Thursday, June 17, 2010

Covers for Wire Shelving

Most new homes and those with closet rennovations have the ventilated wire shelving installed.  I am sure they have advantages over wood shelving but we are very familiar with their disadvantages.  The most frequent complaint I hear (and personally experience) is the inconvenience of no solid surface for placing small or irregular shaped items.  There are solutions which I have summarized below.

1.  Fabric covers.  Not my favorite.  Unless you purchase heavy fabric backed vinyl and cut it to fit, this option is not much better than nothing.
2.  Plexiglass or acrylic sheets.  Depending on the thickness the cost can be prohibitive.  In order to have a good fit, it must be purchased and cut to order at a glass company.  Call for information and estimates before you get your hopes up.
3.  Roll out plastic.  Depending on the thickness, this is not much better than fabric.  I do not recommend the stick on variety as it leaves a residue on the underside of the shelf.
4  Shelfanator covers.  These are thinner than acrylic but very supportive, come in different depths and can be cut with a knife to fit.  I learned about these through another organizer and they can be purchased at some local hardware stores.  If purchased from Ebay, they can be very cost effective. You can check them out at this link.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhFPetAz1LE
5  Wood.  Thin sections of plywood or its equivalent can be cut to fit.  These leave unattractive edges but are usually more affordable than the plexiglass depending on the thickness of each.

The remaining solution is to use flat bottom containers for items you place on the shelves.  To date, that has been my choice but I am leaning towards the Shelfanator.  After the organizer, Terri Stephens, posted her recommendation for them on our organizing chat group, these items on Ebay began to disappear quickly.  If you think you might like them, I would go to Ebay first.