This clever trick could help you tackle your cluttered email inbox this spring.

Whenever you purchase something online or register for an account, you'll typically be asked whether you'd like to receive emails about special offers and updates - and the answer is nearly always no.

However, if you're not careful about selecting or deselecting the appropriate boxes to decline these mailing list requests, your inbox will quickly become swamped with marketing emails that sit unread.

Unsubscribing from such lists isn't particularly difficult, but it usually means opening an email, scrolling down to find the unsubscribe link, which then redirects you to the company's website, where you can formally remove yourself from their list.

But one woman on social media has revealed there's a straightforward method that allows you to unsubscribe from any mailing list using just three clicks - and you can accomplish it without ever leaving your email browser.

Courtney Mangan shared the tip on Instagram, explaining that anyone with a Gmail account can effortlessly unsubscribe from all their mailing lists within seconds. The only limitation is that it exclusively works for Gmail, and must be done on a computer via a web browser rather than through an app.

The reason a web browser is necessary is that the initial step involves modifying the URL of your inbox. When you open Gmail, the final portion of the web address will display "#inbox".

You need to delete this section and replace it so that it reads "#sub". Once you hit enter, a screen will appear displaying all your active mailing list subscriptions in a single list. Each entry will have an "unsubscribe" button alongside it, and clicking it will trigger a prompt asking you to confirm your decision.

Click "unsubscribe" once more, and you'll be instantly removed from that mailing list.

Courtney said: "Without a drop of exaggeration, that is actually life-changing. So shout out to [the woman] who shared this hack to begin with, and has just changed my life."

In her caption, she added: "Where has this email hack been all my life?"

Viewers who watched Courtney's video were left astonished by the trick. Many admitted they had no idea it existed, while others claimed it would save them considerable time and finally give them the motivation to sort out their cluttered inboxes.

One person said: "I need this!"

Another added: "Where were you all my life? Love this!"

A third who tried the hack themselves wrote: "Oh my god, that actually worked. Wow. Thank you!"

Fellow commenters also shared tips on how to achieve identical results using different email providers. They noted that Outlook users should find a "subscriptions" section within the settings menu, which leads to a comparable screen, while Gmail users on the app can locate a "manage subscriptions" option within their settings.