DestinysDream is partially correct. First and foremost, delete as many obsolete emails from the pst file.
When that is complete, create a new pst file, as described by Smah, and determine which emails will reside in it. You can decide by date, sender… anything that will differentiate the 2 pst files.
After this is completed, right click on the pst file that you removed emails from and choose "properties". Click on the advanced button at the lower right of the "General" tab. There should be a "COMPACT NOW" button which will reduce the overall size of the pst.
Smah is correct in regards to the closeness of your size limitation. Check this out:
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 288283
I have seen pst files start to corrupt at the 1.7 to 1.8 Gb size and have been very successful with the instructions above.
Hope this helps.