How To Organize Papers Without a Filing Cabinet: 5 Simple Solutions That Work

Green Blob Learn more

We all know how quickly papers pile up and become a mountain of clutter. But what if you don’t have — or want — a huge filing cabinet to store everything? Here’s how to organize papers without a filing cabinet and still keep yourself uncluttered.

Go Digital

[{"selector":"#anim-c387954d-5e0d-43c3-ba71-d899dc6cdb27","keyframes":[{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":0},{"transform":"scale(1.3)","offset":0.33},{"transform":"scale(0.97)","offset":0.66},{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":1}],"delay":0,"duration":1800,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-6d5e4c2d-8dcf-4340-8c9f-65d1e535eae5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":50,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-062de251-1c38-4735-9f73-8204961657b3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":150,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-05638837-d7bd-4471-8af3-f70206d2186e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] 1 Thanks to technology, you could go almost completely paper-free if that’s what you really want to do. It would take some getting used to at first, but the trade-off of having very little paper to handle can be absolutely worth it! Learn more

Try Binders

[{"selector":"#anim-bf9e2dc4-3f59-4839-9c3d-7c440f2c76c0","keyframes":[{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":0},{"transform":"scale(1.3)","offset":0.33},{"transform":"scale(0.97)","offset":0.66},{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":1}],"delay":0,"duration":1800,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-cb5a93f2-32a7-4570-a278-f64f4db84e23","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":50,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-13b717b6-1677-4275-8ad8-c12b9e603d95","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":150,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-579343e1-47a0-4b4f-bb61-7115f97a958f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] 2 One of the easiest ways to organize papers without a filing cabinet is by using binders. This really is one of my favorites! You can create fully customized storage for nearly any actual paperwork you need to keep. Clearly labeled binders make everything easy to store and access. Learn more

Grab a Portable File Box

[{"selector":"#anim-6df41561-f922-4e57-9807-2f408dfeb48e","keyframes":[{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":0},{"transform":"scale(1.3)","offset":0.33},{"transform":"scale(0.97)","offset":0.66},{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":1}],"delay":0,"duration":1800,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-620f4571-ce4f-4073-a79f-2d8913f19ce2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":50,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d2649bde-341e-4a6a-adc6-312919271184","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":150,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-37a6e1d4-cf7c-462d-989f-84343601584d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] 3 I love this one because it’s so compact! Even if you go mostly paperless, there will probably be at least some papers that you really need or want to keep. Learn more

File in Envelopes

[{"selector":"#anim-642f02e0-0e9c-49b2-ab3a-66e19e6664a6","keyframes":[{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":0},{"transform":"scale(1.3)","offset":0.33},{"transform":"scale(0.97)","offset":0.66},{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":1}],"delay":0,"duration":1800,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-6e2e4d55-8bcf-4b97-9bb1-9cf387c82f03","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":50,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9bd662cc-9f80-4880-b272-b987aa2d566f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":150,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ee39ecfb-4ddd-4faa-94fa-4ed2577a37e5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] 4 If you’re only holding papers and receipts for your taxes, or you need a super basic way to organize your papers, you really can’t go wrong with some cheap and easy poly envelopes with zip closures to keep everything sorted and held securely. Learn more

Use Accordion Files

[{"selector":"#anim-8e4ac52e-29af-4b8e-a83e-e9296734feaf","keyframes":[{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":0},{"transform":"scale(1.3)","offset":0.33},{"transform":"scale(0.97)","offset":0.66},{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":1}],"delay":0,"duration":1800,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-06850f4b-b0c9-4010-8323-60fdab0a8902","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":50,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-63e210bc-a939-45bd-baec-eee1793a94f6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":150,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3bc05272-bc9c-49dc-8cc8-e3fd7ba1b2ee","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] 5 Accordion files most closely mimic the organization of a filing cabinet on a smaller and more manageable scale. Learn more

Do I need to keep hard copies of medical records and taxes?

[{"selector":"#anim-c6d77f73-947f-4cb7-a9fb-a571c5247445","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ae40809a-e20e-46de-95de-ad6cb7451510","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":100,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6f62aff5-1f11-45ab-a898-0995968f5f6a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-150.9804%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1400,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

Go digital as much as possible for daily transactions to eliminate incoming paper piles.