Hmm... A quick search at the 43 folders wiki revealed some success using cork-bottomed bookends... I had already tried one set of bookends that i had and they slid around on plastic and on plywood, but maybe those corked ones would do it....

http://wiki.43folders.com/index.php/Filing

I know David Allen is vehemently anti-hanging file system BUT...

He's also about adapting the system to fit your needs. I just like hanging files better. I've tried the just manila folder method and found it to be a constant source of aggravation, torn cuticles and paper cuts. YMMV. Apparently, 95% of the GTD world's does.

I think where Allen's system is spot on is in having all your supplies handy-dandy next to you. I have a lot of hanging files, a lot of interior folders, fired-up labeler and space in the drawer, which is literally right next to me since it holds up the right side of my desk.

Using those interior folders made specifically for hanging files helps, i.e., the ones that don't stick up past the hanging file. Also, I think long and hard about whether I need a new file before I create one!

But I would be interested to hear real-life stories of how the no-hanging-file system has helped people. In my life, it hasn't proven the case.

Colleen:
Hmmm. Thanks for the thoughts.

What I like about the new manilla I've been using is that they're easier to throw in my bag to take to and from work, and not having to mess with the little plastic tabs with thin, "hard to write on and hard to read" folded inserts for labeling hanging files. And at work, it's more convenient because we designed our own desks and included filing hardware that's just within reach, that is non-hanging. And it would seem clear that there are benefits to using the same folder system at home AND work (out of principal, and because I take a lot of work home), even if the hardware will vary.

At home however, I don't have the cool just-within-reach desks - I'm using drawers or carts no matter what. And so far, converting my drawers to manilla only has failed- even with the bookends mentioned above, retrieval and filing is pretty cumbersome. And I've got a hanging file cart that I'm wondering whether to integrate in some hybrid way, or pitch.

So: I'm considering if I went back to hanging files with labeled manilla folders in them, as mentioned in David's book, as a possible middle ground for my system at home- "backwards and fowards compatible", I suppose. But in other ways, that just seems like a PITA. ;) Anyone successfully using a hybrid system?

Are there others like Colleen who have make hanging files easy to use? hybrids different then what I mention above?

I've done the hybrid thing since long before there was GTD -- my desk at home requires hangers, and my need to take things back and forth with me requires portable folders that I can pull out.

I don't bother with the fiddly little tabs and labels -- I try to think of the hanging files as hangers for folders, rather than as folders. I have been known to keep a few files in each hanger, because one folder per hanger takes up an absurd amount of space, and the last thing I want is to have to find room for more filing cabinets. However, I also don't let hangers get so stuffed that they can't move back and forth freely on the tracks -- that's their main benefit.

What I do take from GTD is that the folders are thin and in alphabetical sequence. I don't mess with trying to group them into broader categories (as I used to do) -- and that's where a lot of hanging-file users run into trouble. When you've got a 4-inch thick monster labeled (in tiny tiny letters in a plastic tab) "financial" and you're trying to stuff everything from ancient taxes to insurance to the mortgage to the bank statements to a copy of the budget you printed out from Quicken 5 years ago and never stuck to, you've essentially got another unsorted inbox.

(I'll admit that I sometimes wonder if the David was bitten by a rabid hanging file at an impressionable age. It's just not that big a deal, in my experience.)

I'll side with the last two posters and suggest standard manila folders in hanging folders. Since my work filing cabinets are legal size, I put letter-size manila folders in legal-size hangers. It's great for portability and makes it easier to remove the files than if they're conventional folders smushed (technical term) together. Because both the hangers and the folders are labeled, you always know where to put the manila folder back when you're done. And I'm not paying for the two sets of folders. :)

For the life of me, I have no idea why The David is so offended by hanging files. Either sabreuse is right about remnant scarring from a childhood experience or David used folders that didn't fit properly in their cabinets. It may be a big deal to you depending on your personal experience, but I wouldn't consider any one person's word definitive on the subject.

I'm in the midst of getting everything into GTD, and I'm looking for good file cabinets myself.

My problem is, so many file cabinets out there are so UGLY. I'd love to get something that's both sexy and affordable. I know there are affordable ones out there, but they're just clunky.

My question is: ARE there any nice-looking file cabinets out there? Ones that will complement my glass-top and powder-coated metal desk and PowerMac?

A thought: a wonderful company called Sonrisa out here in L.A. does a brisk business of sandblasting crappy-looking but beautifully-built file cabs down to the metal, and leaving them with a matte/brushed finish.

The other thing I've heard tell of (but been too lazy to do) is buy up older, well-built cabs at thrift stores and have them repainted at an auto-painting place. Get any damned color of enamel you like.

If you like really purty ones, Crate+Barrel used to make some nice painted wood ones, but they were verrrry expensive.

I googled them and found their website. Nice! A bit pricy, though. I don't exactly have $650-$1300 lying around for storage. (I'd get myself a Powerbook before dropping that kind of money on file cabinets!)

Oh, lordy. I wasn't thinking you'd buy them.

I was thinking you'd do that great, geeky thing of figuring out a cheep way to do the same thing. (And if you do, for god's sake, man, don't hold back!)

I have an ugly gray cabinet that I picked up at a used office furniture store. I have a can of red spray paint. Anyone thing this'll work?