

3. Use a script.  I’m told this works…haven’t done it myself.  But, if you use Gmail and don’t want to give a 3rd party (like Unroll.me) access to your email, you can run a script that allows you to tag any email with “unsubscribe” and it does it for you.  Click on the link for the instructions to do this.

I hope these help you to get control of your inbox.    I know I unsubscribed to several dozen items.  It does make a difference.

If you have some tips to share about managing email overwhelm, please let us know in the comments below.