Clever, enclosed collapsed cardboard mailing box storage...

[ctnewman]

Howdy. I have a 30x40 attached garage cnc machine shop at my house. I keep 95% of my stuff in cabinets, I don't like looking at clutter. It's neat and clean at almost all times. (you can see it here)

Right now I have all my collapsed cardboard boxes on my back porch, but the wife has had enough of that (with good cause). These are NEW boxes for shipping my products.

Some of the boxes are fairly big, (48x30 when flat) so a stack of 15 of them is 48x30x12. There are also small ones and probably a couple even larger ones (the larger ones could go in my basement or behind a cabinet or something, probably).

My initial thought was to just buy a large cabinet, but it needs to be at least 30" deep. I did find a few cabinets in that size range, but they are all super heavy duty 12 gauge industrial cabinets. Don't get me wrong, I love a beefy cabinet, but a 3 to 4000 dollar cabinet to store cardboard seems like a waste.

One thing that may make it a bit more flexible is that this storage area has access from all sides, or at least 3 sides.

Other thoughts:

1) buying two cheaper cabinets that were 18" deep and screwing them back to back. Then I could cut out a portion of the back of both of them and have an area for extra deep storage, but leave enough for it to still be stable. Then I could have shelves that were only 18" deep for smaller boxes.

2) same as above but remove doors on one and the back of the other and screw them back to front for one big 36" deep cabinet

3) get some pallet rack and enclose it?

4) a cost effective extra-deep off-the-shelf cabinet? This is my preferred solution. I have a lot of work to do on other things.

5) any other ideas? I feel like there has got to be some super clever solution here.

The location of the cabinet is highlighted in pink:

 

[ctnewman]

This is the only thing I found that could be useable. with a wire shelf stuffed inside... Waiting on a quote. Also not sure if it even has a back and can be free-standing. From redlinegeargare.

 

[Sumboodie]

Burn barrel

 

[ctnewman]

Burn barrel

These are NEW boxes that I paid for to ship products in...

 

[Copymutt]

Why are u saving these?

 

[ctnewman]

Why are u saving these?

These are new boxes that I bought to ship my products in.

 

[Copymutt]

Do you have any attic or basement space? If not I’d try to create a space against a wall where they could be stored vertically, perhaps behind something that disguises their presence.

 

[ctnewman]

Do you have any attic or basement space?

I do, but I have a shipping area in my shop and I’d like everything in one area.

 

[Old Man Roger]

A custom built cabinet seems the obvious solution, no? I would think making it wide would be better than making it deep.

 

[ctnewman]

A custom built cabinet seems the obvious solution, no? I would think making it wide would be better than making it deep.

That also sounds expensive. Depth is important because the boxes stacks are deep. Stored like this, but enclosed.

 

[Old Man Roger]

That also sounds expensive. Depth is important because the boxes stacks are deep. Stored like this, but enclosed.

I was thinking just cost of material would be reasonable, assuming you’d build it.

I was also thinking of stacking them differently. More like a file cabinet, larger boxes in the back, smaller boxes in the front. You would lift the larger boxes over the smaller boxes to remove them.

When I was manufacturing crash cages and sub cages for stunt bikes, I had all my cardboard boxes just leaned against the wall in that order. It was a much smaller scale than what it looks like you’re doing though, my shipping department was my spare bed room..lol

The boxes were held in place by the wall and the spare bed.lol

 

[ctnewman]

I was thinking just cost of material would be reasonable, assuming you’d build it.

I was also thinking of stacking them differently. More like a file cabinet, larger boxes in the back, smaller boxes in the front. You would lift the larger boxes over the smaller boxes to remove them.

When I was manufacturing crash cages and sub cages for stunt bikes, I had all my cardboard boxes just leaned against the wall in that order. It was a much smaller scale than what it looks like you’re doing though, my shipping department was my spare bed room..lol

The boxes were held in place by the wall and the spare bed.lol

Yeah, I was really trying to avoid storing them that way. That's sort of what I am doing now and it's pretty annoying because I have so many different sizes. Stored as shown in the above rack would be best.

I was also trying to avoid building something, because I know I'll turn it into a mega project.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Yeah, I was really trying to avoid storing them that way. That's sort of what I am doing now and it's pretty annoying because I have so many different sizes. Stored as shown in the above rack would be best.

I was also trying to avoid building something, because I know I'll turn it into a mega project.

Ya, you remind me of another GJ member, E.rodz . It’s a complement, but he has a serious problem with project creep, but in a good way.

 

[72Anthony]

What about wire shelving? ULINE has depths up to 36" in a variety of widths and heights. You can also put them on casters to give you more flexibility.

Chrome Wire Shelving, Quick Adjust Shelving, Basket Shelves in Stock - ULINE

Uline stocks a wide selection of Chrome Wire Shelving. Order by 6 pm for same day shipping. Huge Catalog! Over 45,000 products in stock. 14 locations across USA, Canada and Mexico for fast delivery of Chrome Wire Shelving.

www.uline.com

 

[619DioFan]

That also sounds expensive. Depth is important because the boxes stacks are deep. Stored like this, but enclosed.

Instead of storing them this way use a wide cabinet about 24 inch deep , put them in flat,against the back . a shelf or two above for smaller. You may have to put different sizes in front of each other but it only takes a second to,grab what you need. I work in the moving and storage industry , our packing materials are stored flat on racks . I deal with hundreds of boxes a day, doesn't take very long to grab what I need.

 

[Sumboodie]

These are NEW boxes that I paid for to ship products in...

Oh. Didn't see anything about that. Figured you were pack ratting boxes for no reason.

They were doing that at work, had a whole room full of boxes. Mostly laziness I'd guess. I flattened them out, kept 5 or 6 just in case and threw the rest out.
If nothing else was a fire hazard!

 

[CN Spots]

We use several means of storing corrugate at work. That steel rack above is one of them. A simpler version is this little guy:

We used to store a few of them in custom cabinets/worktable but it became a nuisance as the smaller stuff ended up crammed in the back and somebody had to go spelunking for them:


I design corrugate stuff for a living so I feel your pain. Having so many sizes of boxes really limits the simple storage options.

We eventually settled on a 250,000sq ft warehouse.

 

[ctnewman]

What about wire shelving? ULINE has depths up to 36" in a variety of widths and heights. You can also put them on casters to give you more flexibility.

Chrome Wire Shelving, Quick Adjust Shelving, Basket Shelves in Stock - ULINE

Uline stocks a wide selection of Chrome Wire Shelving. Order by 6 pm for same day shipping. Huge Catalog! Over 45,000 products in stock. 14 locations across USA, Canada and Mexico for fast delivery of Chrome Wire Shelving.

www.uline.com

Would work but I'd want to enclose the wire shelves afterward. I really don't want to look at them. My shop is too tidy for that mess.

Instead of storing them this way use a wide cabinet about 24 inch deep , put them in flat,against the back . a shelf or two above for smaller. You may have to put different sizes in front of each other but it only takes a second to,grab what you need. I work in the moving and storage industry , our packing materials are stored flat on racks . I deal with hundreds of boxes a day, doesn't take very long to grab what I need.

I have them basically the same way now, leaned up against the wall. It's a pain because i'll have to fish out one large box behind 2 dozen smaller boxes, and it makes keeping inventory harder than having them in their own unique pocket.

We use several means of storing corrugate at work. That steel rack above is one of them. A simpler version is this little guy:

We used to store a few of them in custom cabinets/worktable but it became a nuisance as the smaller stuff ended up crammed in the back and somebody had to go spelunking for them:


I design corrugate stuff for a living so I feel your pain. Having so many sizes of boxes really limits the simple storage options.

We eventually settled on a 250,000sq ft warehouse.

The spelunking is something worth being concerned about if it's a deep pocket. That's why I sort of like the two 18" cabinets back to back screwed together. I could cut a pass through in 50% of the backs for long boxes, but then have a bunch of 18" deep pockets for smaller boxes on either side.

 

[Zeke]

These are NEW boxes that I paid for to ship products in...

Why are u saving these?

These are new boxes that I bought to ship my products in.

No one reads through a post anymore. Too eager to tickle the keyboard.

I get that you like things neat and tidy. I'm sure that's a reason for an enclosed cabinet. But can you store theses in the open? Seems like that would make this project easier to process.

Also, I am the one that is guilty of hoarding boxes. Good quality like what computers and welders come in are hard to find. I find that the really big ones go in one place and the ones like Priority Mail go in another. You can find 24" deep metal cabinets at estate sales, etc. Used office furniture places are not a bargain. 30" deep might be scarce.

Maybe you can cut the side out of a cabinet and have at least 2 sides of access. I've never seen a cabinet that opens on 3 sides. Or do get some pallet racking and make doors.

 

[ctnewman]

No one reads through a post anymore. Too eager to tickle the keyboard.

I get that you like things neat and tidy. I'm sure that's a reason for an enclosed cabinet. But can you store theses in the open? Seems like that would make this project easier to process.

Also, I am the one that is guilty of hoarding boxes. Good quality like what computers and welders come in are hard to find. I find that the really big ones go in one place and the ones like Priority Mail go in another. You can find 24" deep metal cabinets at estate sales, etc. Used office furniture places are not a bargain. 30" deep might be scarce.

Out in the open I could use wire shelving but I really really don't want to look at a bunch of boxes. For some reason shipping areas of companies always feel SO cluttered and I just don't want that vibe. If it came down to that or keeping them on the back porch and dealing with wife fallout, I'd rather deal with the wife fallout.

 

[no704]

Rafters in the shop? Keep ‘em in the attic.

 

[racecougar]

Following this thread (and the one on FB), as I have the same situation here. Right now, all of mine are stacked up on a portion of my pallet rack. Like you, I think it looks like a mess, but other than moving them to another building (which I may just do), I haven't come up with a better solution. I do like the rack that CN Spots posted; may build one or two of those.

 

[DGersic]

Out in the open I could use wire shelving but I really really don't want to look at a bunch of boxes. For some reason shipping areas of companies always feel SO cluttered and I just don't want that vibe. If it came down to that or keeping them on the back porch and dealing with wife fallout, I'd rather deal with the wife fallout.

Enclose the porch. Solves both problems.

 

[Jayman17]

Use the wire racks and cable tie some FRP to 3 sides leaving one side for access. You could turn the open side away from you so you wouldn't have to stare at the stacked of boxes all the time.

 

[ctnewman]

I’m really leaning toward buying two 18x60x72 cabinets and screwing them back to back and then cutting out 50-75% of the back of both so I have a pass thru for long boxes and then shallow access from either side for smaller ones.

 

[no704]

On production lines I’ve used brackets or all thread to go inbetween the flap cutouts stored vertically. Guess it depends if you have a couple dozen or a pallet full.