How do you ORGANIZE gear? An idea thread...

[Andreas Eymannsberger]

So, how do you organize gear?

I am moving in a new/larger space businesswise with much more room to organize and store equipment practically (vs. just somehow out of economical necessity) and I'm looking for some imspiration. There are probably loads of good ideas out there basically sitting on your shelves if you understand

So from 1/4" screw boxes / drawer inserts and shop benches up to how to store maxi brutes practically (instead of leaning them against walls). Ideas & photos are appreciated!

[AJ Young]

Metro shelving is your friend! Cheap, strong, and they can have wheels on them. Maxi Brutes should be stored on rolling stands, if you've got the space. :)

[Mark A. Jaeger]

I like the Home Depot (Husky Black Heavy Duty 4-Tier Steel Garage Storage Shelving Unit (77 in. W x 78 in. H x 24 in. D). They're robust and I can put anything I can pick up on a shelf without issue.

They don't come with wheels but I welded casters to mine so that I can easily reconfigure the studio if I need the space.

It's way better than the "miles of piles" method.

[M Harvey]

Modular shelving is great.

Thinking about usability: I try to avoid packing stuff more than one "layer" deep, i.e. so that you have to move something to access another item. I'd choose instead to go higher (and use a ladder, if necessary), or to have multiple rows of shelving. It's partially so that you can see where everything is at a glance. (For that reason, I also label Pelicans and other cases with white gaff-- habit picked up from the occasional AC gig.)

There are some DIY solutions for stand/tripod racks online that might be worth investigating-- a friend made a basic one out of plywood that does the job for his c-stands.

Peg boards can be great for longer cables, bungees, etc. (Milk crates also work, but you have to dig for the desired cable.)

If you have a collection of gels, you can cut poster tubes in half and fill a milk crate with half tubes, then sort your gels into them-- easier to access the specific ones you want (vs. a gelly roll or rolled up in a single tube).

I love the rock'n'roller multicarts for getting your stuff from the shelves to your vehicle-- and then it folds up small to go to location.

I never quite know what to do with all the tiny doodads that accumulate-- rigging pieces, 1/4"-3/8" adapters, the other replacement tripod feet (you only needed one)--, so they wind up going inside bigger plastic bins. Even when the bins take on a theme, e.g. "stuff that goes with the monitor," I always wind up misplacing stuff. Hope someone else shares tips for organizing that kind of stuff.

[Phil Holland]

My life is all shelves, hard cases, boxes, and more. Some vertical organization, but mostly shelves.

Shelves everywhere.

All around me.

When I sleep. Eat. Dream.

Shelves.

[Sean Solowiej]

My favorite trick is flat drawers that are basically shelves that pull out independently. You can set these up in just the right width for your 1510s or whatever Peli or other cases you have. I like them to ride sideways so you stand next to the shelf when you open the case, not in front of it. This way they need more depth but take up less wall width. Slide them out and open them up right there without having to lift, move, set down, open, find the thing, close, lift, return every time you want to check a case. Works great with battery chargers too.

[Johnny Hurberg]

I have installed kitchen drawers and benches, some of the drawers are really thin and in them I put inserts for mechanical stuff, holding camera screws, pins, speed locks. Above the benches I got cabinets with led lights that light up the woring surface where building the camera, cleaning gear, repairing gear can be done.