Green Technology

Utilising the Walls of Your Office for Storage

system-shelvingWhen you work in a large corporation, you have the benefit of entire rooms dedicated to document and supply storage. But what if you’re a small business with limited office space or a home office? Utilizing your wall space is ideal for businesses in smaller spaces. Here’s how shelving, filing cabinets, cupboards and planter boxes can transform your storage space. Try one – or a combination of all of them!

Shelving Solutions

At the office: Shelves are a great way to increase your document and supply storage space, without having to take up copious amounts of room in your office. Consider installing an extensive shelving system so that you don’t have to keep adding more shelving later on. Utilize your entire wall space – with shelves running all the way across and/or shelves that reach up to the ceiling.

At home: If you’re at home and you prefer something more stylish, consider installing your shelving in patterns. Free-floating shelves can also be purchased for cheap and are a great way of adding a bit of color and decor to your walls.

Filing Cabinets

At the office: Filing cabinets are great document organizers and can run along the length of your wall. If you purchase the right filing cabinets, they can be stacked on top of each other to save even more space. If you want individual filing drawers for people, floating pedestals with wheels are a great way for employees to store their own stationery and documents.

At home: A floating pedestal would be a great option for space-saving. Or, if you’re intent on a permanent cabinet, choose something ‘vertical’ rather than ‘horizontal’ that makes use of your wall height, rather than floor space.

Filing Cupboards

At the office: Like filing cabinets, filing cupboards are excellent for utilizing wall space – they can sit against the walls and you can purchase cupboards with lots of height to them. Filing cupboards have doors than open outwards or slide open and inside, you can have a filing rack, shelves or drawers – customize them according to what you need! Remember that tall cupboards, cabinets and lockers can act as walls. Position them between cubicles or desks to create segregated areas and give privacy. If you want to create one long wall, moving cabinets on tracks are a great idea and allow for flexibility with movement and extra storage space.

At home: If you’re at home, you may want to consider cupboards with glass doors – they can look more stylish and also allow you to see exactly what’s inside. They make your space feel bigger, too.

Planter Boxes

At the office: Planter boxes are a rectangular pot plant on top with storage space underneath and can be attached to walls or included on top of filing cupboards.
They are wonderfully decorative and will spruce up your space with plant life as well as storage space.

At home: A single planter box can make a huge difference to your space and gives you the opportunity to introduce some greenery into your home office. Install it on the wall for best use of space.

Choosing Colors

In any office: Choosing colors for your filing systems, cabinets and shelves will depend on the theme color of your office. Try to steer away from the generic steel greys and browns and choose something more visually appealing. Selecting white or other light colors, for example, can brighten your space and make it feel more open and modern. Ask your supplier what colours are available, or if they can customise products with a pattern.

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Paul Tomaszewski is a science & tech writer as well as a programmer and entrepreneur. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of CosmoBC. He has a degree in computer science from John Abbott College, a bachelor's degree in technology from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and completed some business and economics classes at Concordia University in Montreal. While in college he was the vice-president of the Astronomy Club. In his spare time he is an amateur astronomer and enjoys reading or watching science-fiction. You can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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