When you want to delete messages after a period of time you have you have three options:
- Use Autoarchive
- Create a Rule and use Run Rules Now
- Use to a rules replacement tool such as Auto-Mate that runs its own rules later
Autoarchive works great to delete old mail, empty deleted items, or the junk email folder. Set it to run frequently and to permanently delete junk mail and deleted messages instead of moving them to a new folder. To use it on Deleted Items or Junk Email folders, right-click on each folder and choose Properties, then on the AutoArchive tab, configure how long to keep items (I recommend at least a day or two) and to delete the old items.
In Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010, you can create a rule to apply to messages "received in a date spam", but you need to use it with Run Rules Now to clean out older items.
Published July 7, 2011. Last updated on August 15, 2012.