How to Spring Clean Your Document Archive Without Losing Important Files

Spring isn’t just a good time to clear out cupboards or reset office routines — it’s also an ideal opportunity to get your business documents in order. But when those archives contain confidential, time-sensitive, or legally required paperwork, a standard tidy-up simply won’t cut it.

At MDSS, we support organisations across the UK in making informed decisions about what to store, scan, or securely dispose of. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you refresh your archive — without compromising access, compliance, or data integrity.

1. Review Your Document Retention Schedule

Before you start moving boxes, review your organisation’s document retention policy. If you don’t have one in place, now is the time to create one — particularly if you operate in regulated sectors such as law, healthcare, finance, or local government.

Key questions to consider:

• What are we legally required to retain — and for how long?

• Are we holding duplicate copies or outdated versions?

• Do we know where our most critical records are stored?

Understanding what you need to keep (and what you don’t) is the first step towards a more manageable and compliant archive.

Explore our document storage services for long-term, secure retention.

2. Identify High-Value or Frequently Accessed Records

Not all records carry the same weight. Focus on files that:

• Contain sensitive personal or financial data

• Are regularly accessed by staff

• Could be required for an audit or investigation

• Support contractual obligations or legal proceedings

These are the documents that benefit most from digitisation. If you’re still manually searching through boxes to retrieve key information, it may be time to switch to a more efficient, searchable format.

3. Consider Scanning as Part of the Clean-Up

Document scanning offers a practical and secure way to declutter your archive without losing access to vital information. Once scanned, files can be stored digitally, indexed, and retrieved on demand — saving your team time and reducing the risk of misplacement or damage.

At MDSS, we offer high-volume document scanning, including:

• Optional OCR for fully searchable files

• Secure Scan-On-Demand for same-day digital access

• Indexing and metadata tagging for fast retrieval

It’s a cost-effective solution that supports hybrid working, improves compliance, and frees up valuable physical space.

4. Organise What You’re Keeping

If you plan to keep certain records in physical storage, ensure they’re well-organised and clearly labelled. Avoid handwritten or inconsistent labelling, and use a digital index to log what’s in each box. This makes retrieval much faster and helps with audit readiness.

We also offer secure offsite document storage at our Cardiff facility — with full indexing and fast turnaround times for retrievals. It’s ideal for organisations that aren’t yet ready to digitise everything but still want a smarter, more secure storage setup.

5. Dispose of What You No Longer Need — Securely

Once you’ve identified documents that are no longer needed, ensure they’re destroyed properly. Recycling sensitive paperwork poses a real risk to data security. Our secure shredding services ensure full GDPR compliance, provide certificates of destruction, and can be carried out as a one-off or on a regular basis.

A Smarter Way to Manage Your Records

Spring is a natural time to review, refresh and improve internal processes — and your archive is no exception. Whether you’re looking to digitise, create space, improve compliance, or simply get more organised, we’re here to help.

If you'd like support reviewing your archive or understanding what to scan, store or securely shred, contact the team at MDSS  for a no-obligation conversation.