Organizing: File Tubs, Crates, Binders and Piles

Which one suits me?  LOL....more often than not it a mish-mash of them all! 


I have LOTS of piles, clipped with one or two binder clips to keep them "together and organized", kept stacked (precariously, at best) on a lower shelf of a bookcase.And, yes....usually forgotten.
I also have several file tubs. Handy they are...practical to store with limited space, not so bad compared to some methods of organizing, but not the greatest either.
File Crates just never did it for me.  They tend to get smooshed -- little ones have trouble "stacking" them back up, you can see into them...we are not Martha Stewart Homeschoolers here, sorry.  We have a very much lived-in house...and equally lived-in/on/around/with bookcases, school areas and school materials.  Open crates, young children, dust...no, just doesn't work for me.
I have a 2 drawer file cabinet.  Poor thing is in serious need of cleaning out and maybe attacked with some cool scrapbook papers and a clear coat.  I'd love a wall of 4 drawer cabinets...maybe just 2, but 3 would be ok, too.

Then again, I have bookcases lining what few walls I have here, where would I put a couple of file cabinets? 

So far, what seems to work best, what we keep coming back to, is binders.  I have lots of them (bless you Sam Walton and your "Club" where I can buy bulk binders reasonably priced).  They have a dual purpose for me in that I can select whatever sizes best fit the need -- some unit study selections fit in 1", some lapbooking units need a 2", my own home/school binder needs a honkin' 4" and so on.  The other big draw for me is they fit right along with the books on the shelves.  Already have bookcases...just add binders here and there.

I could see becoming a multi-organizatinal task mistress, though...combining the current notebooks and maybe adding one of those 4-drawer cabinets for the goodies I glean to put into "maybe later" use.  I don't know.  We'll see how that vision works out.

Here are some sites I ran across about organizing:
Sunflower School House -- I have a wonderful pack here, Memory Verse Pack, Vol. 1 that we are implementing (finally...I just discovered it...bundled with a binder clip on a lower shelf!)
Sunflower Faith has at least one good post on organizing...I can't wait to check it out more.
By Sun and Candlelight has a good post...another site I'll be checking back with many times
Donna Young's site...if she doesn't have a form you want, you just plain don't need it!

I'm sure there are plenty more...share the sites or blog posts you have found useful for setting up (or discarding) your own organizational system!