![](https://media.organized-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/pine-storage-crate-file-folder-2-copy-768x533.jpg)
While caught in an organizational flurry in my home office a few years back, I chucked everything I didn’t immediately need well out of my way. I tossed paper clips into a giant seagrass basket (not smart), books in precarious stacks (acceptable), and overflow file folders into a pine storage crate on the floor (genius!).
As it turns out, standard-issue pine storage crates are sized for paper, meaning letter-sized hanging file folders fit perfectly. So I shredded most of the contents of my former file cabinet and tucked only what I needed inside a pine storage crate—and I’ve never looked back.
Photography by Meredith Swinehart.
![Pine Storage Crate as File Cabinet by Remodelista's The Organized Home](https://media.organized-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/pine-storage-crate-file-folder-8-733x517.jpg)
![Pine Storage Crate as File Cabinet by Remodelista's The Organized Home](https://media.organized-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/pine-storage-crate-file-folder-5-copy-733x736.jpg)
![Pine Storage Crate as File Cabinet by Remodelista's The Organized Home](https://media.organized-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/pine-storage-crate-file-folder-3-733x1100.jpg)
![Pine Storage Crate as File Cabinet by Remodelista's The Organized Home](https://media.organized-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/pine-storage-crate-file-folder-1-733x533.jpg)
The Muji drawers, along with the pine storage crates, were my picks for our roundup of Editors’ Picks: Our 10 Favorite Organizational Tools.
![A Wood Crate in Medium is 13.5 inches long and the requisite 12.5 inches wide; 4 for $72.49 at The Home Depot.](https://media.organized-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Pine-storage-crate-1-733x444.jpg)
![A Wood Crate in Large is also 12.5 inches wide but is 18 inches long; $14.98 at The Home Depot.](https://media.organized-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Pine-storage-crate-2-733x443.jpg)
![Letter-sized Pendaflex Recycled Hanging Folders in black are $19.69 for a box of 25 at Amazon.](https://media.organized-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/black-hanging-file-folder-733x445.jpg)
Browse more Aha! Hacks on The Organized Home:
- Aha! Hack: Baking Sheet as a Boot Tray
- Aha! Hack: An Easy-Breezy DIY Whiteboard
- Aha! Hack: A DIY Drying Rack that Disappears When Not in Use
N.B.: This post has been updated with new links and prices; it was first published October 2020.
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