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Storing & Organizing Lots of Phones

Started by HobieSport, December 28, 2009, 11:22:35 PM

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HobieSport

Living in a trailer now with 50-60 phones, I just discovered a great method of storing and organizing all the cute little critters. Some folks here may already be using this method, but it works great for me so I wanted to share this tip.

I just ordered 50 free phone sized boxes from the post office. The post office even delivers the boxes in very convenient neatly folded stacks.  I just put each phone in it's own box, label the box for quick reference, and eventually I'll probably put all the info for each phone on a database for really convenient reference.

Then I just sort the boxes by type and model, and simply stack them up, either along a wall, in a closet, or on shelves, etc. (And just so that I don't feel too guilty about getting all the free boxes from my nice mailman, I will eventual use a lot of them for shipping the phones too, as sales or gifts.)

So that's my current method. What's yours? :)

Here are the boxes. You can choose the box sizes that are best for you:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/Boxes-for-Telephones

Oh, it's so nice to get organized. 8)

-Matt
-Matt

bingster

I have a bunch of those boxes, and a bunch of phones scattered all over the place.  I never thought about storing them this way, but it looks like I'm gonna get organized, too!  
= DARRIN =



AET

Effective, but no fun! You can't sit on your couch and look at them then!!
- Tom

HobieSport

#3
Quote from: AtomicEraTom
Effective, but no fun! You can't sit on your couch and look at them then!!

Not at all, Tom ol' pal. There is a seven foot shelf above the window above my desk right at the front of the trailer where I can display some of my favorite phones that can be viewed quite well.

Ya gotta remember that I'm livin' in a trailer with 60 resident phones. Right now for example, before my boxes arrive, I have 20 lineal feet of shelving in my upper kitchen cabinets, which is really valuable storage space for my small scale living abode, and all those shelves are currently full of 1950s WE 500s, set tightly side by side. When they are in boxes, they can be neatly stacked in my back utility room and take up much less valuable space. 8)
-Matt

AET

I understand your dilema.  I am in a 14x16 room about, with a bedroom set, TV, old radios, lamps and other furnishings, and 20 some phones.  I feel your pain!
- Tom

Dan/Panther

I also use the priority boxes, they stack very well.
I have plenty of room here, so box them up and ship them to: D/P's phone storage Wherehouse. WHERE, because once you send them to me, I won't tell you WHERE they are.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

Dennis Markham

It's no wonder the Postal Service is losing a billion dollars a year.  Believe me I love getting "free" boxes and use Priority Mail 99% of the time.  I save what they now call Medium Flat Rate boxes for just that purpose.  They make a great storage box for phones not on display.

Those on the left in this photo are my soft plastic 554's that I have yet to display.  I have indicated on the end of the box what's inside, a general description and approximate value (at the time I stored them).    That way my heirs don't sell them in a garage sale for a dollar. :)

bingster

Dennis, can you give GPS coordinates for that shed, please? :P

It's interesting that we've all felt pangs of guilt for using the post office's boxes--I have, too.  But like the rest of you, I do ship by USPS Priority, which lessens those feelings a bit.  

What do you all use for packing inside the boxes (if any)?
= DARRIN =



Dennis Markham

Darrin, that shed is actually a cupboard in my work shop.  It's floor to ceiling and raised at the bottom in case of a flood (little flood).  So it's indoors where temperature and humidity are not a factor.  It is heated and I use a dehumidifier in the summer.

I did read where someone on the ATCA talked about storage methods and the cardboard boxes was one way they mentioned NOT to store them.  I don't recall exactly why.  I actually like them better than plastic containers that do not allow for the release of gasses---I guess a bit of air gets into the boxes.  Because when I put these phones in the boxes my mind was saying it would only be temporary.  For that reason I have not packaged them too tightly.  I do put one layer of bubble wrap and kind of wrap one end around the handset (the 554's) to separate it from the body of the phone.   I don't like plastic against plastic for too long though as I'm concerned the two plastics may cause harm---somewhat like the cords do when a phone sits atop one for long periods of time.  In an ideal situation, I wrap the phone body and handset with tissue paper before putting on the layer of bubble wrap.  Remember, it's only temporary...... :)

The GPS coordinates are my house.  Protected by an attack cat..............and my .40 cal Glock.  The one the P.D. gave me when I retired.  :)  


bwanna

EXCELLENT! idea. i am going to get busy tomorrow, organizing all my "extra phones" :)

finally, i know bingster's name ;)

i think the room is dennis' basement is actually a hermetically sealed vault :o
donna

HobieSport

#10
Dennis (and all),

Your photo of your boxes of phones stacked like cordwood in the cupboard of your workshop made me smile with familiarity.

So I'm posting these few modest pictures from my cluttered trailer this evening, just to illustrate with some humor why I love the little cardboard boxes so much.

Please keep in mind that I just moved into my trailer, so nothing is at all organized yet, and none of the boxes o' phones will remain where they are just this week. I just quickly stuck them where they fit for right now. They are all going into the back room in my trailer once they are properly boxed and labeled. I love getting organized in winter.

I agree with using tissue paper, or perhaps just minimum paper towels, then bubble wrap, loosely, to let things breath, and boxes that also breath. No tape of course. Tape is used only in shipping, not storage. I climate control naturally, because I live with my phones, in a bigger box, called my trailer.

Depicted Photos:

"Attack of the Killer Boxes O' Phones"

Plot: Boxes in the closet, boxes under the bed, and those pesky worthless varmints, the dreaded ubiquitous 1950s black WE 500s, on the loose yet again, without boxes yet, invading the kitchen cabinets like rats.

Everything gets wrapped, boxed and labeled and goes into the little back room.

Anyway, I love the boxes. When the usps mailman delivered them to me this morning he simply said "for the phones?" I said "yep". We smiled.

Notice how I ingeniously put the phone boxes upside down, but the phones inside are of course right side up. That way I know that they are in storage/process, and all the colorful usps text and graphics printed on the box doesn't distract my meager mind, and I can read my own small simple label of basic info.

Anyway, I'm getting there. :)

-Matt

Dennis Markham

Great description, Matt.  You're well organized.....and afflicted like the rest of us. :)

Jim Stettler

For long term storage I like to wrap in acid-free tissue, then bubble wrap. You can get acid-free tissue paper cheap from dry cleaning stores, they use it to wrap wedding dresses. A local dry cleaner charged me $5.00   for a 3" stack of 2'x3' sheets. They were amused when I told them I wanted it to wrap collectable telephones.

Current short term storage is bubble wrap and file style "Bankers boxes". I buy mine at Sam's club for $15-20/ 10 lot . The current boxes withstand 650#  without crushing. They are strong and sturdy, and I stack them 6 high short term, longer term I stack them 3-4 high.

I used to create custom "platform"shelves for the boxes out of 2x4" and 2' x 8'' OSB. a cheap and easy shelf system. I could store 42 boxes on 1 sheet of OSB and 7 -2x4.  (around $20 at the time).

The secret to organized boxing is to use boxes all the same size. once you select your standard box you can build shelves to match.
"free" mismatched boxes waste space and make for unstable stacks.

For individual boxing the priority boxes work best.  (and are priced right)
For bulk boxing I like "quality" banker's boxes
Jim S.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Dan/Panther

Rather than write all detail on the box itself, to save the box for future shipping, I made the list below, and mark the box and sheet accordingly.
I fill out the blank sheet, and keep it in a loose leaf folder. When I need a particular phone or part, I can look at my lists, and find the exact box the item or phone is in.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

bingster

Great idea, Dan.  Sort of a Dewey decimal system for phones.
= DARRIN =