A Fully Editable Filing System for Your Family

Soon after my kids were born, I got a whole lot of lovely wooden boxes made to store all the keepsakes that come along with being a newborn and toddler. They were lovely little boxes, they still are. The only problem was that they eventually and filled up and started overflowing. I knew I needed another plan, not only because they were full to the top but because there was no organization to it at all, everything was just piled up on top of the next. In there were all their school reports, school photos, artworks, birthday cards and all of their keepsakes and memorabilia from when they were very little.

You know when you need to do something put keep putting it off because you know the sheer amount of work it is going to be? Yes? Yes!

So anyway I finally pulled myself toward myself and listed what I wanted in my kids and family filing system. I listed the categories I wanted for my kids and the categories I wanted for our home file and the categories I wanted for my husbands file and for mine.

Now, the categories I came up with for my family may look completely different to your filing system for your family. I have made the labels and the tabs completely editable so you edit to your liking. I found some plastic boxes with hanging files and I designed some labels for the tabs and then some name labels for the outside of the boxes so everyone knew at a glance whose was whose. For my 3 boys, they each had a different color label on the outside and different color tabs. This of course made it feel even more super organized – they each had their very own color.

I then printed, cut and inserted the tabs. The tabs should be placed in the folders such that each tab can be clearly seen. That may sound obvious but if you place the tabs in the sequential slits in the folders and then stack the folders on the rails in the box, the tabs won’t be easy to see and read. I know this because I tried it and I have pasted images below so you can see the difference. The first photo the tabs are badly spaced but in the second two photos you can see the tabs much better!

See photo below: The tabs are not very well spaced out

See the photos below: The tabs are spaced well and easy to read.

Inserting the tabs did take a while but in a way it was a calming thing to do in the evening when everyone had gone to bed. Once that was done, I patted myself on the back and would just open up the lids of the boxes at random times and stare at the sheer beauty of the tabs, all organized and neat. “Like, there is a home for everything”, I would say to myself!! Even, cards and letters. Even Adventures! And even Miscellaneous items have a miscellaneous home in this filing system!!

I hadn’t even filed a thing at this point but still, just opening up the box was a sheer delight.

The next part was to actually take all the stuff from their wooden boxes and put it into the plastic boxes. This, turns out is even more fun than adding the tabs to the files because, you are taken down memory lane with each item and each child. So, my advice is to plan extra time for this part. Make some tea and just savor all the photos. Once done, your organizational diva within has officially been born and you will feel it within you I’m telling you, there is a definite power in one’s stride after filing a memory box. Oh yeah!

So you just repeat that process. For me, it’s 5 times but for others it may be 4 times or 6 times. A friend of mine has 9 kids, so she has to do that 11 times if you include her and her husband. Eeeeek. But all the more necessary to be organized right?

Eventually I landed up designing 3 different sets. One is with kids in mind and includes a interview sheet (see pics below), the other is a minimalistic black and white version and the last one is a colorful family one, the last two sets do not have the interview sheets. Let’s take a closer look.

The Kids Filing System with Annual Interview Sheet

This memory box / filing system includes an annual interview sheet which is a whole lot of questions about their year – their favorite food, songs, shows, their teacher, their highlights etc. It is intended to be something for them and for you to look back on in years to come. It is totally optional of course! The front of the box is a colorful label in the same look and feel as the interview sheet. See pics below. The inner tabs are either in pink or blue and the interview sheets and box labels are either in pink or blue options too.

Buy online here – Kids School filing system

The Minimalist Black and White Filing System

I also created this minimalist black and white filing system, which doesn’t include the interview sheet and colorful box labels. So, if you are into black and white or a minimalist look, look no further than this set. The tabs are white and the text is black. Everything is completely editable.

Buy Online here – Black and white filing system

The Colorful Family Filing System

I then created this system as well. It doesn’t include the interview sheets either but it is a lovely colorful version of the filing system. Color choices for the tabs and the box labels included are orange, green, dark blue, light blue and pink. The labels and tabs of all the sets are completely editable.

Buy Online Here – Colorful filing system

What you Need:

Product of your choice (see links again below) – Print onto 200-250gram card
Paper knife and cutting mat
Plastic Boxes
Hanging folders – about 30 to start with
Plastic Tab Holders – same number as folders (they come together usually in a set)

The plastic boxes that I used are a South Africa brand but these can be found quite easily at your local plastics store or on Amazon. The hanging files are standard as well and fit letter and A4 sized pages. The tabs that I have designed fit all standard hanging folders.