Safco Literature Organizer 24 Compartments Office and Classroom Mailbox with Adjustable Shelves Wood Paper and Mail Sorter Medium

After seeing all the negative reviews I was afraid to purchase this shelf, and got another metal organizer instead. Having more stuff to organize, I eventually got this one too (the grey model), because I liked the fact that it had a flat top--to put more stuff of course! When I opened the package I was apprehensive, but none of my parts were broken, damaged, or missing, and everything was held tightly in place with Styrofoam. I put the thing together in under an hour while my husband got ready for work (and I'm a pretty slow worker on this sort of thing). The parts aren't labeled, but honestly it doesn't matter because there aren't very many parts and the pictures show where they go. No tools besides a tack hammer are necessary, and mine DID NOT crack or bubble during assembly (see below for construction tips). TIPS for those who are having trouble: Don't wet the dowels to activate the glue--they fit snug enough that this isn't necessary to hold the thing together, and allows you to take it apart if you screw up, if you need to pack up the thing to move to a new house...etc. For the top: Stick the dowels into the ends of the 3 boards that are sticking up (instead of pushing them into the top first--this might lead to the cracking others experienced). Another easy trick I did (just for the top, but I could have done it elsewhere) was to tap the dowels in before placing the top on. Tap them in until you hear that they touch the bottom of the drilled out space, or until they stick up less than the width of the top piece. The top pushes on nicely from there and..Ta Da...No bubbles! Make sure to look at the pieces to make sure you have all the finished edges facing the front....I got everything right except the bottom piece...Since I didn't use glue it was a simple fix, but I could have avoided that step if I'd paid more attention... Now, that being said, know what you are getting. This is a particle board organizer. It's plenty sturdy for that and works for the intended purpose of holding papers and some miscellaneous junk on top (a plant for instance) just fine, but it is not high quality material. Nothing compares to real wood, but--and take this from someone who owns a sawmill--real wood is expensive. Even for something as simple as this you have to measure, cut, plain and sand the boards, and then finish them. The product will turn out beautiful and much higher quality, but it will take a little time and more money, even if you do the work yourself. So if you are looking for a piece of furniture that will look fancy and be passed down for generations, spend more money and hire a carpenter or buy a more expensive model. If you want something cheap and quick that looks and works decent, then this is it. P.S. I got this in the grey, which is fine but kind of plain, so I let the kids stencil, paint, and bejewel the sides--it's for their papers anyway! Update: 5 years later and still going strong--daily use and no damage yet. It's actually a pretty sturdy little unit. I'm thinking of buying another to hold more paper options. I'm so glad I went with this instead of one of the cardboard models! Read more

This is the second organizer I have purchased and I love this one as much as the first! There is enough room for 60 shelves if you utilize each and every spot! It is very easy to assemble and took me about 10 minutes for each of them. It is very sturdy, I have about 16 funko pops (not that they weigh all that much) displayed on top of the organizer at my desk! Definity recommend this organizer to anyone that is looking for a sturdy, reliable, fairly affordable product. Read more

Pros: 1) Has lots of adjustable shelves which can be arranged & rearranged to suit my needs. 2) Easy to put together. The only tools you'll need are a cup of water & a hammer. 3) Sturdy enough to hold papers & books as well as items stacked on top. Cons: 1) Shelves are not wood. They are very thin pressed wood/particle board? 2) Does not come in an espresso color. Not a huge deal, but I like things to match. I knew when I purchased this organizer that I would have to paint it, but I'm concerned that the shelves will absorb the paint. 3) I wish the shelves were just a tad wider. My fault for not reading dimensions more carefully, so I'm not deducting anything for this one. Just want others to be careful & make sure these measurements work for you. Shelves can be adjusted, but the partitions cannot! 4) Some of the shelf supports go in perfectly while others had to be tapped in with a hammer. Again, not a huge deal, but it's an inconvenience when you're putting in 15 shelves with 4 supports each. 5) It's a tad overpriced. I think a fair price would be more in the $65-$75 range. Read more

With a busy family life, this is a wonderful organizational Tool. Kids are involved in sports year round, scouting, and school/summer activities. Keeping the various info in folders was not working for me or the kids. My husband never thought we would fill up all 32 slots. We did and could probably have gone bigger but this works for the moment. I keep it against the wall on my home office desk. Used a label to identify which slots were for which activities. We have a couple small rocks with red ribbons attached that the kids use to identify items in need if my or Dad's immediate attention (i.e. permission slips, etc.). This unit has helped me keep my desk and my family organized. Things are no longer buried on the kitchen counter. (retraining the kids is another story) Up side: * The two drawers are very handy! They are nice/wide and hold some of the smaller drawer organizers I found at the local office supply chain. We use them for our backup of general office supplies like pencils, highlighters, tape, scissors, calculators, compasses, glue sticks, etc. * Shelves/slots hold most books well. The papers from school fit perfectly. Slots are fairly stable/sturdy for the price of the unit. * Drawers are not shakey and ride independantly on the bottom base of the unit. * Most of the dowels come pre-treated with water-activated glue... so all you need to do is dip them in water and install. * External surface is veneer over particle board. Was stable during construction and as well as the move into place on my desk. Now it doesn't get much challenge to structural integrity as it sits undisturbed on my desk. Down side: * it probably took me an hour to put it together... yes and there were some extra parts. * the slot shelves are fairly stable with bars in the front plus a small bar to keep the slots from sliding and in back for the shelf to rest on. This is stable enough but removing the items in each shelf requires a bit more control. *slots are jut a schosch too small for the manilla folders. * Glue that comes with the unit for non pre-glued units In answer to the final question. Yes I would definately buy this again. Read more