At a previous job, I had to gather items that proved my worth (like letters of recommendation) for my annual reviews and sort them into paper file folders. It was as dull and time-consuming as it sounds. The one bright spot—literally—was my use of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue folders rather than plain vanilla that everyone used. I enjoyed coming up with my own secret organization system that matched colors to categories. (Obviously, green should be for financial-related items, but what about blue? Items that made me want to cry?) It sounds silly, but those colorful file folders empowered me to do what I needed to do and feel good about it.
- Folders with Attitude: I loved these file folders I found on the Organized Tips blog. I especially liked the one labeled "Useless documents to provide appearance of importance in meetings." These folders from Red Stamp also have fun sayings like "I dreamed my whole desk was clean."
- Cute Folders: Jeri's Organizing and Decluttering News has a nice round-up of cute file folders. It's from 2007, so I'm not sure that the examples are all still available. I especially like the die-cut ones from Current.
- Custom Folders: This printing company offers custom-made file folders with photos or other images. Cool idea, but way out of my price range!
- Handmade Folders: I liked how Etsy artist proudgrits11 made the tabs of her handmade folders with different fall-inspired paper.
- Folders in Quantity: I'll probably go with a box of folders like these from Office Depot. Not sure about these "spring colors" though. That orange looks like fall to me!
Do paper file folders matter to you? Or have you gone paperless?