Storage Unit Tetris
June 22, 2018 7:06 AM   Subscribe

Downsizing for a move, so a lot has to go into storage. Wondering what would be the best way to position free standing shelves.

We have a 10'x10'x10'unit with a roll down door on one entire side.
Have one shelf that's 18"x48" and 2 which are 18"x36", getting more is a possibility.
We have about 50 boxes of books, various boxes of stuff, and larger items like wood bookshelves, dis-assembled cabinets and tables, chairs, bikes, etc.

There is a chance in the next year that a friend will need to get some small items to send to us, so I'd like to avoid having to remove layers to get to it.
Would it be better for the shelves to be parallel to the walls or perpendicular?
posted by Sophont to Grab Bag (4 answers total)
 
Maybe be a combination? One rack perpendicular where you can get at it easily (for stuff you expect you may need soonish) and the others flat on the Wall.

You might try it out on grid paper (make cutouts of the big pieces/shelves) or Sketchup before the big day.
posted by notyou at 7:27 AM on June 22, 2018


I think I'd run the shelves down the side of the unit, and fill them with the book boxes.
Does the unit have a light inside it? Shelves on the wall will define a path so light (and you) can reach stuff at the back.
Of course you should put those things those least-needed or hardest-to-move also at the back.
posted by TDIpod at 7:39 AM on June 22, 2018


Best answer: I had a similar storage situations recently. I put the shelves parallel with the walls of the storage unit and as flush against them as I could (perpendicular to roll-up door, not against the back wall). Then I stored things in the shelves that I knew I would need to get to soonish. I left a small walkway for myself. It was more stable (in terms of having things in the shelves) than perpendicular and also left the middle of the unit open for large-but-easily-moved items like chairs, vaccuums, etc.

I put all the disassembled, definitely unusable things at the very back, and the shelves toward the front of the unit.
posted by assenav at 8:50 AM on June 22, 2018


With stuff like this it really helps to make a scale model. One foot to one inch (1:12) scale is pretty convenient.

Take a sheet of paper, and draw a 10x10" box. Take a second piece of paper and draw a scale shelf -- 18/12 = 1.5" by 48/12 = 4", and then cut your scaled 1.5x4" shelf out of the paper, and see how it fits in your 10x10" box. Repeat for the other shelves. Make a few scaled down boxes too.

Most people can fit through a 24" opening; make a person-width-model too. Again scale 24" down to 24/12=2".
posted by gregr at 1:30 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]


« Older How to cope with going on a trip you don't want to...   |   Become comfortable with myself Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.