Are you wondering if creating a miscellaneous folder in an office is a good idea?

Do you want some validation that your idea may not be all that it seems?

The miscellaneous folder is somewhat of a black sheep when it comes to filing.

After all, it is tempting to create a folder, stuff various things inside of it, and call it a day.

While that is certainly a quick fix when it comes to filing things, in actuality, you’ll be doing more harm that good.

Here are ten great reasons why a miscellaneous folder is a really, really, really, bad idea.

You’ll forget what’s inside.

There’s almost no doubt about it, but whatever you place inside a miscellaneous folder will soon be forgotten.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a personal project that’s close to your heart or a recently completed project.

You’ll quickly forget what you placed inside the folder, and why.

You must reidentify items.

Not only will you forget what’s sitting inside of a miscellaneous folder, you’ll have to redefine your definition of miscellaneous in order to file items in the folder.

Sure, the folder is labeled miscellaneous. But does that mean absolutely everything and anything goes inside the folder?

What about those client reports, vendor payments, bills, and research?

You Must Update Folder Contents.

You’ll have to update your list of items contained in the folder on a regular basis.

You’ll have to cross out or relabel that folder title every single time you use the folder.

That’s not a very practical way to use a folder, now is it?

You’ll Waste time.

You’ll waste time sorting through folder items to find what you think you might have filed in the folder.

Who wants to spend an extra hour searching high and low for something?

And who wants to become utterly frustrated, annoyed, and confused in the process?

You’ll save a whole lot of time if you file items where they belong the first time around.

You’ll confuse others.

Do you work with or share space with others?

If so, you’ll inadvertently create a situation that will be quite difficult for other people.

You see, asking someone else to pull out a particular piece of information from your files will prove to be quite challenging.

Should the person look in the regular set of files you’ve created? Perhaps they should look in the miscellaneous folder?

YOu’ll Create More work for others.

Going off of the previous point, asking someone else to re-file a particular piece of information from the file will prove to be that much more difficult.

Where should they file an item when they are finished using it?

Will they replace it in the miscellaneous folder or refile it in a specific file you haven’t discussed?

This can truly create some chaotic situations!

Your folder will reach it’s limit.

Don’t forget, a paper and/or digital file can only hold so much information!

Over time, as you place more and more items into your folder, you’ll eventually reach a point where you physically cannot store more information into the folder.

This creates even more challenges for you…where will you store items when the folder becomes full?

You’ll feel unorganized.

There’s no doubt about it, but you’ll feel much more unorganized with a vast quantity of miscellany in your office.

You may not be seemingly affected by it at first, but you may find yourself trapped with a nagging thought about *that* folder.

You know you need to get organized, but that folder still sits in the back of your mind.

What’s more, you’ll dread going to your filing cabinet: the miscellaneous folder will be there front and center!

You won’t attend to other files.

If you don’t take the time to properly file information, you’ll probably become lax in filing information in your other files.

However, where’s the motivation to maintain your other files when you can’t maintain a single file?

That’s right, there is none. It’s a true slippery slope of organization if there every were one.

You’ll file everything in the folder.

As time passes, the lines between filing items for retrieval grows more and more blurry.

You’ll soon start to file everything in the folder…it is labelled miscellaneous…right?

So, do yourself a favor and put an end to creating miscellaneous folders both at work and home.

You’ll be glad you did!

How about you? Have you ever created a miscellaneous folder? Did it help or hurt your ability to file or find items? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!