Peace of Mind Organizing

Peter Walsh teams with Office Max for new product line

13 April 2009

I love office products. I can spend an hour cruising the aisles of Office Max or Office Depot looking at their wares. I love that Office Max, in particular, has become more inventive, offering beautiful product lines like DiVOGA . Staples did the same thing last year with their M by Staples line.

Office Max has taken it another step by enlisting the help of superorganizer Peter Walsh (of whom I’m an unabashed fan) in creating a new product line called [IN]PLACE System by Peter Walsh.

It’s not often that I see office products that are truly innovative. But Peter Walsh has done it.

I took part in a webinar promoting the line and was sent some sample products. These are mix and match filing products that offer up ways to file that break the manila or hanging file folder mold.

The components of the system (so far) include file folders, document sleeves, a document wallet, file tote, interlocking hanging files, desktop sorter, magazine file, and various accessories. There’s also an expanding file and document envelope.

The files are made of durable translucent plastic. While I’ve noticed a trend toward beautiful printed file folders (as in the DiVOGA line), these are completely absent of color. If you want beautiful, you can simply slip a piece of pretty paper in the front. The file folders aren’t 1/3 or 1/5 cut. Instead, they’re straight across the top, with subtle white markings to show where you can affix post-it notes to use as file labels. And, of course, the system comes with specially designed post it notes, in five colors, for that purpose. And here’s something I love: there’s a notch in the side of the file folder just the right size to use a small binder clip to hold the contents in the file. So when you open the file, you don’t risk dumping the contents. Here’s a photo (courtesy of Office Max):

In addition to the post-its, the system comes with file-folder tabs held on by binder clips, and a special dry-erase pen to write on (and erase) the tabs. You can also use that pen to write right on the file folders (and erase the note).

The file tote has retractable handles. It’s two inches deep and seems like a great way to transport a whole project to a meeting or work location. If you had a huge project, there’s even a rolling case file (it seems to me that scrapbookers might go crazy for that). Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of the rolling case, but here’s the file tote:

I haven’t seen the desktop file, pictured in the front of the collection photo below, but Walsh described it as adjustable, to accommodate the various widths of document holders the system offers. So you can remove dividers, to make a wider slot. And this is cool: there’s a place in the back of the sorter to store the dividers you take out, so you don’t lose them.

This system has several things going for it, in my opinion: it’s highly customizable, reusable, and durable. You can make it beautiful if you want, but you don’t have to. I love that the components all work with one another. It’s very clear to me that a lot of thought went into this system.

When I visited Office Max, I found only the starter kit available. I’m assuming more of the products mentioned above will be on the shelves before long. Keep an eye out for it!

Tagged with: filing systems, organizing systems, peter walsh

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