How often should I purge and clean out my filing system?

An annual filing purge is the minimum for most offices — tied to fiscal year end or the first of the year when most record retention periods reset. A quarterly mini-purge of actively changing files (active client files, project files) keeps the system from getting unwieldy mid-year. The purge process: pull everything out of a drawer, determine if each folder is active/inactive/expired, archive or shred accordingly, and return only current files. Shred anything beyond its retention period that contains sensitive information — a cross-cut shredder or shredding service for bulk. Regular purging prevents filing cabinets from becoming dead-weight archives of expired records and keeps retrieval times fast. FindOfficeFurniture.com — call 888-719-4960.