n.b. If you’re paperless in your youth work administration this post won’t really apply to you. But you do get a gold star for being awesome and helping save trees.
As a youth worker you have permission slips, sign in sheets, photo release forms, volunteer forms, medical releases and more. If you don’t, you might want to read these posts about youth work policies and procedures and then come back.
Policies and procedures virtuoso? Perfect, let’s keep going. So, you have all these forms and need to access them easily during your youth programs. Which way do you go – Binders? or File Folders?
Binder. Every time. Binder.
But why you ask? The file folder is like the binder’s weaker, pastier friend who drops his phone in the toilet all the time. Here are three reasons binders are better than file folders for your important youth work documentation:
1. Security
Binders keep documents more secure than file folders. A two or three-ring binder will do a much better job of keeping your documents in order than a folder, which really is only one step up from construction paper in terms of durability. Some binders even come with an actual ‘locking system’ so that they won’t pop open or get bent when you drop them.
File folders will let you down when you’re in a hurry and all your papers fall all over the floor. ‘But,’ you might be thinking, ‘my file folders have metal clasps to keep my papers secure.’ While some file folders do have metal clasps which may keep your documents in the file folder, they won’t help out much with the next two reasons.
2. Transportability
Both binders and file folders are easy to take with you to an external youth work session. In fact, depending on the binder, file folders may even be smaller.
But, binders are more durable. They have a hard outside that keep your documents from getting bent, ripped or dirty. Between the hard exterior and the aforementioned locking rings, binders are infinitely more transportable in a backpack or rucksack than any file folder.
3. Organization
You can organize different projects much more easily using a binder than a file folder. You can get dividers and tabs. You can have all your projects and their forms in one binder that you take everywhere using multiple dividers and sub-dividers for individual programs and forms.
Or if you run multiple projects, you can have a different binder for each program and have dividers for the various forms you may need. File folders can either be clasped or loose and you can have only one per program if you want to have any kind of access to the information you need in a hurry.
Bonus reason for loving binders more than file folders: They can be color coded for projects, can have clear pockets for title pages/labeling and come in multiple ring size options for small, medium and large project needs.
Really, all file folders have going for them is that you can stand them upright in a file cabinet and see their names. I’ll let you in on a little secret: binders can do that too if you really need them to. Put a label on the side binding and put your binder open side down in the file pockets; otherwise just stack them in your file cabinet.
Question: Do you prefer binders, file folders or something else? Share your ideas and experiences in the comments below.
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