I struggled for years with how to store and organize many of the items in the publications room. One of the toughest things to keep track of were wired and wireless mics as well as the accessories for them like lapel clips and windscreens.
I’m sure I finally saw the idea somewhere, but I finally moved them all out of the small, brown cardboard box they had all been living in and moved them into a much better organizational system with this plastic cabinet I purchased off Amazon.
You can find cabinets like this online and at places like Home Depot and Target and they make for great organizational cabinets for small publications gear. For starters, they give nice, small dedicated spaces to each item you have rather than having them all tossed in a box that you have to dig through. Additionally, with the help of a label maker, you can label each drawer and its contents to be able to find what you need quickly and easily. Finally, one of the biggest benefits for me of moving to this was a much more organized checkout system and the ability to see what’s missing at a glance. If someone wants to check something out, a paper with their name goes in the drawer they removed something from and I can just scan the clear bins to see if something is checked out, missing or available.
The bin was well worth whatever I paid for it as a result of what it’s done to keep gear from wandering off and the time I’ve saved trying to track things down in the room.
Written By: Aaron Manfull, MJE