Label & Storage Planner
Figure out how many boxes and labels a filing cleanup actually needs before you make a supply run — not a guess, and not three trips back to the store.
What to buy
Planning a filing cleanup
A pile of paper is easy to underestimate. What looks like “a few boxes worth” of old statements, receipts, and records often adds up to several thousand sheets once you actually count a stack and multiply. Working out the box count in advance means you buy the right amount of storage the first time.
The label count matters just as much as the boxes — a filing system without clear labels on every box and category tends to collapse back into an unsorted pile within a few months, because finding anything means opening every box in turn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the 2,500-sheets-per-box default come from?
It's a commonly cited capacity for a standard letter-size banker's box packed with loose or lightly organized paper. Hanging folders and binders hold noticeably less per box because of the extra bulk, so lower the 'documents per box' figure if most of what you're storing is in folders rather than loose sheets.
Why do I need labels for boxes AND categories?
Every physical box needs a label so you can find it on a shelf, and every category needs its own label inside the system (on a folder, a shelf divider, or a box that's dedicated to just one category) so you know what's supposed to go where. The planner adds both counts together before applying the spare-label buffer.
Why add spare labels at all?
Labels get mis-printed, peeled off wrong, or need updating when a category is renamed or split. A 10% buffer (the default) covers the ordinary rate of mistakes and re-prints without you running out mid-project and having to place a second small order.
What if my categories don't split evenly across boxes?
That's normal — the planner gives you the box and label totals for the whole project, not a box-by-box layout. In practice a category that's smaller than a full box can share a box with another small category, as long as each gets its own labeled section or divider inside.
Planning estimate only. Actual capacity depends on paper thickness, folders, and how tightly you pack a box.