#HTE

What Goes Around…Lazy Susans and More Rotating Storage Solutions

Lazy Susans have often been used in kitchen cupboards or other cabinets to keep things in the back from being hard to see or reach. But they can also be used quite well on workbenches, desktops and more.

The galvanized lazy Susan organizer from Park Designs is a multi-purpose organizer that can hold spices, desk supplies, craft supplies, etc. But other rotating products are designed for more specialized uses.

Users who like to have their tools out and visible, and who have some space to spare on their work benches, might appreciate the rotating tool stand from Discreet Furniture. These stands come as kits and have an expected assembly time of 15-30 minutes. They’re made with hand tools plus a Lasersaur—an open source laser cutter.

Some rotating products are even more specialized, such as the Foredom rotating bur (and tool) holder. The spacing of the holes (which seems to be offset from tier to tier) would make it easy for end users to see and retrieve the specific items they want. I’ve seen a similar holder for drill bits where the holes were much closer together and the tiers were shallower. That fits more stuff into a given amount of space, but also makes the holder more awkward to use—probably not a good trade-off.

Sharp Tools has another design for a rotating tool and bur caddy, with a magnetic strip to hold tools that don’t fit in the holes. One drawback: A purchaser noted that the black holes on a black surface can sometimes make it hard to see the holes.

For end users who need some heavy-duty storage, there’s a lot to like about the steel Rotabins from Durham Manufacturing. The four shelves on this model (the 1104-95) will each hold 60 pounds, evenly distributed. Each shelf has four fixed dividers, but extra dividers can be added, creating up to 16 compartments on each shelf. That’s some nice flexibility! And each shelf rotates independently.

At the other end of the size (and price) spectrum, this Rotabin (the 1605-95) holds 2,000 pounds per shelf. It’s a bit over 66 inches tall. Durham says the shelves (which rotate independently) will turn with fingertip pressure. 

Siroco’s craft turntables have buckets that stay firmly in place but can still be removed when that’s useful. This version has labeled buckets: scissors, pens, paperclips, stapler and pencils—which is great if that matches what the end user plans to put in the buckets. If not, there are versions that are just solid colors, and end users could always create their own labels.

The Nifty cosmetic organizing carousels are nicely sized for most cosmetics. Some purchasers said they would work better with a bit more space between the two tiers, though, so slightly taller things could be stored on the bottom and so items on the bottom were easier to see. The carousels could also be put to other uses; one purchaser uses them for travel-size and sample-size toiletries. Another uses it for crafting, to hold her bead containers and tools.

The rotating pill organizer from Jobar is a nice way to store a month’s worth of pills, along with other items such as cough syrup. (But one purchaser cautions about putting anything too heavy on the top.) The four sections of the daily pill boxes won’t be large enough for all end users, but they are big enough for many. Those who only take pills once or twice a day, though, might prefer boxes with fewer but larger sections, and that’s not an option.

Since each pill box is for a single day, the containers are small enough that end users can easily take one along when they leave home. One problem: Purchasers complain about the letters and numbers wearing off over time. 

While lazy Susans have long been used in the kitchen, I’m seeing some new twists. YouCopia’s 11-inch Crazy Susan turntable has a shelf that slides out to make it easier to reach things in the middle. (The 16-inch version has four shelves that slide in and out.) Having the shelf does mean that some larger items that would fit on other lazy Susans won’t fit on this one; that’s a design trade-off that many (but not all) purchasers are perfectly happy with.

While it’s common to use lazy Susans in corner cabinets, it’s not common to have ones like Glideware’s Not-So-Lazy Susan, designed to hold cookware. This doesn’t solve the lid storage problem (if the lids aren’t designed to slide over the handles of the pans), but it does make it easy for end users to find and reach the pans they want—and put them away after they’re used. The other Glideware products handle heavy pans such as Le Creuset, so these most likely do, too.

The Stack-On carousel caught my eye because the end user can use a single tray or stack the trays to make a taller organizer. (One purchaser has 10 or so of them stacked together.) However, the bottom tray, which serves as the base, does not spin, which is a distinct drawback noted by many purchasers.