Paper never seems to go away, does it?  We get it in the mail, from work, from the doctor’s office, and the vet’s office, too. You know who especially gets a lot of paper?  Kids.  If you have more than one child, that’s a lot of paper.  If you don’t have a dedicated space to collect and process paper, it can be a nightmare to find what you want when you want it.

You can try to control this problem by getting a file cabinet or desktop filing system. If you tend to keep your papers in a pile or want to see them out on your desk, the traditional filing methods may not work for you.   Not to worry, though, because Pendaflex has created a system for pilers: organizer tray with divider tabs, binder label clips, and view folders with write-on tabs.

See below for my review* of these products and let me know if you’ve tried any of them.  I’d love to hear how it worked for you.

1. Pilesmart® Desktop Organizer Tray With Divider Tabs

What I Like

• Color. I know it seems trivial, but color is very important.  If you don’t like the color, you’re likely to not use it. The organizer tray is clear, so what’s not to love? Besides, you get lots of color with the labeled dividers. You can assign a color to a different sets of piles.  

So, you might choose red for “OMG, if I don’t act on this right now, the world will come to an end!” or lime green for “Woo hoo! This is gonna be a great vacation!”  Of course, you won’t be able to fit all those words on your labels, so you may want to shorten to “Urgent” and “Vacation.” =)

• Function. The tray is sturdy and has non-slip feet to keep it firmly on your desk.   This really helps to keep all your papers from flying about the place. The base is also slightly slanted so your files sit nicely against the back corner of the tray. Your papers really won’t have an excuse to go off somewhere.  The dividers also have write-on tabs on two sides which means that you can easily categorize and see your projects.

• Depth. The tray is deep enough to house lots of files but not so deep that you can have one very large continuous pile. This means that you’ll have to be picky about which files will live in the tray, otherwise, they will spill out.

What Would Have Made it Perfect

• Divider Colors. I really like the colors of the dividers but it would be nice if they a clear option, just like (or similar to) the organizer tray.  For some people the colors may be distracting and the colors of the binder clips may be enough for them.

• Connecting Trays & Portability. I’m working on a couple of large projects right now and it would be nice if the organizer trays could interlock with each other. This would create a wider system so I could not only pile papers according to the various stages of a project, but also move two connected trays together to a different room (or bigger table). Any wider than two trays would be a bit cumbersome, don’t you think?

2. PileSmart® Binder Label Clips

What I Like

• Coordinating Color. By now, you shouldn’t be surprised that color is one of the features I look for in any product.  I really love that the colors on the binder clips coordinate with the dividers.

• Function. One of the basic rules of organizing is to keep like items together.  Doing this helps you to be more efficient and find exactly what you need when you need it.  The binder clips are great for labeling AND keeping related documents in a pile together.

What Would Have Made it Perfect

• Flexibility. If you want to add different colors to your binder clips, you can’t.  Wouldn’t it be great if you could interchange or replace the tabs on the binder clips? …just pop them off and put a different one on?

3. PileSmart® View Folders With Write-on Tabs

What I Like

• Color, Look, & Feel. The awesome colors coordinate well with the binder clips and dividers.  This is a great way to encourage keeping like items together.  The folders are also lightweight and clear so you can what’s inside.

• Long Tabs. Long tabs make it easier to use longer file names and just about any label will fit.  You can write on the labels provided or use a label maker if your handwriting is hard to read. Otherwise, break out the Sharpies!

• Function. The folder is sealed on the bottom and right sides and open on the top and left side.  A small flap on the left keeps everything inside (only if you don’t overstuff it! …put in up to 75 sheets of paper) and allows for easy access/closure. You can also use the folders with a traditional (non-piling) systems.  Just drop it in your hanging file folder.

• Spill Factor. Though I wouldn’t recommend that you dunk it in water, if a little spill happens, these poly folders will clean up quickly and easily (compared to regular paper folders).

What Would Have Made it Perfect

• Non-slip Surface. Though described as having a texture that piles from slipping, I didn’t find that to be the case.

Disclosure: This is sponsored content which means that I was compensated by GetButtonedUp.com for doing this review. What was my prize? A  $20 Target gift card.  Remember, we don’t give positive reviews for anything we do not believe in. Our content was not edited or directed in any way by Pendaflex, Esselete, or Get Buttoned Up.