I love this organization system brought to us by our very own Dollar Store Diva!
I am a woman of many interests; I am also a visual learner with a touch of ADD. The combination of these facts has created large amounts of stress for me during my 44 years of keeping a home and raising six children.
No doubt you already know the oozing-with-organizational-wisdom-adage: A place for everything, and everything in its place.
Unfortunately, my husband and I could summer in Europe on all the money I have spent over the years on my latest and greatest, “A place for everything, and for everything a place.”
And I still couldn’t find my hot glue gun when I needed it.
From my years of sincere—albeit fumbling–organizational attempts, I have learned the following four things about what is required in a system that would work for me:
1) When I put something away in its “place”, it can’t involve having to make a decision. If I have to decide where to put it, I’ll just put it in a pile somewhere. Piles don’t work for visual learners. And somewhere is usually re-discovered only after a desperate hunt.
2) The storage location has to be easily accessible. If it involves lifting lids or sifting through drawers, it won’t happen. I get too easily overwhelmed and ever so sidetracked by the other lovely things I find in the drawer.
3) I can’t use a bin or a crate because I plop things on top of the bin to be “decided on” later. [See #1] The pile on top of the bin adds another step, which means, of course, that I will get overwhelmed or sidetracked. [See #2]
4) It requires labels. Because I am visual, I have to be able to “see” where things are.
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Then, one day in my classroom, I had a
~~Light-bulb Moment!~~
I teach adult ESL. My students speak almost no English, so I use a large assortment of visualized vocabulary cards and bulky hands-on learning supplies. My classroom file cabinet is filled with thick files, bulging awkwardly with educational “stuff”. And it works perfectly for me. A labeled easily-accessible place for everything, and for everything a labeled easily-accessible place.
Oh, my goodness!
Why couldn’t I do this with my “stuff’ at home?!?!
The possibility was dizzying.
Am I the only person who has always thought of file folders as a storage space for flat sheets of paper? Before this light-bulb moment, it had never occurred to me that I could use file folders for the crayons I could never find when my grandkids came to visit, or the double-sided tape that was continually “misplaced”, or vacuum cleaner bags, or hole punches, or my beloved Envelope Punch Board?
I did a happy dance and went to work immediately.
#1–I ordered Pendaflex extra-capacity hanging file folders on Amazon. (Free shipping with Amazon Prime!) I could find some cheaper files, but after reading the reviews, I decided to spend the extra few dollars. I’m glad I did.
The purchase of these folders has given me a new lease on life.
Honest.
#2–I realized that some of the supplies I was putting into the files could easily slip out (things like craft clothespins, bells, adhesives…), so I decided to invest in some file pockets.
5-1/4″ File Pockets –OR–
#3–Because I had years of papers and craft supplies, it was less than fun at first. I had a recycle bin and give-away bag right next to me to eliminate every single item I could. I started a temporary folder whenever something I uncovered called for one, and I labeled the folders with post-it notes.
#4–After I had eliminated more than you could possibly imagine, I started to bring order to the temporary files I had started. At this point, I took advantage of the Pendaflex templates for file folder inserts and printed out the labels.
I used a combination of regular hanging files, the large-capacity hanging files, and the pocket folders.
So there you have it. For me, this has been revolutionary. Now when I have something to put away, easily accessible cabinets are in the basement, there are no decisions to make because they are carefully labeled, and there is nothing piled on top to sidetrack me from slipping the stuff into the file.
Post Script — The irony of this post is that while I was writing it, I was also packing for a trip to Florida. I most certainly wanted to take my camera to capture the wonder of our escape from -7 degree New York weather.
And, guess what (you may chuckle if you want to)–I couldn’t find my fancy-dancy camera’s battery charger ANYWHERE! And the battery was 100% dead.
I looked everywhere. My husband looked everywhere. We finally headed south with no camera.
Oh, if only I had had a fat file folder marked: Battery Charger.
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For those of you who haven’t met her, the Dollar Store Diva happens to be my Mom who has a special power. She can transform Dollar Store and other inexpensive finds into super fun gifts that would brighten anyone’s day!
I love this idea ! I am also a visual learner with ADD. My problem with filing systems is that I forget what files I have! I like the idea of the wide file inserts; I am just trying to envision how to store them…I can’t see a file cabinet working well…I agree with other comments that I need a bit more explanation on that part, please!
If you are using the boxey, expandable folders, I could see them lined up on a shelf with labels on the end.
I also have ADD and must learn things visually. I have always worked hard to be organized, it is the only way for my life to work. I’m 71 so it has been an on going struggle.
and I thought I was the oldest person on earth with a lifetime of add issues.. I turn 60 in a couple weeks.. 🙂 We are trail-blazers 🙂
Update: The ones mentioned are available from the USA, but I did a search and found some very similar available on English Ebay. Even better, I noticed a Money Off voucher for Ebay in my inbox, so when I ordered a pack of files, I was able to use that towards it, and get them at a reduced price ! WIN !! I’m even more delighted, and they will arrive tomorrow or Wednesday.
That is wonderful, Marian!! So glad this worked out for you.
This just popped up in my emails, leading to the Pinterest page. I clicked on it as I was curious. I”m a teacher, and a visual learner (apparently, 75% of us are !). We’ve just had our ground floor extended, and my piano room is now enlarged, so i can store stuff more effectively. I’d got as far as buying a classroom storage trolley (40 trays !!), and have filled it with music that is too slim to stand up on a shelf. teaching resources etc … all in categories, and trays labelled. I have a 4-drawer filing cabinet with hanging files for our domestic stuff (credit card statements, insurance documents, and much else. I’ve refined the system over the years. But I didn’t even KNOW you could get wider, extra capacity versions to hold stuff that isn’t paper ! ! ! What a revelation ! I will definitely be looking into whether these are available in the UK. Thank you for drawing my attention to these.
Before & after please? Curious about this……I’m very visual as well. ??
Being that I am a visual learner wish you would of posted pictures of your file cabinets just so I can see what you actually mean but love the idea it might work for me
I’ve been using the file pocket method for filing like this for over 15 years. I now have about 20 2-drawer file cabinets that have gotten out of control. I’ve been putting accessories for appliances, etc in file pockets, but it seems like I never can remember what I called the folder! I think it’s time to go through and toss some stuff 😀
Maybe you could make a paper index with a list of each drawer, the file names & items in files. For me, doing it alphabetically makes it easier to find in drawer later. I want this for my household items, too, Always keep a copy of original or save on your laptop. If there was one already made up, maybe I’d do it quicker. I hope this helps you.
Judi Brinks
Make sure to check the file folder sizes. I clicked on the links and ordered exactly what was linked. The hanging folders were letter size the expandable drop ins are legal size.
Thanks so much for the heads up, Mg! I just updated the post to make them all letter size.
This would be so great! I keep thinking you must have several huge filing cabinets in order to fit all of these things inside. I love your idea and it would work so well for me but I think my filing cabinet would be full in no time and I would be left with many loose files. Perhaps you can show or explain that aspect of your system.
Thanks a bunch!
Wow—I think you’ve changed my life! Thank you SO MUCH!!!
I love this idea! I just might adapt it to my needs. Hank for so much for taking the time to post this. I may work on it over the winter break…as I too live in NY and work at a school with special needs kids.
Thank you for sharing! I too am a visual learner with (more than a touch of) ADD. And I’m a teacher.
You are a genius! Of course: bring the organization home that I (at least try to) use in the classroom! I am getting busy this weekend. Yes!!! Thank you!!!
I am very interested in seeing what your files in your cabinet look like now that they are organized!! I am in DESPERATE need of condensing 25 years of craft stuff into a very tiny 3rd bedroom that serves as an office and a guest bedroom!! Please Please PLEASE show you files!! Thank you so much for your great ideas!! Iwill be stopping by Staples on the way home today!!!
I now realize that my daughter is a visual learner, which explains why using both words and pictures on her clothing and toy drawers when she was younger helped her find things.
MIchelle now uses a Brother M-series labelmaker to label EVERYTHING with words and symbols because the labels fit into file folder label holders. I was also pleasantly surprised when the OfficeMax employee guided us to the less expensive labelmaker while telling us that the cost per label was less than the more expensive labelmakers after she learned that Michelle was buying a labelmaker to help herself be more organized.
You and I are related!! I have struggled all my life with organization and becoming a teacher has made it even more stressful these past 10 years! Then I went from teaching kinder to middle school, so have had to deal with quite a range of educational supplies filling up my house! Thank you so much for your insight and practical use of file cabinets!! It’s a relief to know that once I weed out all the extra copies, unnecessary junk I will still have the perfect place to organize the myriad of little things that come into my house!
You are a blessing to your followers & I love seeing your daily deals too?
What a great idea! Now if only I had a filing cabinet…LOL
that’s why i end up with two of many things… sometimes it’s easier to get another one than find it!! thanks for the great idea!!
I’m such a visual learner! Can you post pics of your cabinets with these files please?!?!?