How do you store / organize parts?

Our build space is limited to one half of a physics lab, and we are looking for a parts storage solution, since huge rolling parts boxes are starting to take up too much space.

Possible things we have considered are plastic cabinets and shelves and cubbies in the wall...does anybody have an efficient and cheap way of hoarding parts?

[Billfred]

Well, this hasn't been battle-proven. (Our tool boxes were just kinda grabbed from home and brought to Palmetto...the parts were in the original kit totes.)

I guess the best thing to do is just to try an arts and crafts store for little bins for things. I found one that was nice and cheap (like twenty bucks for a set of two) for my R/C car, and it works great.

[Ryan F.]

Either the boxes that come with the kit, or rubbermaids from stack attack. Place in large stacks, one over another, and you've got yourself a compact solution. Of course....don't put your most needed parts on bottom (something I'm very guilty of).

[Astronouth7303]

What my team does is just keep it in the orginal boxes and dig.

What I do for LEGO, on the other hand, is just clear plastic drawers w/labels. Cheap at target/meijer/etc. Though this may be difficult for FIRST-sized parts.

[Pierson]

In the past, my old team was lucky enough to have a large locking closet for parts. But that with a large build space disappeared.

So last year, we had a cupboard for electrical components, a cupboard for drivetrain, and one of those small rolling locking carts for everything else.

What you might want to do is find an old 4 drawer locking file cabinet and then sort the parts into there. 1 drawer for electrical, 1 for drivetrain (motors, gears, sprockets, etc.), 1 for paperwork-software-etc, and 1 for metal and other random things. When you outgrow the first file cab... find another. Also remember that legal is wider than letter (more storage space ;-)

[spears312]

We have a nice collection of rubbermaids from the stack attack, which work out well for long term storage but are a little hard to gain quick access to if they are stacked, a large rolling tool box thing, and two rolling shelves.

My team has to keep everything together and in movable containers because most of the stuff stays at school when were not building. When the season starts up we haul it all out to the Baxter work shop then a few weeks into the build we haul everything again over to one of their office buildings across the street.

[Lil' Lavery]

116, organization. Thats a funny thought.
Anyway, rubbermaid boxes, lots of shelves, cardboard boxes, and tons of cabinet/counter space helps us store stuff in the small offshoot of our drama room we call a shop.

[DCA Fan]

Store? Organize? what's this???
Actually, we have several cabinets for power tools and supplies. We have a tool chest for handtools, a tackle box for spikes, etc. We start the season organized, and then by about now, everything has become randomly strewn across our storage space (some places we can't walk in anymore) and we organize it during the offseason.