Count the file cabinets in your office, then look at the floor in front of them. Every drawer needs an aisle so it can open, and that aisle is often as large as the cabinet itself. Across a department, that adds up to a room you are leasing for paper. High density office storage puts the same material into a smaller footprint, freeing space for workstations, a meeting room or a smaller lease.
This is a planning guide. It covers the main options, how to estimate the space you could get back, what to check when buying pre-owned, and when to make the change.
Where storage space actually goes
Standard lateral and vertical files waste space in two ways. First, each cabinet needs its own access aisle. Second, most cabinets stop at waist or chest height, leaving the air above them unused. High density systems attack both problems by sharing one aisle across many units, stacking higher, or both.
The main high density storage options
| System | How it saves space | Best fit | Tradeoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile shelving on tracks | Units slide together; only one aisle opens at a time | Archives, records rooms, legal and medical files | Floor load review, track installation, one user per aisle at a time |
| Tall lateral files | Five or six drawers stacked instead of two or three | Department files near workstations | Top drawers are hard to reach; must be anchored |
| Rotary cabinets | Shelves spin so access comes from the front, with no aisle behind | Busy active files with frequent retrieval | Heavier individual units, mechanism to maintain |
| Floor-to-ceiling open shelving | Uses full wall height with shared aisles | Supplies, binders, boxed records | No locking, visible clutter unless enclosed |
| Storage towers and wardrobe units | Combine coat, personal and file storage in one tall piece | Open plans replacing pedestals | Less capacity per unit than dedicated files |
Estimating the space you could reclaim
You do not need an architect to get a first estimate. Follow these steps.
- Inventory what you have. Count cabinets by type and measure the linear inches of filing in each drawer.
- Purge first. Apply your records retention policy before sizing anything. Many offices find a large share of files can be scanned, archived offsite or destroyed.
- Measure the footprint. For each bank of cabinets, include the aisle in front. That is the true space the storage uses.
- Size the replacement. Compare the remaining linear filing inches with the capacity of the new system, and leave growth room.
- Map the freed area. Decide what the reclaimed space becomes: workstations, a huddle room or simply a smaller footprint at your next lease.
Our free space planning can help turn that estimate into a layout. Send a floor plan or rough dimensions to get started.
What to check when buying pre-owned storage
- Complete components. Mobile systems need rails, carriages, end panels, shelves and handles or drive mechanisms. A missing rail section can stop an install.
- Keys and locks. Confirm keys are present or plan to re-core locks, especially for confidential files.
- Drawer action. Suspensions should glide fully open and close without sagging, and anti-tip interlocks should work so only one drawer opens at a time.
- Finish and dents. Steel storage shows dents easily. Condition grades are A like new, B very good and C good, and Grade C often makes sense in a back-of-house records room.
- Dimensions. Measure ceiling height, sprinkler clearance and door widths along the delivery path for tall units.
Office Station is an independent reseller, not an authorized dealer, and manufacturer warranties generally do not transfer to pre-owned furniture. Pre-owned storage availability changes with each project, so tell us what you need and we will say plainly whether we can source it.
When to make the change
Storage changes are disruptive, so pair them with work that is already disrupting the office.
During a reconfiguration
If you are adding workstations or rearranging departments, reclaimed file space is often the cheapest square footage you can find. Consolidate storage first, then lay out the new area. Browse used cubicles if the freed space will become workstations.
Before a move
Moving boxes of files you will never open costs money twice: once to pack and move them, again to store them. Purge and consolidate before the move so the new office can be planned around a smaller storage footprint. See corporate relocation for how moves are coordinated with nights or weekends crews, COIs and freight elevator scheduling.
When leaving a space
If you are closing an office, storage you no longer need can be included in office decommissioning with an itemized inventory and a photo-documented broom-clean handback.
Turning old cabinets into a credit
Once files are consolidated, the cabinets left behind can go into an office furniture liquidation. You receive a written net offer: resale value minus removal cost. A positive number means you are paid. Walkthroughs typically happen within 48 hours in Greater Phoenix and 2 to 3 business days in other markets, with offers within 5 business days. Any e-waste found during cleanout is handled with certificates of data destruction, and you receive a diversion summary at the end.
Estimate the value of your old cabinets
Frequently asked questions
What counts as high density office storage?
High density storage is any system that holds more material per square foot than standard file cabinets in open rows. Common examples are mobile shelving on floor tracks, tall lateral files, rotary cabinets and floor-to-ceiling open shelving. The best option depends on how often people pull from the files.
Do I need a floor load review before installing mobile shelving?
Often, yes. Loaded mobile shelving concentrates a lot of weight in a small footprint, and many buildings require a structural review before it goes in, especially on upper floors. Ask your landlord or building management at the start of planning.
Can pre-owned high density storage move to a new office?
Freestanding pieces such as lateral files and shelving units move well. Track-based mobile systems have to be disassembled, the rails removed and reinstalled, and the system re-leveled at the new site. Include that labor when you compare options.
What happens to the file cabinets I no longer need?
They can be part of an office furniture liquidation. You receive a written net offer equal to the resale value minus removal cost, and a positive offer means you are paid. Offers are provided within 5 business days of the walkthrough.
Does Office Station always have storage systems in stock?
No. Pre-owned inventory changes as projects come and go, so specific storage systems are not always available. Email hello@officestation.com with your dimensions and requirements and we will tell you what we can source.
