This may take up to 60 seconds.
File Cabinet Dividers
File cabinet dividers are fantastic tools to use when organizing your file cabinet. What a file cabinet divider does is help you identify individual sections within your file cabinets. For example, you may store bills, receipts, insurance policies, and contracts within the same drawer. You can use dividers for each section.
The idea behind filing cabinet dividers is for you to not have to search through your documents for too long. There is nothing more annoying than when you are trying to find what you are looking for and you can't. You have bills and receipts mixed in with each other and the dates are out of order. Of course not being organized isn't your intention when you put documents into the drawers, but over time it just happens if there is no designated place. Having filing cabinet dividers for each section will help you stay organized even if you are in a hurry.
How to Use Dividers
There are many ways you can use file dividers for each desk file cabinet. For instance, you most likely have different documents within the same drawer. This means you may want tabbed dividers so that you can label what documents are behind each one. That way you don't have to go on a search for the folders that contain the documents you are looking for.
And there is also no such thing as having too many file cabinet dividers within your drawers. You do, however, want to alphabetize or organize by type. You can organize your files in whatever way works best for you.
Even if something doesn't seem sufficient enough to have a file cabinet divider, use one anyway. You never know when that section may grow. Don't hesitate to let one little document have its own space in a drawer. Think of it this way: That single document would be so difficult to find in a drawer full of other documents, a file cabinet divider simply makes that file easier to see. It is suddenly no longer the needle in the haystack, allowing you to save time when looking for it.
That's what dividers are all about - they're about saving time. If you've ever sifted through your file cabinets and found yourself becoming increasingly frustrated because you can't find what you're looking for, all of your file dividers will help you ease this frustration.
Another fact is that when something is truly lost you will know it. If it is not within the designated drawer or any of the other drawers, you know you need to look elsewhere. And know that you can use a divider or two in your desk drawers that are made for filing and can use them within file boxes that you may use to store your files away.
When you need to access files to do your job, it is very important that you keep yourself organized throughout all of the cabinets that you use. Chances are you are using more than one and it can be very easy to simply throw something into a drawer where something doesn't belong, especially if you have no solid organizational system.
Types of Dividers
Each drawer in your cabinets can be divided in different ways. For instance, your cabinet already has a metal divider piece within it that allows you to ensure the folders stand up. You can also use dividers to divide each drawer of your cabinet into different sections and then utilize each section of the drawer in whatever way you want. Some people like to store items in the back of their file cabinet.
It is important to note, however, that it is good to get dividers that works well with the type of filing unit you have in your office. For instance, you may have a wood unit. If so, then you want to ensure everything matches up. If you are using the standard thick paper, almost cardboard-like, dividers that are tabbed, then the preference is up to you.
You also need to ensure that the size of each divider is correct. It is better to have a file cabinet divider that is the width of the drawer than one that is too short. The reason is because it is likely your files are going to fit the drawer width. You definitely not want the contents of a folder falling out of the sides. You also don't want each divider in the drawer moving around too much or not matching the folder width. It would just look odd.
So when you are looking for file cabinet dividers to organize your cabinet, go with what you like, with what is functional for you, and what keeps you organized. Organization cannot be stressed enough, especially when you are performing a job or you simply need to find something quickly.
