how do i retrieve deleted files

I was trying to clean up my computer last night and deleted a bunch of document files that I thought I had already moved to the cloud. Also, because of this assumption, I went ahead and cleared my trash as well. Once I realized that I could not find my documents, I went to the time machine. Which, awesomely enought, sarcasm ,isnt configured. So, no help there. Any suggestions on how I can back up my computer by say 24-48 hrs?