At the last couple of jobs I had, I had a concept of interim trash. This was mainly in Outlook as there wasn’t much actual trash. Instead of deleting messages I didn’t need, I created an Outlook folder called “Keep 6 Months” and moved everything there. Well, not everything, if it was a legit email that I know I would want, I would move it to an appropriate folder.
But most emails are the kind I probably won’t need, but maybe will. And the time frame for “maybe will” is short, less than 6 months.”
So I created that folder and put a rule on it to delete any emails older than 6 months. I did need to pull out an email from time to time, but mostly I didn’t and I could “delete” far more aggressively. Most project emails and reports could go there.
I do the same with boxes that new stuff comes in. If I need to return it for some reason, I will need the original box. I have a place downstairs where I put all the boxes and once or twice a year, I go through and dispose of them.
Setting up a temporary spot where (1) after a certain length of time it gets deleted, and (2) is out of the way means that you end us deleting or getting rid of far more than if you keep stuff “just in case.”