Some Storage Ideas for My Re-ment Collection

I'm currently researching on the best way for me to organize or store my Re-ment collections, particularly with a view towards easier access to the Re-ment items.

For this reason, I'm looking for storage/orgazining solutions that are drawer-type rather than boxes or boxes with dividers.  'Cause it's going to be annoying trying to pull out a box from a stack but also worrying about keeping the other boxes in the stack in place once one or more boxes are being pulled out.  So drawer-type solutions I think is the best for me.

With that out of the way, the other main requirement is:

• My collections are mostly character collections so I'm organizing by Re-ment collection per drawer.  Therefore a drawer must fit the big box the collection came in with, not just the sets in the collection.  This means one drawer must store the following:
• the carton the Re-ment collection came in with, flattened to fit in the drawer
• one small carton from the collection, also flattened to store in the drawer
• each of the sets in the collection in their individual zip lock bag, with the paper description the set came in with also stored in the corresponding zip lock bag, to help label the set and also so I won't forget exactly what's in the set

The box will be stored flat as I'll be folding it flat and keeping it with the 8 sets it came in with in zip lock bags with the paper descriptions in each zip lock bag, in one drawer. I'll also keep one of the smaller boxes, to be stored flat also, in the drawer.  I loathe throwing away these cartons as they're also cute and helps in the organization/labelling.

In the beginning I thought Ikea's Kupol drawers system was the best solution for me.  There's no frame or cabinet that goes around the drawers so that's an optimal use of space.  Almost minimalist. Plus the Kupols aren't opaque plastic.  They're almost see-through so that's good too.  And it's from Ikea so it won't be as expensive as acrylic storage sold by the likes of The Container Store.  These are just gonna store plastic toys after all.  The toys are more important than the storage so I don't want to spend more on the storage solution than I have to.  I just want a fairly inexpensive storage system that is of the clear or almost clear drawer type (not stacking boxes type) to resolve the easier access requirement.  See this Flickr page for a Re-ment collector's use of the Kupol system for her Re-ments.  Here's another one.  Ain't it awesome?  However, Kupol is now discontinued in Ikea.  Geez.

On the other hand, there are some solutions that can be the wall-mounted sort, usually found in hardware stores.  See number 1 below.  And they have multiple drawers in one solution.  Problem is I don't think I quite like the look of them for my home or for the extra small space/room in my home where I think I might put these drawers.  They don't come with a white-framed cabinet holding those drawers together.  They're either gray or black.  And originally designed to store small hardware items.

So far I have narrowed my potential Re-ment storage solution down to two options:

1. Stack-On DS-18 18 Drawer Storage Cabinet

*images from the internet

Right now I have about 17 - 18 Re-ment collections so this cabinet is almost perfect (18 drawers, 1 for each of my collections as stored the way I plan to.  See description above), if not for the color of the cabinet.  And seems like the drawer dimensions described on amazon.ca will not fit the longest of the Re-ment collection boxes that I have when stored flat.

If the cabinet came in white maybe, I think it's game over and I wouldn't have to continue searching.  And so I looked for ones where the cabinet is white.. and I haven't come across the multi-drawer one like this in white.   Pfft..

So on to number 2...

2.  The ones in white that I might end up purchasing looks like your standard plastic storage drawer bin:

*images from the internet

 

The one in this pic is by Sterilite.  But I think there are also similar ones sold in many stores.  I'm selecting the 3-drawer ones as it would be nice if I'm also able to put them inside shelves if in case I end up getting a bookshelf cabinet to make the space where I'll put these look neater.  Lol!  See the idea here, here, and here. 

Sterilite is available in many big box stores.  And similar ones in dollar stores.  But I think I'll go to my local Daiso/Japanese store first to see if they have these in similar dimensions.  Storage like this usually costs less in the Japanese store than in the big box or online stores.

Also it's better to see in person first just how wide this is, before I get multiple ones, then only to find later that I should have gone for smaller widths (and not store the flatted Re-ment box with the collection in the drawer) to get more space for them in the den (knowing that my collection is still growing).  Sigh.  So I'll be checking the smaller-width ones too while at the Japanese store and see how it goes.  Will see about 5- and 3-drawer and the widths.