Order in the House: 10 Smart DIY Filing Solutions

Make a stationery file with a couple of cereal boxes, scissors, pretty paper, and glue. It’s the ultimate accessible recycling project, easy enough for even the youngest DIYers. Who wouldn’t want to have this to look at on a desk?

Related:  Create a Home Office That Works for You: 10 Expert Tips

Organize and file all those piles of mail by mounting an old shutter to the wall. Just slip those envelopes into the slats; it’s a funky design accent that serves a very practical function.

Related:  10 Ingenious Alternatives to a Traditional Home Office

Hang a shower caddy on the wall to organize small notepads, mail, or publications. In the kitchen, use it to hold cooking magazines and hang your apron and pot holders. Mount it next to the door to keep school folders and house keys at the ready. Use it in the craft room for magazines, scissors, and other small items.

Reconfigure a chest or toy box into storage for your home office. Two drawers’ worth of hanging files sit neatly on metal file frames, and there’s still enough room left to tuck away some office supplies. Close the lid, and you’ve got seating for a guest who will never be the wiser.

Reduce the storage space your DVDs require by removing them from their cases and slipping them into slim paper or plastic covers. Then house them all in a narrow box, using note cards as dividers to keep them in alphabetical order. Now you’ll know exactly where to look come movie night.

Beautify that all-important pile of little notes and receipts with a wall or desktop mini file made from an old picture frame. Simply wrap some fabric around the inside backing—use several strips of decreasing size to create pockets—then secure with glue. Hang it on the wall by the door for outgoing mail, and you’ll never again forget to bring a bill to the mailbox.

If a traditional file cabinet is not your style, you can create the same type of storage inside a basket. Just put a metal file frame inside and hang your files as you would in a cabinet. No one ever has to know that the pretty basket on your shelf houses all your old tax receipts. 

Mount some shelf brackets onto a board to relieve your desktop of those dreaded piles of files. Paint it pretty, and it will easily and attractively help you sort and keep neat all those files that must stay close at hand.

Related:  6 DIY Standing Desk Projects to Keep You Healthy While You Work

Using just a book ring and hang tags, create a mini Rolodex for all those business cards you collect. Label a hang tag with each letter of the alphabet, then just punch a hole into each business card and add it to the ring where it belongs. All those cards in one place—easy to access and easy to tuck away.

A dish rack makes the perfect organizer for corralling all those school papers into a home command center right by the door. Create a file for each kid and perhaps files for ingoing/outgoing bills and mail as well. A notepad and pens in the utensil pockets make it convenient to take phone messages or leave reminders for other family members. Mornings just got a little easier.

If you are interested in more about home organization, consider:

10 Ingenious Alternatives to a Traditional Home Office

8 (Truly) Unexpected Storage Spots

10 Clever Uses for the Space Under the Stairs