camcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,973 
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Post by camcas on Apr 24, 2018 13:54:34 GMT
So...I’ve just finished a major reorganise and minor purge of my stash.
It was triggered by the purchase of a set of IKEA Alex drawers- the 9 drawer tower
I have had a 5x5 Expedit [Kallax] for ages and most of my supplies were stored in baskets.
Now that I have been able to move some of my stash to the new drawers I realised I much prefer the drawers for visibility and ease of access.
If I was doing over I would get a much smaller Kallax...maybe 4x2 , and fill up the rest of the space along that wall with Alex units.
They are the bomb!!
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Post by katlady on Apr 24, 2018 15:58:55 GMT
I love my Alex drawers. I have two of the low, wide ones, and 1 of the 5 drawer narrow one. They hold so much! I was never a Kallax/Expedit fan because I didn’t like the “cubes”. I prefer a regular bookcase.
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,129
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on Apr 24, 2018 16:20:14 GMT
That's pretty much what I did. For years, I worked off the dining table and everything was in baskets & bins. When I finally converted the room to a craft room, I made a point of having tons of drawers. It's such a game changer to be able to see everything in the drawers.  |
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Post by amidwestkingdom on Apr 24, 2018 18:16:17 GMT
We're finally getting an Ikea here next month and I am so excited to convert a space for my studio again, the baby won my craft room. I've been eyeing the Alex drawers for my printmaking items--seems a lot cheaper than flat files.
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Post by scrapaddict702 on Apr 24, 2018 19:15:58 GMT
I have both and love both, however when I got them (my first of each at the same time) I had been wanting the Expedit for years. I convinced myself that the Alex drawers weren't going to be nearly as useful because they couldn't hold 12x12 paper. Almost as soon as I got it all set up in my room, I wished I had bought 2 sets of Alex right off the bat because I loved them so much. Now I have 3 small ones, 1 tall set and 1 of the wide wheeled set in my scrap room (had to kick a tall set out in favor of an Elfa unit for my stamps, though...it now holds odds and ends in my husband's office...he's just thrilled about that). I wish I could fit more of them. Almost forgot...I have 2 of the other kinds. One has been discontinued, I think. It was meant to wall mount...the drawers didn't open very far so I modified it so they would. The other set is still available and is meant for the 5 foot desks, I think? I tried to give it to my kids for their 4 ft desk and it was too long.
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Post by cropelf on Apr 26, 2018 15:42:44 GMT
I have both and love both, however when I got them (my first of each at the same time) I had been wanting the Expedit for years. I convinced myself that the Alex drawers weren't going to be nearly as useful because they couldn't hold 12x12 paper. Almost as soon as I got it all set up in my room, I wished I had bought 2 sets of Alex right off the bat because I loved them so much. Now I have 3 small ones, 1 tall set and 1 of the wide wheeled set in my scrap room (had to kick a tall set out in favor of an Elfa unit for my stamps, though...it now holds odds and ends in my husband's office...he's just thrilled about that). I wish I could fit more of them. Almost forgot...I have 2 of the other kinds. One has been discontinued, I think. It was meant to wall mount...the drawers didn't open very far so I modified it so they would. The other set is still available and is meant for the 5 foot desks, I think? I tried to give it to my kids for their 4 ft desk and it was too long. How did you modify your Alex drawers to open more? When I went to look at them, I was concerned that about 40% of the drawer would be inaccessible because they didn't slide out farther. Please share your tips. Thanks. |
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Post by katlady on Apr 26, 2018 18:09:38 GMT
I have both and love both, however when I got them (my first of each at the same time) I had been wanting the Expedit for years. I convinced myself that the Alex drawers weren't going to be nearly as useful because they couldn't hold 12x12 paper. Almost as soon as I got it all set up in my room, I wished I had bought 2 sets of Alex right off the bat because I loved them so much. Now I have 3 small ones, 1 tall set and 1 of the wide wheeled set in my scrap room (had to kick a tall set out in favor of an Elfa unit for my stamps, though...it now holds odds and ends in my husband's office...he's just thrilled about that). I wish I could fit more of them. Almost forgot...I have 2 of the other kinds. One has been discontinued, I think. It was meant to wall mount...the drawers didn't open very far so I modified it so they would. The other set is still available and is meant for the 5 foot desks, I think? I tried to give it to my kids for their 4 ft desk and it was too long. How did you modify your Alex drawers to open more? When I went to look at them, I was concerned that about 40% of the drawer would be inaccessible because they didn't slide out farther. Please share your tips. Thanks. I haven’t tried it, but the drawers screw into the rails. I would think if you didn’t by screw the drawers in they would probably open more. But then you will have to be careful not to pull it too far out and have the drawer fall out completely. |
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Post by scrapaddict702 on Apr 27, 2018 1:32:48 GMT
I have both and love both, however when I got them (my first of each at the same time) I had been wanting the Expedit for years. I convinced myself that the Alex drawers weren't going to be nearly as useful because they couldn't hold 12x12 paper. Almost as soon as I got it all set up in my room, I wished I had bought 2 sets of Alex right off the bat because I loved them so much. Now I have 3 small ones, 1 tall set and 1 of the wide wheeled set in my scrap room (had to kick a tall set out in favor of an Elfa unit for my stamps, though...it now holds odds and ends in my husband's office...he's just thrilled about that). I wish I could fit more of them. Almost forgot...I have 2 of the other kinds. One has been discontinued, I think. It was meant to wall mount...the drawers didn't open very far so I modified it so they would. The other set is still available and is meant for the 5 foot desks, I think? I tried to give it to my kids for their 4 ft desk and it was too long. How did you modify your Alex drawers to open more? When I went to look at them, I was concerned that about 40% of the drawer would be inaccessible because they didn't slide out farther. Please share your tips. Thanks. Well, that set actually allowed me to drill new holes and simply move the rails. The other versions aren't built with that same ability. There is some sort of ball mechanism (it's like a plastic chain with holes and balls reside in the holes) and it acts as a stopper. I've noticed that not all of my drawers even open the same within the same unit. It would void any warranty on them, but I've found a couple of youtube videos of less than stellar quality demonstrating it. You pretty much disassemble the guide and take out the mechanism (it's like a string of balls) that helps it glide and also stops it...then you snip a few off of the chain (too many and it might not be as sturdy according to the youtube videos...but if it's the set under a desktop surface, you have the added weight of that helping you keep the drawers from being a tip hazard) and reassemble. It seems complicated because of the reconstruction without directions but looks pretty easy watching someone else do it. I haven't tried it yet because I worry I won't be able to fit everything back together the way it was meant to be. An easier solution would be removing the screws, pulling the drawers out as far as you want them and after you've made sure that the rails are all the way out, make a mark at the end of the guide on the drawer and then apply a really heavy duty glue on the drawer groove up to the mark. You can leave screws out and hope for the best, but I've found that some of the rails don't want to pull with just the pressure of the drawer and will stay in the closed position unless they are screwed in place which is why it's something I won't likely ever do. |
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