12x12" Hanging Storage

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm working on organizing my newly rearranged craft room. I'll post pictures when I'm done, but there's no way I'm posting the mess right now! (Imagine boxes and bags sitting in the hallway waiting for me, and you'll get the idea.)

One of my biggest challenges has been storing my 12x12" scrapbook paper. I have to have vertical storage. Nothing else will work for me. I was working out of a Creative Memories Workshop Organizer from my years as a consultant, but I got tired of not being able to read my labels once I started adding 12x12" paper (as opposed to the 10x12" it was designed for).

I had seen this idea before but didn't like the idea of my paper being stored in folders full of acid and lignin. Then I got to thinking about the packaging scrapbook papers come in - most include a piece of cardboard that's full of acid and lignin. And how long have they been packaged like that? Depending on where you buy them, it could be years.

I compared what little is available devoted exclusively to scrapbooks.

The Crop In Style filer cube averages $60, not including 12x12" hanging files for an average of $1.30 each. Since I figured I'd need about 14 files, that would average $78.20, not including shipping and tax.

So, back to the original idea of making files from regular legal-sized hanging files ... I bought 3 packs of 10 folders at Wal-Mart for $9.00 total. That will make 20 hanging files, averaging $0.45 each.

Then I bought the Z-Line Alero Mobile 2-Tier File Cart from Staples. (This is the cart mentioned at the bottom of the article on making your own file folders.) They didn't have it in stock at the store, so the manager ordered it and had it shipped to my home, next-day delivery. Since I'm a member of Staples Rewards, the shipping was free (regularly $8.00). And since I was able to pay at the store, I was able to use $9 worth of coupons from recycled printer cartridges and ended up paying $22.79 for the cart.

My ending cost: $31.79 for the cart and 20 files.
What I would have paid for the same number of files and cabinet: $86.00
My savings: $54.21

Bonus: I'm selling a bunch of organizers I haven't used since my days as a Creative Memories consultant, and I can use that money to pay for this system (with plenty leftover).

Double Bonus: I bought the hanging file folders with a gift card I had received for Christmas, so they didn't really cost me anything.