seeking recommendation file cabinets brand

[Anonymous]

I am getting ready to replace eight banker's boxes that are filled with reference and active papers with real file cabinets. I would appreciate anyone's experience with brands or models that have proven satisfactory and those that have not. I have four metal ones but the drawers were temporarily removed when we moved and to do so some clips had to be taken out. The movers lost some of the clips and damaged the others. Now the drawers have no stops. The manufacturer does not repond to querey regarding replacement of the clips. I also have two of abother brand in my office but if a drawer is more than a third full and you open it all the way, the cabinet tips forward. My friend got some "wooden" drawers that you assemble and the bottoms fell out after awhile. I am also interested if anyone has experimented with the files that sit on shelves rather than drawers. These are tabed on the side, often used in doctor's offices.

 

[Ambar]

I have a set of Levenger's modular file drawers in light cherry wood. They are not cheap, but they are a lovely example of the art of engineering. When David remarks that you need drawers that slide and shut with the solidity of the door of a German-made car, these fit the bill and have taken the worst I can throw at them (including one move)

 

[Anonymous]

For my home office, I figured that I was serious about filing paper. I wanted to avoid those little 2-drawer, ~15-inch deep models that you can buy in any discount store for $20.

I went to an office supply store and spent several hundred dollars on a Steelcase, 5-draw, letter-size, 28.5-inch deep file cabinet with metal glides and bearings that support the drawers. By the time I was done with 5 metal frames for hanging folders (sorry, Dave), the hanging folders themselves, a bunch of manila file folders, and sales tax, I had spent about $500 in 1991.

I still have the file cabinet. I have been completely satisfied with this purchase, and I expect that it is durable enough to last my lifetime. When I run out of room (soon!), I will either have to do a better job of purging old stuff or find more room in the house for another Steelcase file cabinet.

No, I don't work for Steelcase. I'm just a satisfied customer.

Joe

 

[Mardo]

File Cabinets

We use LOTS of file cabinets with heavy files. I go to a used business office furniture store. There are several in our area. With a little searching it is possible to get heavy duty top quality file cabinets at a fraction of the new retail price.

 

[spirithaven]

file cabinet recommendation

I have HON brand; love them.

The drawers pull out all the way; and they are very stable; yet lightweight and easy to move when empty.

Bridgette

 

[Anonymous]

Just bought a HON file cabinet

I just picked up a used HON file cabinet from a used office furniture store in Waterbury, CT.

It was $50. Two drawers, 25" deep, sturdy as heck, good bearings, drawers are supported so they can extend all the way
out.

 

[ext555]

Another vote for Hon here , two 4 drawers in my office that get heavy use daily -- 4 years old and both are still in great shape.

 

[Anonymous]

file drawers without hanging folders?

I'm facing a file cabinet purchase but want very much to dispense with hanging folders as David suggests He recomends in his book that a file cabinet with a good back plate can provide enoughpressure to keep files upright.

• How do people find this to work in practice. Ie, seeing the labels, accessing each file, keeping the contents together etc...
• Have you changed anything physically about the cabinets??
• What cabinets are best suited for this???

Looking forward to a bit of discussion.

Cheers!
Grant

 

[spectecGTD]

I have 20-25 file cabinets of all types & makes in my office. Many of them are for storage and I buy used from time-to-time. Even within brands there are variations in quality, but I find that HON file cabinets are consistently the most reliable overall. (Steelecase is also very good) The most important thing is to get cabinets with drawers riding on dual-suspension telescoping rails.

Prior to GTD, I always thought everything had to be filed in hanging folders - don't know why, I just accepted that as fact. After thinking about what David said in the FAST CD, I completely revamped my system. I've elminated the hanging folders for general-reference filing and routine stuff. The only place I still use hanging folders is for client support files, which can vary from a half-inch to 4" thick and need to hang loosely for quick retrieval. Everything else, including archive files, is now being filed without the hanging folders. It's amazing how much space I'm picking up.

 

[creed]

I've just started with GTD, and this was one of the hardest things to get my head round; I'd always used hanging folders to 'sort' my files.

But now I've done a complete 180, and follow David's suggestion of a single A-Z system.

The filing cabinets I have don't come with back plates (nor can they be bought as extras) so I was hitting a wall with files slipping and falling down. The solution was to simply buy enough empty folders so that there were enough in each drawer to pack it upright.

The only hanging folders I use now are labelled A to Z, are empty, and simply separate the folders themselves.

The only exceptions to the A-Z filing are opportunities/proposals, home-specific stuff like utility bills and personal finances, and the Tickler File, which each have their own cabinets.