File Cabinet (Re)Organization

I'm still on a bit of a re-organizing kick over here and this past weekend, I updated my file cabinet.  About a year ago, I purged the cabinet because it was starting to get kind of full in there.  About a month ago, I had bought some supplies for when I was ready to re-organize.  Below is a picture of some of the supplies I used:  file folders, file jackets (to hold the bulky stuff), tab labels, stapler, colored sharpies (to match the files of course!), paperclips, and tabs for the hanging files.  The only new supplies I bought were the file folders, file jackets, and tab labels (all from Walmart) - everything else I had.  I also re-used some of the file folders that I already had that were still in decent shape.

The way I had things filed previously were in pretty good order, but there were some things that weren't, so there were certain things I always had trouble filing away.

My file cabinet has 2 drawers - it's just a cheapo, heavy-duty plastic one, but I've had it for years and it's held up so well and seems to work for me.  It's located in my craft room in a previously unused corner - it's actually the perfect spot for it.  I decided that the bottom drawer would be for important papers (since it's the heavier drawer) and the top would be for other, misc items.

Here is how the 2 drawers looked before I re-organized.

Not too bad - most everything has a place, but you may be able to tell that some files have labels, some don't, some are typed, some are handwritten, some are scratched out.  Not too pretty.

I started by going through all of the files and grouping them into categories:  home, utilities, $$$, travel, crafts, and old archive information.  I used the plastic tabs for the hanging files to separate them.  Then, under each category, I made file folders for the different items and made sure to give each item their own folder (previously, I had some items sharing a folder which didn't work out too well).  There weren't enough of the different color file folders per category, so I just used up the colors as I went.  There was no rhyme or reason to how I used the colors.  I just made sure to group the same colors together - this gave the drawers a more uniform look.  When I made the tab labels for the file folders, I matched the pen color with the file folder color.  Nothing too fancy, but it looks nicer having them match.

And while I was at it, I purged some more paperwork.

That's a pretty good amount of papers that I got rid of.  I also got rid of some of the large envelopes that I was keeping stuff in - that made a big difference on how the files looked also (they fit into the hanging folders and file folders much better).

I will probably buy more file folders next time I go to Walmart just to give the top drawer a more unified look with the bottom drawer.  It's not perfect and not the prettiest, but it's much better than it used to be and I have a bit more room in there now.  Ahhh, another thing checked off of my long list!

 

Linked up to:
I Heart Organizing's Home Office Organization link party

Delightful Order's Paper Organization link party