Noguchi Filing System
`The basic elements of the system are as follows.
* All the user need prepare is a collection of A4-sized envelopes and some means for marking the outside of the envelope. If some color coding (optional) is to be done, this can be done with marker pens.
* All documents, regardless of their class, level of importance, or perceived chance of being required at a later date are stored in A4-sized envelopes, which have the flaps cut off, as shown below.
By “all documents,” Noguchi means just that. He puts all categories of documents, including things like membership lists and his passport in envelopes.
* The title and date of the document are marked on the side of the envelope, as shown, and the envelopes are stored vertically on a bookshelf.
* Absolutely no “classification” of documents is attempted. The color coding is optional, and used only to shorten the amount of time to find a document.
* New documents (envelopes) are added at the left end of the “envelope buffer,” and whenever a document is used (i.e., the envelope removed from the shelf), it is returned to the left end of the bookshelf. The result of this system is that the most recent (and frequently) used documents migrate to the left, while documents that are not used often or not used at all migrate to the right.’
