Herding Papers into the Filing Cabinet

I have a vision of trying to herd cats – with them flying in all directions! I’ve only met a few people who actually enjoy filing, and the rest of us try to manage it. This can be especially challenging if you have put off handling your papers once you’ve finished the action they needed – as well as if your filing system is over-full from lack of purging. When you are facing this situation you have a decision to make about what your first step will be – do you begin with thinning your filing system or by corralling all those loose papers?

First some questions: (familiar from my “Paper Pyramid”)

Do you currently have a system for your papers?
Is there room within your system for adding papers? (i.e. is your filing cabinet or whatever stuffed full or not)
Are you happy (relatively speaking) with your current system?
How many papers are waiting to be added to your system?

If you can answer yes to the first 3 questions, then your progress can move forward more easily – how much so will depend on your answer to the final question. (If you answered no, check out the link above to Paper Pyramid.)

The most satisfying first step regardless of your answers is typically to get all those loose papers together. Toss all those that you don’t need or want to keep – as long as it’s obvious quickly; otherwise wait to decide until you get farther along. There will be more opportunity for purging in the process.

Just like if your answers from above were no, the foremost consideration as you look at each piece of paper is whether you will need this in the short-term or not. Depending on the amount of papers, this might be all the distinction you need – 2 piles of papers: needs action and to file. It’s critical that you keep all papers that need your attention separate and together through this process – until they can be tossed or moved into a pile for organizing/filing.

Hopefully if you answered yes, you’ve already made the decisions about how long to keep papers that are exempt from governmental guidelines. If not, there’s still hope – you just need to think about and decide for yourself how far back you need to keep certain records. There are many opinions out there about how long to keep your papers (besides property and tax related) – which I talk about some in Paper Retention. Remember at this stage it’s fine to add all papers to their pile, the decisions can be delayed for the time being.

Depending on your answer to the last question, “How many papers are waiting to be added to your system?” the next probably step is to subdivide. For instance, get all your financial papers together, all the instruction manuals, everything that can fit into a category – make sure the pile of papers is relatively small so that the filing process can move along smoothly.

Since you answered yes to the first three questions, consider another question:

When was the last time you purged papers from your files, even if they are not overflowing?

If you don’t know or it’s been more than a year – as much as you might not want to hear it, this is the ideal time to organize your files. This is not about emptying the file drawer and surrounding yourself with piles of papers.

It is about taking the best opportunity to make sure only papers you need and want are taking up the valuable space in your system. Therefore, you have a pile of financial papers ready and waiting to go into their file. Pull out the file – completely out of the filing cabinet. Look through it, this doesn’t need to take much time once you’ve decided how long you’re keeping each type of paper – and remove all those papers that are older or no longer relevant. Then add the sorted papers you’ve gathered from around your house into their appropriate file. Continue with each file.

One of the things I’ve done to streamline the purging of older papers is to place a single tabbed divider between each year in every file. This means that at the beginning of the next year I pull out all papers in front of the first divider and shred them, and move the tabbed divider to the back of the file and add all current papers behind it. This makes regular purging a simple process that requires virtually no thought.

Remember that one of the things that can break a filing system down is having too many papers in one file. There’s a fine balance between too few and too many papers in one file. And to state the obvious, if we don’t purge the papers from our files, they will overflow – or more likely we’ll stop doing the filing to avoid dealing with that cramped file. Any way that you can make purging papers an easy part of the process will save you time, energy, and most importantly – your sanity throughout your life. Your files will no longer threaten to explode and any resistance to getting those papers into the filing cabinet will come more from just the dislike of the filing process than actual problems.

Getting papers from around the house into the filing cabinet should not at all be like herding cats. Ideally it’s not a chore, it’s something that can happen fairly easily. Although I admit, filing remains a chore for me. It’s still not like herding cats – I have an inbox designated for papers that need filing in a discrete place that also has limited room for growth – the paper corral. If my papers have moved past any necessary action, they go directly to the “inbox,” and this is where they stay until I manage to get them into the filing system. This means my papers are in one of three locations only: action needed, the “inbox,” or in the correct file. It’s only the last step that I can still struggle with – yet it’s completely organized as it is. It’s all about finding what works for you – so herd those papers into the filing cabinet and regain control of your space.

Review: NeatDesk Scanner

4.5 out of 5 stars

The Neat Company’s NeatDesk Scanner – desktop scanner I’ve used

Pros:

Eliminate paper
OCR (character recognition)
Searchable files (due to OCR)
Ability to edit PDFs, including copying parts of it elsewhere
Scans can live within program or not depending on your needs
Multiple pages into 1 document
Color or black and white
Double-sided scanning option
Scans papers, receipts, and business cards
- Can add business cards into your contact program
Create reports, including ones for taxes (from any or some of the receipts)
Versions for both PC and Mac
Desktop (NeatDesk) and portable (NeatReceipts) models

Cons:

Limited ability to scan to other programs (i.e. Evernote)
Occasional image problems
Cost
Document primarily – less suited for photos
PC and Mac models are not interchangeable

Review:

Three yeas ago I talked about the temptation of “Creating a Digital Filing Cabinet with a Scanner” – and that all the tools around us have both pros and cons. Getting and using a scanner in order to reduce paper is the answer for only some of us. Just as I knew I would eventually, I picked up the NeatDesk scanner from The Neat Company. It was a little more than a year ago now. My husband and I both used it independently – scanning papers in so that we could then recycle the paper out of our space.

I can be a bit of a control freak (about my own stuff) – I want to be able to make the decisions and to control where and how things are organized. NeatDesk allows me that freedom with one setting. Not everyone wants to make decision after decision about each scanned item – and they provide for that as well, containing everything you scan to the program – if you choose. I have less experience with this, although I know that you can export any files from the program to somewhere else when/if you need to. They also offer the ability to export data into spreadsheets and create reports for various expenses, including for taxes (US and Canada).

One of the most important considerations for me was the ability to copy part of a PDF into another program – the time saved by not having to type up a section of the paper. For instance, my mom sent me an article about the benefits of getting out into nature – I wanted to save the whole article, so I scanned it. Then I wanted to share just a paragraph in the bottom part of my newsletter, and I was able to open the scanned article and copy and paste just the part I wanted to share into the newsletter.

The cost can be a large factor: the desktop NeatDesk scanner is about $400- and the portable NeatReceipts scanner is about $180- though they do have sales periodically. Since cost is something to consider – wait to buy a scanner until you are prepared to use it. Just like any new tool, it takes time to get familiar with it – the learning curve. I found the NeatDesk to be fairly easy to learn and use; even remembering with gaps between using it.

The Neat Company’s NeatReceipts scanner – their mobile scanner

A regular challenge for me can be to obsess about using the new tools – the temptation to block out all other activities for doing it all. In this case, I knew part of me would want to sit down and scan everything in sight! I also know that this isn’t the best way to handle things. First, it leads to a strong possibility that I would scan things that were unnecessary. Second, life doesn’t stop simply because I have a new system. Third, like so much, it might never be done – I still get paper magazines with articles to save. These points mean that incorporating scanning into my life would be more helpful.

Therefore I set up a file in my small desktop filing box called “To Scan” and as I came across papers that I’d want to scan I put them in the file. Then about once a month I sit down and scan all the papers in that file – a focused time for only this purpose which also means I’m also saving time and energy from scanning one paper here and another there. This also gives me time and space to be clear about the decisions I’m making about what I’m scanning and then how and where to organize the scanned papers.

The versatility of the settings makes it valuable as well – being able to scan both sides, multiple pages into one document, color or black and white means that we as the consumer have less work – the scanner can more easily benefit us. As with any tool we use, one of the most important considerations is how it can assist us with our priorities and limit additional effort on our part – the NeatDesk scanner succeeds well in keeping things simplified.

In some ways The Neat Company products are designed for organization within their program. The ability of where you can direct your scanned documents to go is more limited than I would like. Since I continue to discover how helpful Evernote is, I’m a bit disappointed that I cannot scan directly into my Evernote account. On the other hand, I use Dropbox a lot as well and NeatDesk scans my papers there quite easily. Despite the Evernote limitation, I would not give up my NeatDesk scanner – the functionality of it meets my needs (and it’s not hard to add the documents to Evernote, it’s simply another step).

Some of the documents I scanned came out blurry, though it does seem to be a rare occurrence. This year I scanned many of the tax related documents for my husband – when there was grayed or colored areas those were barely legible. Except that when I repeated the scanning of them with a different setting, they scanned in beautifully. This isn’t always the case – I have a black and white printout from a presentation with the PowerPoint slides and its appearance leaves something to be desired – though part of that could easily be that the printout itself is less than ideal.

Since I waited until I was ready to get the NeatDesk and have used it regularly for over a year I can share with you that it’s a tool that I truly value. It offers me important options for getting papers into a digital format and makes it easy to do so. Being mindful of my own tendencies, I knew going in that I would need to establish systems with it that would benefit me. Just because I have found it to be a wonderful tool doesn’t mean you need to create a digital filing cabinet with your papers. What are your needs? What are you comfortable with?

The Neat Company’s Paper Monster
Isn’t it cute? 😉

Your Tasks have Needs

Endless to-do lists exist everywhere. Even when you get caught up on your current tasks, more to-dos are bound to come your way. There’s no escaping them, whether you write them down or keep them in your head. Living our life, there is always more to do. Finding a way to organize your to-do list can be just as individual as anything else – discovering how to make it work for you is most important. Part of making things work for you is to make the most of your current state.

It’s not uncommon that some of us are most successful with completing certain types of tasks. What do those tasks have in common? What makes them easier to handle? What’s similar between tasks you tend to avoid? What leads you to feeling successful with your to-do list? What’s the biggest challenge with your list?

Our current state can have a dramatic impact on how we move through or avoid our tasks. Too often we wait until our feelings to lead us to our to-do list, “Now I feel ready to work on my list.” Yet what happens when you are always too tired, too sick, too overwhelmed?

I challenge you to consider your tasks in a different way – match the tasks with what you are capable of right now. Although there any number of ways to break tasks into categories, for this particular approach consider these two factors – the physical and mental requirements – for each task on your list.

It’s more likely that you get the physical tasks accomplished when you feel like you have enough energy to tackle it. Yet, when you are struggling with consistent fatigue or pain issues, those active tasks might be put off. This makes sense. Although if you begin to consider your tasks according to how physical they are, you can also begin to figure out how to make the most of your energy when it’s available – you’ll know which tasks to make a priority.

Likewise when you have little to no energy, you probably have tasks that are less physically strenuous. If you’ve identified which tasks those are, you can tackle those. And be sure to consider if there are ways to make some tasks less physically demanding – like the drawer you can pull out completely and put it next to you on the couch.

The second category can be just as important as the physical requirements per task. Our mental state and completing tasks has the potential to backfire – think about organizing something when you are practically brain-dead with exhaustion (which hopefully you wouldn’t do anyway). There are tasks that we can complete almost automatically – you don’t need to be completely focused to get your dishes done. Other tasks need more attention – we have to think and make decisions.

Both of these 2 categories are both really a spectrum – it’s generally not as simple as sedentary versus active – it’s a scale where you move between the two extremes. I generally think of tasks as falling on one side or the other though – for simplicities sake. I apply the same rules to the mental category too – complex versus simple (often thinking of them as intellectual vs. mindless). Yet, even by putting tasks into these extremes brings awareness about what each task will need of my attention whether they easily fit into those extremes. Then you also can alternate among the different categories to maintain or even increase your progress through your to-do list.

Therefore if you can match up the tasks on your list to your current state, mentally and physically, you can probably get a lot more crossed off your list. By pairing up your tasks with your current abilities, you will also prevent the need for a long recovery – physically or emotionally – from accidentally overextending yourself. Considering your to-do list with these factors in mind offers you the opportunity to make the most of your time and energy to get things accomplished in a sensible way.

Brief Overview of Some Organizing Products

The NAPO conference each year is such an experience of learning – both from the presentations about various topics and the expo hall where vendors display and sometimes share samples of their products. I’ve started sharing products that I want to review, yet there are plenty of products that I’m not inclined to review. That doesn’t mean they are uninteresting or wouldn’t be useful – it’s more about seeing those products as fairly self-explanatory, obviously useful or not depending on your individual needs. Then it occurred to me that you all might know these things even exist, therefore I’m here to share several products shared at the NAPO conference expo this year.

1. Bankers Box – We’re probably all familiar with these, they hold file folders perfectly with lids and handles. What you might not know is that they are offering more specialized boxes for home storage (Fellowes Bankers Box Home Organization) – they have a prettier design than the straight cardboard as well as this line of products provides windows on the side of the box in order to see some of the contents. This line also includes an ornament storage box in red and green (including the window and handles).

A banker’s box from Fellowes Home Organization line

2. EZ Flag Writing Pad – This is a traditional notepad with the perforated edge on top, with a couple of additional features – repositionable stick-on flags for labeling and highlighting on the bottom of the pad. It means you can leave your highlighter and flags at home and still have them with you.

EZ Flag Writing Pad with flag and highlighting stickies on pad itself

3. Vertical Reinforced Expanding Wallet – There seems to be a movement toward shifting the orientation for paper organization and this is one example. We know about expanding wallets with (then called accordion folders) or without dividers – now when you look in, the top of the papers are easier to read and find – if you don’t mind the necessary depth.

Vertical Expanding Wallet (sorry for the blurriness -it’s hard to hold steady while snapping a picture)

4. Privacy CopySafe File Jacket – These are just like all the 2-sided poly sleeves (or jackets) except this one has a privacy pattern on it. That means any potentially prying eyes won’t be able to tell what your papers are while still providing you with some visibility.

Privacy CopySafe File Jacket with a paper partway in to see the effect

5. What’s That Paint – Here’s something new – labels made specifically for your paint cans. It has space for you to put information about the paint and your use of it: area/room, color, finish & base, brand/store, date, other, and a place to dab the color on the label. You’ll never have to wonder when or where you applied what can of paint again.

Labels for your paint cans from What’s That Paint

These are a handful of products that have been displayed and shared at the NAPO conference expo. They certainly fill the needs for some people and are straightforward in their capabilities. And just as much, not everyone will have a need for them. Yet, I believe it’s always great to know what is out there and possible for filling a need – whether now or down the road.

Paper Pyramid

Are you trying to imagine a literal pyramid of paper? Fortunately I am not talking literally – though it might be interesting to see one, though I’d imagine none of us would want to deal with it. Nevertheless, papers are the most common struggle we all face – and it can feel like a pyramid. And there can be a pyramid effect to papers, just like my recent discussion, The Pyramid Effect of Getting Organized. Because papers are challenging, it warrants its own discussion – these small pieces need to be evaluated and have a decision made about each one – time and energy consuming.

First some questions:

Do you currently have a system for your papers?
Is there room within your system for adding papers? (i.e. is your filing cabinet or whatever stuffed full or not)
Are you happy (relatively speaking) with your current system?
How many papers are waiting to be added to your system?

When your answers to the first 3 questions aren’t all yeses, it’s time to consider using the idea of a pyramid to deal with your papers. And if you answer no to all 3, then the pyramid will be the most efficient way to handle those papers. This also reduces the chaos in the short term. Warning – it might feel inefficient and time consuming – that’s because we’re looking at the bigger picture of getting your papers organized in order for you to maintain them and be able to find what you need when you need it, in the long run.

Think about the base of the pyramid – it’s wide and broad. Figure out your broad categories of papers in your life – like financial, health, recipes, articles, personal/kids, memorabilia, photos, and etcetera. There’s a caveat though – you don’t want to separate them into file size divisions. It’s too soon in the process to be attempting this – you’ll get there.

One important category will be those papers that need action from you in the short-term. You need to make sure to keep those available during the process, though once you’ve taken the necessary action you can add them to one of your other categories.

These categories are also meant to be small enough that when you’re ready to move onto the next step, you’ll be close to creating the files. The categories are based on your life, your comfort, and the papers you are dealing with. With one client, the bulk of papers we’re organizing are from her years as an art teacher and her own art supplies – so we created broad categories of images/pictures, technical art info, projects/ideas, blank papers, art history, recipes, articles, and health info.

Keep going through all the papers you can find, adding them to your broad categories – fewer than 10 categories total. Ideally you will not move to the next step in the pyramid until you have gotten all your papers into these groupings – whether they stay in the same category or get moved later in the process. It’s simplest to have all the papers you need to organize all together – in order that you can figure out what and how much you are dealing with. Therefore don’t forget the papers that are already in your filing system, as these will need to be considered in the next step.

Now you’ve gotten all your papers into their broad categories, you pick one of your categories and begin to subdivide that. This is when you can start to think about your specific files, though I’d wait until you’ve sorted everything in that category before doing any actual labeling or filing. As you’re making the piles of papers, you can begin to visually see how small or big they are – giving you a chance to consider whether another division would make sense in order that a file doesn’t become unmanageable.

Once you’ve sorted one category, you can label, put into files (and hanging folders), and into the filing cabinet – if that’s your system. This can also be the time to consider other approaches since using a filing cabinet is only one option for having a system for your papers. Being at this stage means that you will know what your needs are for your papers – at least for this category – and what options are even possible.

After doing this with each category you’ve created, not only will the paper pyramid be gone – it will be organized. By following this process you’ll have created a system that has been tailored to your own needs and will be easy to use – at least when you get around to putting those darn papers away! Yet, with having gone through this process, when the time comes for adding more papers to your system – there will be room and no additional dread. Hopefully now there’s less dismay when you’re ready to tackle the paper pyramid.

My Top Paid App Picks (plus one free app)

Continuing with the theme of technology and productivity, it’s time to talk about apps that might be worth paying for. Remember the most important aspect to any technology is what your personal needs are – how do you use or want to use your tools. Using our technology tools, we all vary in what we need and how we use them.

The chances are that there are some free apps that could help you avoid spending money. Yet even then there are times when it makes more sense to purchase something that will meet your needs. As I’ve said more than once, I tend to be frugal and especially dislike spending money on something that may or may not meet my needs. I have more than 100 apps, yet have spent money on only a few. Apps tend to be significantly less expensive than your traditional computer programs, and I appreciate that.

So, moving on, these are the apps I purchased and why.

1. Todo ($4.99)

This is exactly what it sounds like – a to-do program. In many ways it functions like many of the other to-do programs available. It allows you to create projects and checklists as well as a simple to-do item. You can create multiple categories – like home, work, personal, etc. as well as repeating tasks, start date, priority, alarms, etc. It also offers you the option of setting tags and contexts – so you can sort by these and see all your tasks that fall under one of these – like all your phone calls or those tasks that require your spouse’s help. One of the reasons I like it is that my past do items (yes, I do have past due to-do tasks!) are listed yet aren’t quite as annoying as with some other apps. This program is my brain dump for all tasks, it’s where I collect all those tasks that I need to remember and accomplish.

One image from Todo app (this view from phone, not tablet)

2. Pages ($9.99)

It’s a word processing app, the equivalent of Word for Mac, and it does allow you to save your files as a Word file (DOC) as well as a PDF. This is certainly an app that is useful only if you want and have a need for doing a fair amount of typing on your iPad. Not everyone adjusts to the keyboard or even needs to do much typing; I have written more than one blog on my iPad using this app. The iPad version is friendlier than the computer version of Pages. It is very straight forward and easy to use – not much of a learning curve.

One image from Pages app

3. Notability ($1.99 “on sale 60% now”)

A month ago I said I’d only purchased 5 apps, this one was my 6^th purchase as I was looking for another program that would allow easier note taking at the NAPO conference. It offers you the option of audio recording while you take notes, linking the place in the audio to your place in the notes. You can use the keyboard or writing (finger or stylus) as well as import PDF files to take notes on. You can export all of these out of the app if you want them elsewhere later. Since I’ve only just begun using the app, I can only comment on my usage so far, and I really like it and it’s versatility.

One image from Notability app

4. iAnnotate ($9.99)

This is an app for taking notes and annotating PDF files (though they’re now offering Word and PowerPoint annotation with a free account). It offers a number of options for how to mark-up the PDF’s and how to export them. I’ve found it a little cumbersome for note taking during conference sessions, though some of that depends on the format of what I’m annotating. When there’s not such a time constraint as being in a session, I prefer this app for annotating for it’s cleanliness and versatility in how I save and export it. Recently I had a PDF I needed to scan and get back to someone, I opened it in iAnnotate, signed and dated it, and emailed it back to her – all within the app. It was wonderful and saved the hassle (and needless paper) of printing it, signing in, scanning it, and attaching and emailing it back to them.

One image from iAnnotate app

5. Numbers ($9.99)

I use this one the least and primarily for a few business needs – it’s a spreadsheet app. Like Pages above, it’s the Mac equivalent for Excel, and allows you to open and send files as XLS (Excel) files. It has many features to offer the user the versatility to do what they need with their spreadsheet. This is a good example of an app that some will need, while it would be unnecessary for many people.

One image from Numbers app

Last month I said that I’d share the 5 apps I paid for and that 4 of them are indispensable to me. You might notice that there’s only 5 apps listed and one of them is quite new for me. The ones I’ve found to be indispensable are ToDo, Pages, and iAnnotate. There’s an app that I thought I’d paid for, and yet as I look at it now, it’s free!

That’s Penultimate. This is a great handwriting app. You can create multiple notebooks and sync them with Evernote – an apparently new feature that I’ve not used. This year I created a notebook for phone calls – a place to take notes on both the messages I collect from voicemail and while talking to someone. They’re all in one place and there’s a way to view all the pages within a notebook, so when I need to find my notes on a specific phone call it’s easy to do. It’s also the place I can quickly write something down, even with my finger (though it’s messier than with the stylus) and when I want to “throw” away the note, there’s an option to clear or delete the page. You can also send a whole notebook or even just a page within a notebook with email.

One image from Penultimate app

One of the things I’m realizing is how this tool – the iPad with associated apps – are moving me naturally toward being more paperless. This didn’t happen overnight – it’s actually taken me years of using it and adapting to using the technology. Yet, with my growing comfort and considering things in different lights I’m realizing how to utilize the various features more fully.

Some people believe tablets will replace computers before long, there’s nothing I can think of that you can’t do on a tablet. I still find my computer to be quite useful and in some ways easier to use – though we all know how fast technology changes. Now I’m going to feel like a broken record – find and use the tools that will assist you in making your life easier. 🙂

4 Products from the NAPO Conference 2013

I think it’s my curiosity, but I really look forward to seeing what products are being offered. The NAPO conference expo is a great place to discover new products. It’s a convenient way to learn about the variations that can be hard to be aware of without doing research – like with my recent post about Hanging Folders. And it’s already been another year and last week was our 2013 NAPO conference. Here are 4 products that I found interesting – though stay tuned to see more details about their actual performance.

1. Staples Better Binder with Removable FileRings

These are reinforced 3 ring binders that have pull-tabs to remove it from the binder. Once it has been removed from the binder, you can hang the 3-ring part in a filing cabinet. It even comes with a label on the back of the 3-rings for labeling. Other interesting aspects are that with the binder itself there is a convenient way to label the spine and for a page to be inserted on the front of the binder without traditional challenges. Also, the pockets that are included in binders with this particular one appear to be much more user friendly.

Binder with removable rings

2. Ampad Versa Crossover Notebook (from Pendaflex)

This is quite similar to the Arc Notebook from Staples that I reviewed from last year’s NAPO conference. I’m intrigued with the smaller page dividers and looking into other features this specific notebook offers.

Versa Crossover Notebook

3. Erasable Hanging Folder Tabs, Hanging Folders, and File Folders (from Smead)

These have a surface that allows you to use a white eraser to remove your prior label and then re-label them. The first thing I did when I saw these was to try to use my finger to smudge or erase the words – it had no impact. If you like to hand-write your labels, this could be a great way to keep your files and hanging folders useful for much longer.

Erasable hanging folder tab and file folder

4. Ampad Shot Note

This is something that received a fair amount of attention from all the organizer’s attending the expo. It’s a system for taking your notes and drawings from handwriting to handheld. There is special paper with four corners that connect with their app and converts it into digital files for you. I joked with the guy that you could avoid using their paper up by placing papers on top so that the 4 corners were still visible – as this is the most critical part for their system.

Ampad ShotNote

There were other products that were introduced which I might briefly share later. These were the ones that I found to be the most different that could also offer more features for the users. I’m intrigued with these and look forward to using them – seeing if I find more aspects to them as I implement using them.

Review: Hanging Folders

It’s that time of the month again – to review an organizing tool. I’m going to assume you all know what hanging folders are, though I’m finding that not everyone realizes some of the options that are available. I wonder sometimes whether they’ve been around so long that we figure that we’re limited to the familiar design.

Familiar hanging folders

As with any product, it’s important to be aware of how much it can hold before it begins to lose its effectiveness. Hanging folders are limited in how many files/papers they can hold – even if we want them to hold more. Just like file folders, your traditional hanging folders have a series of creases along the bottom. These creases are there for you to expand the amount it can consistently hold. Just be sure to make the creases on both sides at the same place so that it hangs evenly.

There’s nothing wrong with having more than one hanging folder for your topic/category. And there are different approaches you can take with having several hanging folders for each topic.

Use the plastic label tabs only on the first hanging folders, so everything behind it until the next label tab is the same topic
Use different color hanging folders (or alternating colors) for each topic, so that the combination of label tabs as well as color can cue you about what topic you’re in
Use the label tabs for each hanging folder, simply labeling each one with the same title followed by the number of hanging folders

For many years I wasn’t aware about the square or box bottomed hanging folders. If you end up with them accidentally, they often don’t sit well in filing cabinets, as they’re a tad taller unless you’ve added the cardboard piece into the bottom to give them their square bottoms. Many years ago now I found them to be flimsy, mine broke down quickly, though they seem to have improved. These can be great for larger categories, though if you don’t fill it up sufficiently the files will bend and slip down.

Boxed or square bottomed hanging folders

There are many different tab options as well. There are the traditional plastic tabs that you fit into slots on the hanging file. You can get hanging files with paper or cardboard tabs that you label which of course can never move. Another option is the slide tabs, which snap into place somewhat while still being more easily moved without dis-attaching the whole tab. While looking for images as well as what else might be out there, I found pop up tabs on hanging folders.

Built-in tab hanging folder

Slide tab hanging folder

Pop-up tabs hanging folder

Another variation in hanging folder style is the top-rail hanging folder where the pieces that hold the hanging folder onto the frame are not even. This allows more of the file to be visible in the filing cabinet.

Top rail hanging folder

Also they make hanging pockets (or called hanging jackets) where the hanging folder has full sides except at the top where you put papers in. The design of this type provides you with the ability to store non-paper items within if you choose. It also protects the papers from sliding out unless you turn it upside down. Similar to the accordion folders though it is designed for the sides to bend in, which means papers can get bent.

Pocket hanging folder

In addition to these design differences, they are also making hanging folders of different materials so you’re not just limited to cardboard. Similarly, you have some choices in brackets used to attach the hanging folders in the filing cabinet. One of which is with plastic hooks with tension springs that can be especially useful when your frame has bent a little.

Sure Hook hanging folder

I know before I got into professional organizing I didn’t know about all these options, though I certainly knew about some. In this world filled with such a plethora of choices and options it can be overwhelming to consider trying to figure out what is available, let along what would be best for your situation. Also I’m not always interested in trying something new when what I’ve used works fine, although I appreciate knowing the possibilities.

The Pyramid Effect of Getting Organized

You can’t do “a” until you get “b,” “c,” and “d” done. And sometimes that’s a short version – since there are times you have 10 things to accomplish before you can work on the thing that you most want to work on. This is one of those common struggles we all face. It doesn’t necessarily correlate to how much space and stuff you have. Nevertheless, a series of things need to happen before you can achieve your goals.

First, it’s most helpful to make a plan before you dig into anything. This can feel counterproductive – you want to use the energy and motivation to jump in and start getting things done, not to be still and think about the process. It will save you time and energy in the long run since you can avoid making more of a mess in an area that needs to wait until further into the process.

Often this means making a list, which some of us do better than taking action. 🙂 For instance, if you have furniture that needs to be shifted between rooms, it can help to figure out what needs to happen in order for the space to be made available.

You know you want the dresser to be moved into the spare bedroom.
- The spot for the dresser in the spare bedroom has a reading chair and a desk.
  - The reading chair needs to be moved to another space in the spare bedroom.
    - The only other space in the spare bedroom is filled with random, full bins – they need to be moved somewhere.
      - The bins need to be sorted and organized.
- The desk needs to go to the corner in the dining room.
  - The corner in the dining room has spare chairs for the table; those need to go to the basement.
    - The driest place in the basement for the chairs has boxes that you need to break down to make space for the dining table chairs.

This is a relatively simple example of the pyramid effect just to get the dresser into the spare bedroom. It’s even easier because it deals with large items that are fairly clear-cut. And you know that you it will be simplest for you to break down boxes in the basement as the first step, then to move the chairs from the dining room down, and then you will be able to move the desk into the dining room.

Making these types of plans only work when you know what you want to do with each of the items in question. It can be further simplified when you are getting rid of things – if you were getting rid of the desk – then all that would be left is dealing with moving the reading chair.

Second, when considering the pyramid effect of getting organized, you might need to think about the big picture and avoid small picture thinking. Thinking about planning for the small details will be important, although you’ll be more effective if you wait until the time is right. So, like those bins from the example above – it would make the most sense (probably – since there can be variables to change that!) to wait to dig into them until after the furniture has been rearranged.

Initially, think about broad categories (or zones, activities, etc.) that relate to your life and stuff. These will vary from person to person as well as be different depending on what and how much you’re working on. You might need to consider the relevance for life right now – are there things that you need to keep quite accessible versus things that can be buried a little deeper (though still with related things)?

Sometimes it makes the most sense to make bins, piles, whatever in a specific, available space related to a broad category and leave it for a while. If you have all your gift wrapping supplies piled in a corner, bin, etc., even without any further organization – you still know where they are when you need something. This can apply to any category – office supplies, recipes, financial papers (not needing your attention), tools, exercise equipment (small ones), art supplies, articles of interest and everything else.

The degree that you apply this can vary – a lot will depend on the space available as well as the “homes” you already have set up. If you already have a place for office supplies, even if it’s full, you’d put all other office supplies as close as possible to the ones you have.

The initial steps are to get everything that’s in the same category together. It’s challenging to create good organization for things when you don’t have all of it available to you. Once you have all the like things together, then you can begin to organize it – you can see that you will need more space for tools (or whatever), that you need to make space “here” for this, the subcategories you need for these papers, and then consider what containers and organizing tools will support you.

If we continue with the pyramid analogy, you need to create a strong foundation to build on – which means waiting to make decisions about the small details until you get the big stuff (categories) together. There’s no arguing that it can make things feel more tedious – especially if you’re eager to get organized. Yet in the long run you will find more success that you take things slowly and methodically.

Review: Accordion Folders

Pros:

Here’s an accordion folder I used for our wedding!

portable
one system, one piece
contains papers together yet separately

Cons:

limited number of papers within
doesn’t expand with need
isn’t conducive to flipping through the papers

Review:

One of the things I’ve found in working with people is that they haven’t always thought through the pros and cons of the “typical” organizing options. Accordion folders have been around a long time and can be quite useful. Let me say up front that I am not a fan of them personally. Yet, as I practically preach about – we each have to find our own ways, the products that work for each individual.

Accordion folders of various types are portable. If you need to move a collection of papers around or carry them somewhere, these folders can simplify that easily. The papers stay organized and can go with the person wherever they need them – even if it’s from room to room.

Here are 2 (of many) styles for accordion folders

Due to the design and function of accordion folders, there’s little to decide about – mostly a hard or soft cover. You don’t need to decide if you want to have hanging folders with file folders or just file folders (which lean without the framework of the hanging folders). Color options are fewer, though everything’s contained and you won’t be thinking about what color signifies what. The accordion folder offers you one system – all together, in one unit.

Since part of the design is the divided sections, you have a way to organize your papers together yet separately. You can use the accordion folder for one category of papers – like financial or medical – and each section holds some distinct type of paper related to that category. Or you can make it more broad where it’s all your recurring bills – credit cards, car payments, mortgage, medical expenses, etcetera.

Depending on how it’s used, this is where its limitations can become an issue. Since it is a self-contained system, it can only contain so much. The pockets are designed for a certain amount of papers before it the folder itself gets misshapen. Although file folders also have a limit on how many papers they can hold, the accordion folders pockets can hold significantly less. (Those creases at the bottom of file folders make their expansion possible and much easier.) Once you’ve maxed out the amount of papers in the accordion folder, you have to make adjustments.

Check out the bottom of an accordion folder – the frame has creased paper going up into each section – limiting how it holds your papers. This design is part of how paper is restricted within each section. Although you can expand the sections, that creased paper goes up into the section regardless of how much paper is stored in there. This also means that papers are more prone to getting bent, if that matters to you.

Here’s the side and bottom of an accordion folder which shows the creases

If you need to peruse a section of papers, looking for a specific one that isn’t in the front or back of the pocket, the design of the accordion folder makes that more challenging. The section dividers only move so far, which means seeing inside the pocket to the words on the paper isn’t much of an option – so you’ll probably pull all the papers out of that section to find the paper you need. In my mind that means more work for the user – and papers don’t always go (back) in neatly.

It’s probably pretty clear that the limitations of accordion folders have created a bias for me. I’m not much of a fan. Yet that doesn’t mean that I haven’t used them – there is something wonderful about their portability. As well as how useful they can be – depending on how you will use them. Just like with every product and tool out there, if a product meets your needs with its limitations (and every product has drawbacks) then use it.