A method and apparatus for trimming or replacing a message that has been received and stored in a solid-state memory of a wireless voice messaging unit includes playing back and marking a selected portion representing the important information in a stored message and then replacing the entire message with the selected portion, thereby increasing the available memory space for new messages. In addition, after listening to the received and stored message the user can create his own abstract of the message that is shorter than the original. The new shorter message then replaces the original message, thereby increasing the available memory space for subsequent messages.