You can set how long documents remain in the trash before being automatically deleted with [`PAPERLESS_EMPTY_TRASH_DELAY`](configuration.md#PAPERLESS_EMPTY_TRASH_DELAY), which defaults
to 30 days. Until the file is actually deleted (e.g. the trash is emptied), all files and database content remains intact and can be restored at any point up until that time.
-Additionally you may configure a directory where deleted files are moved to when they the trash is emptied with [`PAPERLESS_EMPTY_TRASH_DIR`](configuration.md#PAPERLESS_EMPTY_TRASH_DIR).
+Additionally you may configure a directory where deleted files are moved to when the trash is emptied with [`PAPERLESS_EMPTY_TRASH_DIR`](configuration.md#PAPERLESS_EMPTY_TRASH_DIR).
Note that the empty trash directory only stores the original file, the archive file and all database information is permanently removed once a document is fully deleted.
## Best practices {#basic-searching}