Cute, stackable, multi-size boxes to organize your Ikea drawer.
The problem
Things like these come from an annoyance. In my case it was a single drawer in my desk that has become the one to have it all drawer. Since I spend a lot of my time at the desk working it is sensible to have all kinds of stuff ready in the drawer next to me. But having to dig through everything to find what I’m looking for every time I need something beats that purpose.
The idea
The idea I came up with was to measure the size of the drawer and divide it into a grid of smallest usable boxes that can be stacked. The resulting grid can accommodate 5 boxes in its width and 6 boxes length-wise. The minimal usable depth for a single box resulted in having 2 levels of stacking. I’m working with Ikea MALM desk.
The drawer has 317mm of usable width, 395mm of usable length and about 93mm usable depth. I’m not using the entire 395mm of usable length because the drawer cannot be pulled out all the way so the boxes that stay inside are harder to reach.
3D modelling
Once I got the measurements I started designing the boxes. They are designed with 3D printing in mind – both with tolerances and materials required. I’ve made sure to maximize the usable space while retaining the stackability.
As you can see in the screenshot above, there is a sufficient gap between the models to allow expansion of the print. The bottom part of the boxes goes straight down for 0.5mm because that makes it much easier to remove the brim if you’re printing with it.
Printing
They are very easy to print. I usually print them with filaments that are otherwise just sitting unused. I’m also printing them whenever I’m doing any sort of calibration test print for the printer. That’s why I have them in many different colors. They are easy to print and don’t have to come out perfect to serve their purpose. Here’s what my drawer looks like with them in use:
Downloads
Feel free to download and 3D print the boxes yourself. The archive contains all the STLs that I’ve printed so far. For the grid in Ikea MALM drawer you’ll need to print 2x corner grids and 2x side grids. The file also contains the following box sizes (WxLxH):
- 1x1x1
- 1x2x1
- 1x2x2
- 1x3x1
- 1x3x2
- 2x2x1
- 2x3x1