Bushwacking Through Emails

I wish I had taken a picture of my backyard, the grass was up to my waist…I’m serious.  The reason my grass was so high is because I had planted some new seed and I didn’t want to cut the old grass, while the new grass was still fragile.  On top of not cutting it, I watered the new seed with a sprinkler instead of a hose, so water hit everywhere which means, water + sun x not cutting = jungle in my backyard. 
This past Sunday with not having programs, I had a little more margin in my Sunday schedule, so I took on the jungle in my office.  My problem is when I clean I don’t clean, I organize messes.  I make neat piles of papers, stack books evenly, but I don’t really tackle the clutter.  But the worse area of my office is my email inbox, I don’t delete, I’m afraid too; therefore, one email turns into 50,000.  The problem with not deleting is you still end up missing an email…it’s almost as bad as deleting.  This can be a huge problem, because for so many parents the easiest way for them to communicate with you is via email.  If you don’t respond to an email they’ll think you don’t care.  So I searched for tips and found the article “Using a three-folder system to keep e-mail under control” on the blog Unclutterer. 
Granted now I have a system, but I know the problem is putting it into action, which requires a little grunt work.  So I’ve made some time to tackle this project.  For those of you who tired of my unanswered emails, hopefully this will help.
Where does clutter mess with your life?