Do you have a young person on your gift list? Maybe a high school student, college student, or someone starting their career? I’ve got a suggestion that might surprise you: give them a milk crate and some file folders.
Yes, you read that correctly. A milk crate, some hanging file folders, and a simple strategy can transform how someone manages paperwork forever.
What Is a Tickler File?
If you’ve followed my work, you probably know about the tickler file. If the concept is new to you, don’t worry. You can create one in a single sitting.
Start with a milk crate from your local Walmart. Add 43 hanging file folders. Label 31 folders with the numbers 1 through 31. These represent the days of the month. Label the remaining 12 folders with the months of the year. Your tickler file is ready to go.
When you join my email list, you’ll receive a set of labels sized perfectly for those folder tabs. Just cut them apart and slide them into place. Arrange the numbered folders in front and the monthly folders in back. You don’t even need a fancy box because the milk crate works perfectly.
Wrap it up with some nice paper and a bow. That milk crate makes a pretty impressive-looking present, until the person unwraps it. “You got me a milk crate?” they’ll think.
No. What you got them is a system that’ll put the paperwork in their life in order.
How the Tickler File Works
Instead of papers laying all over the place, hoping you’ll see the right one at the right time, you make decisions upfront. What needs to happen with this piece of paper? When do I want to see it again so I can take action?
Answer those questions and drop the paper into the corresponding folder.
Need to see that paper again within the next 31 days? You’ve got a folder for it. Something you don’t need until a month or more from now? That’s what the monthly folders are for.
On the first day of each month, take everything in the folder for the new month and redistribute it in your 1 through 31 folders. Paperwork magically resurfaces on exactly the right day.
The Secret Bonus: Building a Gratitude Habit
Before you wrap that milk crate, add one more thing. Get the recipient 52 note cards with matching envelopes. Scatter these note cards and envelopes throughout the tickler file.
Christmas is almost here, so January is coming fast. Drop one note card in a folder for the first week of January, another for the next week, and so on through January. Drop four note cards in the February folder, another four or five in March, and continue through the year.
One more step before you wrap it up. Write a letter to the recipient and put it in the very first folder.
The letter explains why this gift is so powerful. We all have people in our lives who make things better for us. We intend to say thank you, but life gets busy. We never seem to think about saying thank you when we actually have thank you notes at hand.
As your loved one uses the tickler file daily, about once a week, they’ll find a blank note card with a matching envelope. That’s the cue to stop and take five minutes to write a thank-you note to somebody for something.
It doesn’t have to be a thank-you note for a gift. It could be a note to a teacher for what their class has meant. Everyone will come up with their own reasons.
We’ve just linked a habit we’d like to foster (thanking people regularly) with a system that helps us succeed with that habit. We’ve made it easier. When we make things easy, we increase the chances they’ll get done.
Why This Gift Matters
A milk crate and file folders isn’t the flashiest gift. But it may just be the gift that changes someone’s life for the long term.
I was around eight years old when I first encountered the tickler file. My dad was an attorney in a one-man shop. On those summer days when I hung out at his office (because his office had air conditioning when air conditioning was far from common), I watched his routine.
The first thing he did each morning was open one drawer and pull out one file. In that drawer were folders labeled 1 through 31, each representing a day of the month. He pulled out the folder for that day. Inside was all the paperwork he’d be dealing with that day.
I thought that was such a neat system. I adopted it and have used it my entire professional career. Right here in my desk is a hanging file drawer, 12 inches from my hand. It holds my tickler file. Now you understand why I think it’s a gift that’ll last a lifetime.
Make This Gift Happen
If you’re racking your brain trying to think of a gift that’ll make a real difference, grab a milk crate, 43 hanging file folders, 52 note cards with envelopes, and start writing your letter.
This simple paper organization system will help someone stay on top of paperwork, build better habits, and develop a practice of gratitude that lasts for years.
“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.” — Benjamin Franklin
“Clutter is not just physical stuff. It’s old ideas, toxic relationships, and bad habits. Clutter is anything that does not support your better self.” — Eleanor Brownn
If you enjoyed this content, join the email list so you never miss a thing. You receive two gifts for joining. One gets your desk clean. The other puts everything you have to do in one digital place. It’s time to Get Organized! and make it look easy.
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