Find out what the policy is in your office for the retention of records. Someone needsto make this decision or the tendency is to store everything indefinitely. This can addup to incredible expenses and lost space in a relatively short time. Designate an expiration date for as much of your filed material as possible. For example, use a red pen in the upper left-hand corner and code aspecific expiration date on the material.
Some people are hesitant in assigning thisdate for fear of error in judgement.
You must decide to make a decision. Thisperson will be in charge of re-filing all information, as well as logging who has whatfor how long. This will greatly reduce the chances of mis-filing, as well as reduce thetime wasted on searching for files that are in use by others. When storing archive boxes make sure the contents are labeled on all 4 sides of thebox as well as the top lid. This will expedite the retrieval process as well as ensure thatthe contents will be visible from any angle, no matter who puts the box back.