Does anyone know if I can archive mail using Apple Mail?

I have nearly 10,000 messages in my Apple Mail program right now, and it’s taking forever to use it now. Starting to show problems. I try to delete old messages and whatnot, but the truth is that I keep things because I search my archives a few times a day, for so many random things, that I need to keep the messages around.

I’d like to be able to set a good portion of my mail into an archive, one I can search via Finder or whatever, but which will effectively stop being "active" in my mailbox.

Anyone know if this is possible? I’ve poked around with no success.

And before someone suggests using my existing Gmail, I just cannot get used to it. It’s good, but it’s not as fast for me to mass delete things or move them around in the ways I like.

Tags: apple, apple mail, mail, archive