How Can I Make More Of My Cubicle?

hv writes "I reside in a 10' x 10' space better than 12 hours a day... as do a lot of you. How do you make the most of the space? I'm looking for creative ways to add storage and unclutter the stacks of lab notebooks, USB peripherals and the O'Reilly Zoo that also inhabits my space."

Comments

Re:Kids today

[sacherjj]

Thats Nothing!

Where I was working, they told me to move back, 'cause they had to put more boxes in my cubicle.
Then they made me move into the basement and told me to get some spray for the roach problem.
Then. Then, somebody stole my stapler. We had been using the Swingline stapler, and they wanted to switch, but I didn't want to switch. And they, they... ...somebody stole my stapler.
I'll burn down the building...

think Office Space

Fish...

[Squirrel Killer]

Plants are too common...I had a friend set up a desk aquarium and put a betta in it. They're colorful and active enough to be interesting, hardy enough to be ignored for the weekend, and you don't have to wait a minute for the screensaver to start up. And at least you can rest assured that something has to spend more time in the office than you do.

-sk

Odors are your friend.

[Rimbo]

Stop bathing. Learn a new love for limburger cheese, raw garlic and onions. Keep a bowl of durians nearby as a snack.

When everyone moves out, take over their cubicles.

Re:my solution

[abischof]

For more information on building a cubicle roof, see also this Ask Slashdot thread on building cubicle roofs.

How to spruce up your cubicle.

[mindstrm]

Simple. Stay out of it. What the hell are you doing spending 12 hours a day in your cube?

Unless you are part owner (and I don't mean like, you have some options or a bit of stock.. I mean like a HUGE interest in the business), there is no reason for you to be spending 12 hours a day at work. Get a life (I mean that seriously.. you will regret the wasted youth later in life.)

As for 'sprucing up' your cube... why do you need suggestions? Just do what you want, within what your office will allow.

As my guru once said, you aren't doing your job properly if you can't do it between 9 and 5.

A few ideas

[Rift]

• Plants, plants, plants! (But only in an otherwise unclutered cube) If your company allows it, these really make it feel better. However, in a cluttered cube, they just make it seem more closed in. Oh, and don't forget - just because you can live on Jolt doesn't mean your green friends can.
• Small bookshelf. A small bookshelf (1.5' wide, 3' high) can be aquired cheaply, and gives you more top surface - as well as removing the stacks of binders you have. It really is amazing where those will fit, so don't just give up on it!
• Pen jar - a mug or jar for your pens can really make a big difference if you are like I was. I had pens, pencils, slide rule, etc spread all over my desktop. Now, one coffee mug makes my desk ever so much neater.
• Cord keepers. Little bits of velcro strips make more of a difference than you think.
• Get rid of the 50 post-its on your monitor - it'll make your space seem bigger immediately
• organize and clean up the crap you have stuck on your walls.

Hope these help - they helped me!

Posters

[fobbman]

Get yourself a poster of Doris Day or Racquel Welch so that the warden doesn't see the hole that you are digging.

Re:Up, up and away!

[bartyboy]

And if you're a really dedicated worker, pick up a suspended sleeping bag (just like the ones astronauts use) to cut down on your commute from work. Make sure it's waterproof, so it can double as a curtain for a collapsable shower. And remove the fan off your CPU to turn it into an instant heating element (excellent for boiling water).

Oh, and a bunch of people suggested getting a fridge and filling it with beer. You could suspend it from the ceiling on a retractable steel cable.

I hope this helps.

Solution

[lavaforge]

I had the same problem a while back, and then I realized that there were only two viable solutions: I could either get a better job or create an interdimensional gateway to a small pocket dimension for storage purposes. I created the gateway, but my company had an explicit "no portals to other dimensions" clause in my employment agreement, and I lost my job. Believe me, that was tough to explain away on my resume.

Most Important Things to Have in a Cubicle

[zpengo]

• A small fridge
• A fan
• A foot-massager
• A laptop turned around so people can't see what you're doing (games, Slashdot, etc.)
• Lots of filing cabinets, for all those stacks of paper on your desk.
• Various useful items from Thinkgeek, such as the rear-view mirror.
• Music and good headphones.
• A member of the opposite sex, if possible.

my solution

[mskfisher]

i was sick of the fluorescent lights which others in the room needed, so i built a roof for my cubicle:

http://www.mskf.org/roof/ - directory of pictures

not for everyone, but it keeps me happy. :)

Privacy through Obscurity

[gmhowell]

Works for me. I pile EVERYTHING on my desk. Know where in the pile the important stuff is. Don't tell anyone else how the pile is arranged. Nobody will touch your stuff for fear of having to clean it up when it falls.

Many people will bitch, but the trick is to know how the pile works. People will ask me for some 'important' piece of paper, assuming it will take an hour to find it. It doesn't. If they complain, the answer is "it only took me a second to get it, what's your problem".

Another good trick is to keep extra cards lying around (I have an abundance of ISA SCSI cards and NIC's. Almost useless, but most people are afraid to touch them. Ergo, my stuff isn't touched.)