With the advent of standing desks, people are benefiting from burning more calories and alleviating back pain during their workday. Those benefits do not come without some compromise.
Recently, after switching to a height adjustable desk, I experienced the need for compromise firsthand. Drawers that held my stapler, tape dispenser, calculator and extra pens disappeared. The only remaining place for those items was on top of my new desk. My clean workspace transformed into a cluttered mess.
You only appreciate a desk drawer just after switching to a sit to stand desk. The loss of valuable storage space is a significant drawback of standing desks. When losing that drawer, the free desk space becomes a valuable property.
After trying to work in my paper wasteland, I decided to use my favorite search engine to find a solution for standing desk storage. There is a library full of articles written on the pros and cons of adjustable height desks. However, one aspect of sit stand desks is most often ignored: storage.
Standing desks represent a substantial investment, yet desk storage seems like an afterthought. In this article, I am going to explore storage options available for electric height adjustable desks, hopefully providing some aspects that you may not have considered.
Conventional, or legacy, desks offer plenty of storage. Three drawers on one side with a more substantial utility drawer in the center, below the work surface. More often than not, locking at least one drawer is a featured option for conventional desks.
The first thing that I discovered when starting my search for storage options was there were few options available. Based on what I found, the choices I did locate fall under four categories:
Have you ever walked out of your house feeling as though you have forgotten something? Whether or not you did, that feeling is maddening and stays with you for the entire day.
That is the feeling I discovered when I switched to my adjustable height table. It took a few moments before I realized why I felt that way. I went to open my pencil drawer to grab a pen and guess what? No drawer!
Fortunately, there are several varieties of trays and drawers for electric standing desks available from a multitude of vendors.
Regardless of manufacturer, these solutions have similar advantages and disadvantages.
Disadvantages
Advantages
There are other options available if you do not like to use this idea. Pen holders, tape dispensers, and other accessories compensate for not using the drawer.
The next option is hanging storage solutions for standing desks. Hanging storage is precisely that: the storage area slips over the edge of a desk and hangs underneath.
Safco provides the best example this solution with several options.
Disadvantages
Advantages
If you are seeking a simple and inexpensive solution on a sit stand desk, hanging storage is the right place to start.
By slowly working into a routine while using
a standing desk you allow your body to adjust to
changes. Otherwise, pain and stiffness
stops you from the benefits
One of the most popular storage accessories for sit-to-stand desks is a floor pedestal. These pedestals include box drawers and at least one filing drawer.
Disadvantages
Advantages
Prices for floor pedestals start around $120, and quality varies by manufacturer and material.
Drawers are synonymous with conventional desks. This next storage option is reminiscent of those eponymous drawers.
Perhaps the most significant advantage mountable hanging storage has over all others is the ability to move where and when the adjustable height desk moves. Once attached to your desk, your paperwork, purse, and other items remain an arm’s length away at all times.
There are not very many types of mountable hanging storage units to look consider. I did find four:
The Rebrilliant hanging mesh unit features:
There is no weight capacity listed on the manufacturer’s website, but seeing the installation, I do not recommend adding a lot of weight to the mesh unit.
The Rebrilliant hanging mesh unit lists for $34.
The MontisaWork Under-Desk Caddy lists for $257. The Caddy features: Find mounting clearances
The Under-Desk Caddy weighs in around 20 pounds, but the website does not list the weight capacity. Because of the added weight, the Caddy seems to hold heavier items compared to the Rebrilliant option.
Although the Rebrilliant and MontisaWork products are entirely different, they have the same advantages and disadvantages:
Disadvantages
Advantages
The Joey Pedestal is a storage solution for sit stand desks that mount to all the electric RightAngle Standing Desks:
In fact, the Joey works with almost any desk, providing there is ample mounting space. The Joey includes:
The list price for the Joey Pedestal is $397, expect to pay around $200.
Disadvantages
Advantages
The Steelcase SOTO Personal Console lists for a whopping $800. Dimensions of the SOTO vary and depend on the type of accessories chosen. The SOTO features:
Disadvantages
Advantages
The ability to adapt to any environment is one apparent human strength. Greater strength is to adjust an environment to fit our needs. Standing desks test that ability. That may have sounded a little melodramatic, but productivity is how people make their livelihood. Any hurdle that reduces your effectiveness adds a cumulative amount of stress throughout the week with which a person has to cope.
I decided to try the Joey Pedestal because of its versatility. I soon recognized how well the Joey provides plenty of room for filing material combined with personal storage. It does not matter whether I am sitting or standing, those drawers are an easy reach away. Being able to lock the Joey up at night also bolsters my confidence that essential documents remain hidden from prying eyes.