Mobile Organizer

I've collected cut-offs from countless projects over the years. It's a big thrill for me every time one of those saved cut-offs is the perfect piece I need for a new project. The problem is, if I can't easily find that piece, then I really don't have that piece and it means I've been wasting space for years. Organization is the key.

7/16" OSB plywood

Polypropylene Dolly, 19-1/2 In X 14-1/2, Harbor Freight

Galvanized Angle, 2" x 1-1/2" x 1-3/8", Simpson Strong-Tie

1" Lath truss head screws

1/2" Lath truss head screws

My city changed recycling containers a number of years ago so, I re-purposed the old recycle containers as my project cut-offs organizers. The problem is, I can't find more of the old recycling containers. On a recent visit to Harbor Freight I bought two plastic dollies on sale. I put my compressor and hose reel on one of them and decided to attach walls on the other to make it a mobile storage organizer.

OSB, oriented strand board, is commonly used for walls, floors and roofs. It's strong and cheaper than plywood, a perfect choice for my mobile organizer project. Using 7/16" thick OSB, I cut two 14-3/8" x 16" boards for the short sides and two 20-3/8" x 16" boards for the long sides. There is enough wood to in one 4' x 8' sheet to make three mobile organizers.

I used 1" long truss-head lath screws to attach the side boards to the dolly. A #31, 0.120" drill is a good pilot hole for the root thread diameter of the lath screws. I counterbored just the OSB to the outer diameter of the screw with a #18, 0.169" drill.

The Simpson A21 angle brackets hold the OSB boards together with four 1/2" long truss-head lath screws. The #31, 0.120" drill is a good pilot hole. About 1/16" of the screw point protruded through the OSB board, this was filed off with a coarse file.

If you plan to store small diameter items in your box, you'll need to cover the hand hole for carrying the dolly. Any thin scrap of wood secured with 1/2" lath screws will prevent things from falling through.

I chose 16" high walls for my mobile organizer, you can make yours shorter or taller depending on what you plan to store in it. I have found that this type of organizer works best when the box is full so the materials stand straight up. Also, arranging the materials from shortest to tallest makes it easier to see what's in the box. The casters are a key part of the design because they enable you to easily move the organizer wherever you want. You can push the organizer in the corner to increase the usable space in your workshop or move it away from the wall to sweep up.