Email Subscription Clean-Up

I don't know about you, but I have entered my fair share of contests, made requests for coupons, etc., and my inboxes have been overflowing with advertising offers, updates, and the like from too many companies. This issue is compounded by the fact that I access email on both my iPhone and my desktop, and deleting an email in one place does not delete it from the other. So, I spend double the time deleting emails that I just am not reading.

There were emails from clothing retailers my daughter likes. I signed up to receive a coupon or updates ahead of Black Friday, yet I am not doing any clothes shopping that warrents receiving A DAILY EMAIL anytime soon! Those were the first to go. I was getting email from specific products, and I don't even recall signing up to receive those. There are many emails I did request, but I find that I'm too busy to read. Since I do not have limitless time to peruse all these emails, I decided to take a few minutes each day this week to start unsubscribing, instead of just deleting those messages.

As for those messages I still wanted to receive, I have been updating my email address to one that won't send all of my "advertising / newsletter" email to my junk mail.  I was unable to find how to update my email for one company that I really like. Sadly, their policy is that once your email is associated to your account, it can never be changed. The representative told me I'd have to sign up for a new account! I had just updated my public profile with that company, and was not going to take the time to recreate the wheel. Remember, I'm trying to save TIME and also, not miss emails that go to junk mail here with this activity. I let her know that I just may not catch all their emails. Oh well!

I know that it seems like it takes loads of time to clean up your email subscriptions. However, if you just take a few minutes each day (set a timer!) for one week, I promise that your inbox will start looking better and better, and you won't feel so weighed down by all those unread messages. Good luck!

Quick Tip: Separate e-mail Address for Coupons / Offers / Freebies

I'm getting ready to take my own advice. If you are new to couponing / offers / freebies, or even if you're not, you really need a separate e-mail address for the influx. Some companies will allow you to opt out of receiving e-mails when you request to print a coupon from their site or ask for a freebie, but others do not. You can opt out later, but generally not until you receive your first e-mail. Typically, coupons offered by the manufacturer direct from their website are higher in value than what you'll find in the Sunday paper, so there really is value to receiving these e-mails. Also, you can get neat samples to try like the one I received yesterday from Breve Creme Coffee Creamer for a free full-size pint and five 55 cent off coupons.

The coffee cup was the shipping "box" for what you see arranged on the table.

The environmentalist in me says boo to the extra packaging on this Earth Day, but the bargain shopper and  deal finder says "cute and eye catching design".

So, the bottom line is, if you don't want to miss an important e-mail from your friend, family member, or bank in the potential sea of money saving info coming from your favorite brands or manufacturers, take a moment to open a second free e-mail through your internet service provider or another e-mail provider such as Google, Hotmail, or Yahoo!.