In my last POST about all the new Jetmax storage items at Michaels, I mentioned that I had a hard time putting one of their 3-drawer storage cubes together…so much so, that I was dreading putting the remaining two cubes together. EILEEN on AMR just asked for storage cube advice in a thread over there, and this was my answer so I figured I’d post it here, too. I also have some storage cube recommendations.
Of the Jetmax brand, all I have are the 3-drawer cubes and the problem I had is the “wood” is so thin, that if you don’t get the teeny screws for the drawer sides in there exactly straight the first time, you never will (believe me, I tried). So then I had to really push super hard on the screwdriver to get them to go in. Mind you, I had to use the teeny screwdriver so there’s nothing to pad your hand while you’re cranking down on it either. You could use a cordless screwdriver of course, but ours doesn’t have a tip that small. There were 4 screws per drawer so I went through this struggle 12 times. Then I went to slide the drawers into the cube (which was also a pain to assemble), and they wouldn’t slide in until the screws were COMPLETELY flush with the sides of the drawers or even recessed a bit. More cranking on the tiny screwdriver and by that time my hand was already bruised.
All that said….maybe I’m the only dummy in America who wouldn’t just go buy a tiny cordless screwdriver head for this one project, LOL! It also takes 2 sets of hands to assemble the cubes themselves, holding the sides perfectly perpendicular to each other while screwing in the tiny screws while you can’t brace it against anything to accept the pressure. Does that make sense? I’m sure some would find these things easy to assemble, but I sure didn’t….
The Store in Style brand is wonderful and uses a much easier cam lock system. You can literally put together the cube itself in 5 minutes. They’re also sturdier and larger, but more expensive. I don’t know if Joann’s or anyone carries them where you could use a coupon. I got them with coupons “back in the day” when Mike’s carried Store in Style.
You might also look into ITSO plastic storage at Target. The cubes take no assembly per se, other than sticking little pegs in each corner (if you want to stack them) to bind them to each other. They have all kinds of drawers, baskets, shelves, and such and you can really customize it. I have 3 of those ~ just the plain cubes ~ that I stack my CM Power Sort Boxes in. If I had known about Itso before I invested in the Store in Style, I probably would’ve done my whole wall in Itso. It’s cheaper and more flexible with the configurations you can do. Here are some Itso REVIEWS; two of them are from scrappers!
Anyway, there’s some more info and photos of all 3 types of cubes HEREand at the bottom of THIS post. If you’re in the market for scrappy storage, I hope that helps ya!
Since I started writing my scrapbook room makeover posts, some of you lovely readers have been asking questions about certain items. I wanted to catch up on answering those, if you don’t mind. Or even if you do….bwaha!
From the FIRST POST, “Diary of a Scrapbook Room Makeover: A Prologue”…
“My first question for your organizational knowledge is this: What are you going to do with your stickles? I can’t decide how I want to organize mine. I know they should be upside down, but I also like them in a container that I can just grab and go when I get ready to go somewhere else and crop. So, do you have any suggestions for that?”
Answer: Ever since I started collecting Stickles (yes, you are not allowed to own just one Stickle….if you buy one, you will soon find yourself needing more, and before you know it, you have a Gang of Stickles….I currently have 15 bottles)….Okay, so, ever since I started collecting them, Judy, I’ve been keeping them lined up in anal-retentive, ROYGBIV color order on my Making Memories Embellishment Shelf. This is an older photo, from when I only had 7 Stickles, but you get the idea:
I did hear at some point that it’s best to store them upside down to avoid the applicator clogging but, since clogging hasn’t been a problem for me, I totally ignored that suggestion. It reminds of those pesky exercise tips you see bandied about. I mean, exercise??? Doesn’t apply to me, so why would I take note??? But in the interest of helping out my Stickles Sista, Judy, I went and found a couple ideas for ya…
Here’s an economical route from SHAYLA’S CREATIONS. Looks simple, and it’s pretty to boot.
Tons of great Stickles Upside Down Storage ideas here at OBSESSED WITH SCRAPBOOKING. Now, even though the names of our blogs are similar, we are NOT sisters. But I do love her. She shows people who have more Stickles than I do, which makes me feel not so ashamed. I think my favorite idea is the mini-lunchbox, although then your pretty Stickles are hidden away and their bottled sparkliness cannot add extra shine and glimmer to your day each time you glance their way.
At the bottom of her post, you’ll see where TIM HOLTZ says it’s fine to store them either way, but if you store your Stickles upside down, they may glurb out when you open them. {Glurb is not an official word, if you were to ask Merriam-Webster, but it seriously should be. Are you with me? Let’s start a petition!}. So, it’s sort of like the G.D. ketchup that G.D. glurbs out because I store it upside down in the refrigerator because that’s how the bottle is made and I’m just following directions. Yep, your Stickles’ll be just like the G.D. ketchup. Just sayin’….
Judy, I’m sure I’ve answered your question and about 50 others by now, right? So moving on….
Here is a question from my THIRD POST, “Diary of a Scrapbook Room Makeover, Part Two”:
Jkaye asks: “very interested in your JETMAX cubes- do you like them? And are they heavy- as in too heavy to stack on a Rubbermaid like table? I might have to stick with my rubbermaid 3-drawer containers as for the weight is okay for now..I am sure the Jetmax ones would be much heavier..”
Answer: First, let me clarify (see photos below). The stack of cubes I have along the wall (there are 10 cubes plus a half cube) are the heavier duty cubes called Store in Style. As for the Jetmax cubes, which are lighter weight and can be found at Target and Michaels, I own 3 of the 3-drawer cubes. However, I’ve only assembled one and haven’t stored anything in it yet. So I’m not an expert on the Jetmax cubes, but they are definitely lighter and smaller than the Store in Style cubes. I did a weight comparison test of the Jetmax cubes and the Sterlite (like Rubbermaid) 3-drawer containers with the 12×12 drawers. I actually weighed them on a scale. The Jetmax 3-drawer cube weighed 15 pounds, and the Sterlite 3-drawer container weighed 5 pounds. So, Jkaye, I’m not sure if putting the Jetmax cubes on your table would be do-able. But definitely do not plan on putting the Store in Style cubes on a tabletop. They are MUCH heavier then the Sterlite containers.
On that same post, YvetteDownUnder {who has a cute, funky, phresh scrap studio} said: “Can I ask you about the Powersort boxes? What dimensions are they? You guys in the US have an abundance of cube options, but we are more limited here in Oz, so I wonder if they would fit in an Ikea Expedit? Most of my photos of now scrapped in albums :) and I need to downsize those that aren’t from multiple photo boxes. I am tempted by the Power Sort, but not yet 100% sold on it. So fitting it into my storage could sway things.”
Answer: To answer this question, I thought I’d pop my azz right over to CreativeMemories.com and find the dimensions of the Power Sort Box for Miss Yvette. But, no, they aren’t listed on the website. Isn’t that a little weird? I mean, how many potential buyers have NOT boughten them (no, “boughten” is not an official word either, but seriously, if we can make “blog” and “snorkel” and “obfuscate” real words, can we not make “boughten” official? It sounds much cooler than any of those other words. Man, someone needs to have a talk with those dictionary people!). Okay, so how many people have not boughten those Power Sort boxes because they didn’t want to commit without knowing the dimensions?? Oh, I get it! That’s their way of forcing you to speak with a Creative Memories Consultant! Ah, yes, mystery solved.
Since I can’t find the dimensions online ~ and as much as my CMC would luuurrve a phone call from me at 2am ~ I decided to get out of my comfy recliner, put my laptop aside, pause “TMZ” on the Tivo, and go measure my Power Sort Box myself. No, really, Yvette, it’s alright. Don’t feel badly. It wasn’t THAT much trouble. Really. (Man, am I making you sorry you ever asked this question? LOL!). So the measurements of the Power Sort Box are: 14.75″ x 13″ x 5.5″. I don’t know if that works with the Expedit but I hope so. They are crack-a-lackin’. I love how they hold so many photos, are archival safe, and you can pull the little holders out to rearrange how they are in the box, to take a chunk of photos to a crop, or just to your desk to scrapbook.
Okay, I think I got all your wonderful questions answered. Thanks for asking, and I hope my answers were helpful. No worries, the smart-assidness was no extra charge. See, “smart-assidness”….yet ANOTHER unofficial word that should be official! For shizzle….
