Standing desks received a lot of hype over the past several years. I understood the theoretical benefits but wasn’t convinced of their value until I actually used one.
I purchased a Fully Jarvis motorized standing desk for me and my staff while working in Minnesota. Since my job required a lot of time at a computer, my back and shoulders would get sore as the day wore on from hunching over. The standing desk allowed me to raise or lower the workspace and adjust to whatever felt better physically throughout the day, and it virtually eliminated the soreness.
I used a Sauder corner computer desk for years. The sliding keyboard shelf didn’t lock in place anymore and my last move resulted in more cosmetic damage than I would have liked, but it remained a sturdy, dependable piece of furniture.
My fantastic Sauder corner desk
I’d considered purchasing a standing desk for my home office, but a good one wasn’t cheap, and I struggled to find a storage solution for the things I kept in the corner desk’s cabinet and on its shelves. I looked at many drawer units but most included a drawer for hanging file folders that I didn’t need. Shelving units didn’t work because they tended to be too shallow, and they didn’t hide what I placed on them without having to get bins.
The answer came to me while watching a YouTube video from Apple-focused technologist Chris Lawley1. In one of his videos I caught a glimpse of what looked like a mobile tool chest in his office used to store video and camera gear. The obviousness of the choice was a “duh!” moment—a tool chest would provide a lot of organized storage and could be moved around as needed. After a bit of online research I found what I was looking for in the Husky line of tool chests2 at Home Depot—a black model with silver trim and a light wood top that would give my office a modern look.
My original intention was to get the small tool chest as a trial and see how it worked in practice, but that changed when I got to Home Depot. For around the same price3 as a high quality standing desk, I could have a manual standing desk, a medium sized tool chest with a raised workspace, and a small tool chest to use as an end table. The trio were perfect, so I made the purchase and hauled them home in two trips. I’m very happy with how they look (and work) in my office.
Manual standing desk and medium tool chest
Small tool chest end table
My Sauder desk found a new home with a co-worker who was very excited to receive it, and I’m sure it will serve him as well as it did me. Now I just need to figure out what I’m going to put in all my new drawers!
Chris’ channel focuses on iPad (and now Mac) hardware, software, and accessories, and while his needs are different than mine I enjoy being exposed to new ideas that I can adapt for my use. ↩︎
It didn’t know it at the time, but that is exactly what Chris had in his office. ↩︎
The three items were on sale, and, because the standing desk had a small mark on the surface, they gave me an additional discount on all of the items. ↩︎