The goal of filing is to store your items so that they can be easily retrieved for use at a future date.

One common problem with filing is the tendency to save too many documents, notes, memos, clippings, paperwork, and other items in your files.

Experts estimate that between 60 and 80 percent of items that are filed are never looked at again. All this extra stuff that is filed away just takes up space and makes it more difficult to keep your files organized.

The first step in solving this problem is to use project files to keep track of any items that you are actively using. Items that you store in your project files will eventually get reprocessed as the project is completed; these items may or may not become reference files, but at least you will consciously decide whether they should be kept or thrown away.

By using project files, you will have solved the common problem of filing an item away because you think you may needed it for an active project and never using or seeing it again.

If you are actively using project files, the main type of items that should make it into your reference files are the ones that are not part of your active projects but you may still need sometime in the future.

The critical question to ask yourself is this: does the value of having this item available in case I need it later outweigh the cost of filing, storing, managing, and organizing it?

Here are some questions you can use to help you decide whether a particular item is worth saving or not.

Do I need to save it? This question may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised by how much stuff is saved out of habit and without thought. If you can’t come up with a good reason for saving the item, throw it away.

Note that there may be items that you would rather not save, but you have to for legal reasons, because of company policy, or because it’s part of your job.

Do I use it regularly? This is one of the best reasons for saving an item in your reference files. One of the best indicators of whether you are going to use something again is whether you’ve used it in the past.

How hard is it to replace? Think about what you would have to do to get the item again. Is the item difficult to replace, or do you just have to download it from a server somewhere and print it?

How important is it? Even if an item is difficult to replace, if it is not important to you, then why are you saving it? Is it really worth all the hassle?

Is it out of date? Are there newer versions of the item available? Can you still use the item even if it is out of date? Don’t save items that will become obsolete in a few weeks unless it’s likely you’ll use them during this time.

What would happen if I don’t have it? What would be the worst thing that would happen if you end up needing the item again but decided not to save it? If the answer is not much and you don’t have other reasons to save it, throw it out.

Use these questions as filters to decide what items are worth saving in your reference files and which ones you should discard instead. A good rule of thumb is “when in doubt, toss it out.”

Just remember that the time and effort needed to maintain a complex filing system with lots of items could easily outweigh the cost of having to replace a few items that you tossed.

About the Author - Rodger Constandse is the founder of KSuccess.com and creator of the Goal Setting Challenge. He is also the author of the time management eBook Master Your Time, and principal developer of the Achieve Planner time management software.