Organization on a college budget?

[Justin Lilly]

Hey all.

I was just curious if you knew of any cheap alternatives for a filing
cabinet. I find it a bit hard to justify spending $75 on a file
cabinet that is hard to move (I have to move my things every 4
months). I also don't have enough folders to justfiy buying a normal
file cabinet either. Help?

-justin

--
Justin Lilly
University of South Carolina
http://www.justinlilly.com

[GTD Wannabe]

Although I have a couple of small filing cabinets at home, they're not
enough to hold all of my research papers. Solution? Go to your
favourite office supply store (mine's Staples) and pick up a couple of
"banker's boxes".

I get these ones
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=,&webid=13715&affixedcode=WW

They're $14 Cdn for 6 and come with lids for easy stacking. And when
you don't need all of them at once? Keep them flat, under your bed.

Also, there's a thread somewhere in here talking about how to make a
few file folders stay upright when there's not enough of them to fill
your box/drawer. Some of the suggestions - empty shoe boxes, empty
cereal boxes, bricks, folded cardboard, the lid, etc. etc. I might
just put a bunch of textbooks in the back of my next box.

[Michael Langford]

You can spend 25-$40 on a "Fire box" that will protect your
documentes even in the case of a fire. I didn't have important enough
files when I was in college to justify this.

Or you can spend $3 buying a document archival box at staples, office
depot, etc. They are the boxes that many companies use to box up and
ship files, and they're the same size as a file cabinent across.
They're also very easy to move, which can be an asset or a curse in a
dorm

Or you can get a cheap 2 drawer cabinent at a yard sale. When I was in
college, the top drawer was files, the bottom was used for my
undershirts. The cheap type are also pretty light. I don't need mine
anymore (moved into a new condo, no room), and I'm going to charleston
over labor day if you want it.

--Michael

--
Michael Langford --- 404-386-0495
The demon that you can swallow gives
you its power, and the greater life's pain,
the greater life's reply --Joeseph Campbe

[Jenna Pfister]

What about one of those file boxes that you can pick up for about $20 at an office supply store? Be aware, though, that some are not very sturdy. I went through a couple cheap ones before I bought a silver hard plastic one at Staples for $19. It's pretty durable and the handle atop makes it much easier to tote around. I've got about 35-40 file folders in there, but I'm sure it could fit more.

On 8/25/05, Justin Lilly <justi...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Dennis C. During]

Heavy-duty archive boxes. Staples and Costco, for example, have them. They
can take either legal- (lengthwise) or letter-size folders. They are
stackable without having to worry (within reason) about whether a nearly
empty bottom box can support the weight of four loaded book boxes on top of
it. They are uniform in appearance and have hand-holds for "ease" of
moving. I have and hundred or so in my attic and about 15 in my office and
office closet.

That said, for active files, I'd much rather have a file cabinet.


Dennis C. During
dcdu...@gmail.com

[Adrian Howard]

On 25 Aug 2005, at 15:16, Justin Lilly wrote:
> Hey all.
>
> I was just curious if you knew of any cheap alternatives for a filing
> cabinet. I find it a bit hard to justify spending $75 on a file
> cabinet that is hard to move (I have to move my things every 4
> months). I also don't have enough folders to justfiy buying a normal
> file cabinet either. Help?

Buy the folders. Go down your local supermarket with one. Find empty
cardboard box to fit.

It's what I did when I was a student. Worked okay for me.

Adrian

[solo]

Milk crates rule. They are stackable, movable & free.

[Norm]

I have used the cardboard file boxes from the office supply store for
all sorts of storage for years.

On 8/25/05, solo <solos...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Milk crates rule. They are stackable, movable & free.
>
>

--
:: Norm ::
bringing you uninspired signatures since 1995

[Tommy]

Hey Justin. I second the archive boxes from an office store, or even
Wal-Mart. They are uniform in size so they stack well to conserve
space, always a plus in college. And they are sturdy. I still have ones
I've owned since I was in college, and that was like 1988.

[cocoabliss]

To this day, I use the plastic version of a banker's box, with
integrated wheels or add-on casters. Roll/hide them under the daybed in
the office/guestroom which is too small to accomodate one of these
unsightly file cabinets (no, even painted and prettied up, I don't like
them). There are also plastic accordion files with the handle on top
that are extremely portable, that can probably tuck away in a closet
and divide up your papers in different categories.

Julie

[Nphorcer]

I found this link - now granted this is in Canada but something similar
may prove handy:

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=,&webid=16409

[physi...@gmail.com]

Justin Lilly wrote:
> Hey all.
>
> I was just curious if you knew of any cheap alternatives for a filing
> cabinet.

Your local Target, Fred Meyer, or Kroger's should have plastic filing
crates.
I just bought one for $3.
Joe

[lucas.emery]

The alternative is called a "milk crate", and as a college student you
should already have about 4000 of them. Best and cheapest place I've
been able to find them is behind the 7-11 at four in the morning. :)

[Harvey Simmons]

I picked up some plastic file boxes (with wheels) from Staples. They were on clearance for $4 each. I bought 4 of them. I had considered the cardboard bankers' boxes, but then I remembered how a broken hot water pipe in our bathroom flooded our apartment the week after I got the GTD book. (sigh)

Plastic isn't beautiful, but at least it's waterproof.

[Amit]

Thanks for all the options, I am in a similar situation. I am taking a
relatively hard load, credits wise this semester. And I need a way to
stay organized. My sony clie is helping me a lot. But I still feel that
there's gotta be something more that I can do.

Amit