Posts tagged spam

Here are a few tips if you find yourself running up against the mailbox limit on your email.  The actual process for clearing out space will be dependent on the application you use for checking your email (e.g. Outlook, Microsoft Live Mail, web browser) and the email provider.

1/ Clear out sent items, deleted items and junk folders.  Some email providers count the emails in ‘Sent Items’ and deleted or trash items as used space.  You can usually save a lot by purging these items permanently.  If you rely on these for reference of some sort, consider permanently deleting anything that is more than 3 months old or 6 months old (when was the last time you actually needed an email more than 6 months old?).

2/ Look for emails with attachments, save the attachments locally to your computer and then delete the email.  A single very large attachment can take up the same space as potentially hundreds of emails.  Get the files out of email storage so they are not counting against your mailbox allocation.

3/ Find out exactly how big your mailbox is and which folders are the biggest culprits.  Most email programs will have tools for letting you know the sizes of individual folders – use this to find the worst offenders and treat accordingly.

4/ Check options in your email program for archiving and deleting space on server.  Some email programs are set to keep a copy of the email on the server even if you delete it locally in your email program – this means files on the server might still be taking up space.  You may also have some options for archiving older emails which means you can still search for them but they don’t show in your mailbox or take up space against your allocation.

5/  Use an alternative service like Gmail or Outlook.com – these products give you free email accounts with lots of space and show you a few ads in return.  It can be a hassle initially to have to change your email address and let everyone know the new address but going forward you gain the freedom to change ISP without changing your email and they usually offer a lot features and more space than on your local ISP.

6/  Pay for more storage – if none of the above options work or appeal, your provider will have options for paying for more space – ask them about options and find one that fits best for your needs.

Here are some more specific tips as and guides if you are using
Outlook – http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/cleanmailbox.htm
or Gmail – http://www.howtogeek.com/112734/how-to-free-up-space-in-gmail-5-ways-to-reclaim-space/

If you’d like us to help you with clearing out space on your email or discussing options and processes to migrate to a web-based solution, get in touch.