How to Auto Empty Trash in Windows Mail or Outlook

It's nice that messages you delete in Windows Live Mail, Windows Mail or Outlook Express are not gone forever right away. The accidentally banished email is easily brought back from the Deleted Items folder.

Deleting all these messages a second time — from Deleted Items — is not so nice and you may forget to do it, too, growing that folder ever larger and more unwieldy.

Fortunately, Windows Live Mail, Windows Mail and Outlook Express can do the emptying for you.

Just make sure you remember to recover deleted mail right away — or at least before you quite your email program.

Have Windows Live Mail, Windows Mail or Outlook Express Empty the Trash Automatically When You Exit

To make Windows Live Mail, Windows Mail or Outlook Express empty the Deleted Items folder automatically when you quit the program:

• Select Tools | Options... from the menu.
• In Windows Live Mail and Windows Mail:
  • Go to the Advanced tab.
  • Click Maintenance....
• In Outlook Express:
  • Go to the Maintenance tab.
• Make sure Empty messages from the 'Deleted Items' folder on exit is checked.
• In Windows Live Mail and Windows Mail, click Close.
• Click OK.