our email inbox is like a virtual home — after all, that’s where all your first official points of contacts go when you sign up for a new service, apply for jobs, buy stuff online, etc. And just like your physical home, letting your inbox get cluttered can feel chaotic, with most of that mess stemming from marketing or newsletter emails.

These unwanted types of emails can end up in your inbox in all sorts of ways. For example, when you buy something online, you may have inadvertently given the company permission to send you more promotional materials, or a company may have sold your email as part of a list, paving ways for you to become spammed by marketers.

So here are a few ways to make your inbox more peaceful.

MANUALLY UNSUBSCRIBE

Some marketing emails can be useful (who doesn’t love a discount code?) but if you’re tired of getting emails with no material use, you can elect to unsubscribe on a case-by-case basis.

Regardless of what email app you use, start by checking the bottom of an email from which you want to unsubscribe. In small text, the sender may have offered the option to take yourself off the mailing list, with a link that says “Unsubscribe” or “Change email preferences.”

Read the email carefully, as this option may be hidden in a big block of text with link text that blends into the rest of the paragraph. Follow the link and the instructions to unsubscribe. Some emails might even instruct you to manually reply back with the subject line to request removal.