For example it would be difficult to remember 109244153. Many people confuse long-term memory with events which happened a long time ago. Although long-term memory holds data that was learned 30 years ago, it also holds material learned 30 minutes ago. Its basic difference from short-term memory is that it is permanent. It holds items as varied as your birthday, what a now-deceased relative looked like, which keys on your key ring fit which locks, how to operate your microwave oven and your husband's new phone number at work.
Permanent memory is like the filing cabinets lining the wall.
The in-basket has a limited capacity. It can hold only so much and than the contents are dumped to make room for more. Some of it is discarded. Nothing goes into the filing cabinet until it has been sorted in the in-basket. Use it or lose it.