Storage that works with an Ikea Billy

[booksandwool]

Very specific, I know, but we're on a project to organise our home, finally, and we have a vast number of Billies all over the house. I'm trying to work out what my options are for boxes, trays etc that can fit nicely onto them, to use for all sorts (shoes, scarves, toys, stationery, papers, miscellaneous rubbish) - books will be just on plain shelves, but I want lots of boxing too, or we'll just get piles on (and falling off) the shelves. Some of them have doors on too so we can't use anything too deep, since there's no option for it to hang over the edge a bit.
Please share your inspiration with me! I don't want to spend a fortune but I'm convinced this is our chance to get it right and get things straight.

m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/art/10224325/ though quite small

We've got the big versions of those boxes in the dark brown / black. Four stack nicely together on the bottom shelves of a Billy.

m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/art/60240097/

m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/art/20240103/

I think billy is 28cm deep
There are quite a few boxes that fit

For toys I like transparent boxes so we have some Samla. Glis and Kusiner work too. Also various baskets etc from charity shops. But we don't have the doors.

Wilko do collapsible canvas storage drawers in red, blue and bear face designs. You can turn them round to be plain. They just fit 3 abreast on a Billy shelf, and are pretty robust, and not expensive.

I've got some of this type of box - they're a good size for things like stationery & would work for sorting small toys

Not very pretty though

www.argos.co.uk/m/static/Product/partNumber/9142426.htm

(But they'd fit inside your doors)

Ikea cardboard boxes fit.. The A4 ones sideways.. but there is one that is the length of the depth of billy. I have liads of these. Files fit too so some boxfiles might woek perhaps?

Also on really useful website they tell you dimensions. I have a 9 litre one sideways on mine for example..

Sorry to hijack but just on Billies - has anyone had trouble with the shelves collapsing and the back coming loose? Wondering if anyone has some ideas on cheap and easy ways to fix them. I've got four billies and they are all collapsing.

One of Aldi's occasional specials is various storage stuff & they do small plastic baskets with indents for stacking or nesting - they're very useful & much more sturdy than most. If you get the Aldi app or email you'll know when they'll be in.

Ziglinda, my shelves have all been ok but the backs are really weedy. Have you tried maybe taping across the back with duct tape?

If you don't mind about not matching you could replace the original hardboard with thin plywood

Thank you so much! Some great suggestions here. I'm more bothered about utility than prettiness at the moment, so I reckon a couple of the options here could be perfect. Or, of course, I could just put things in loose piles all over open shelves until I get so fed up that I declutter properly.

Ziglinda you can hammer tacks into the back to attach the backing to the frame and any fixed shelves. Fixing a shelf in and tacking the back to that would really help too. You need the sort that look like tiny nails.

PS i haven't tried this on actual Billy but it's worked with various cheap bookshelves eg argos etc.

erin Billy assembly includes one fixed shelf (the middle one) & pins to tack the backing all round & across the middle

but because the backing is only flimsy hardboard, & comes in pieces - in the 80cm unit anyway - it always moves about & falls apart with things pushing against it from the front.

books, as vinegar suggests box files would be really good too - standing up or lying down, they'd fit inside your doors

I love box files

www.amazon.co.uk/Songmics-Collapsible-Stacking-baskets-KVB36M-6/dp/B00N8JO0LK

I'm in storage contemplation bliss!