The filed materials are not acumulated for an indefinite long period and as such, a definite retention and transfer schedule is developed by each organisation. The non-essential records like advertising literature, circulars, and extra copies of memoranda, announcements, form letters and routine acknowledgements are destroyed. By destroying non-essential records one-fourth of the filing load is reduced.
The transient records are thrown away as soon as they have served their purpose. Records, which are vital and important, are kept for a longer period. How long these records are kept is decided by the retention and the transfer schedule.