IKEA again.

When we moved here (gawd! - almost seventeen years ago) I nabbed the smaller south-facing bedroom as a study, and took down some top-hinged wall units.  I kept them as floor standing storage for the domestic files, adding castors.  (I also bought a bit of melamine laminate to glue to the top, but measured it too small.  Measure twice, cut once!)  The box moved down when we had the garage converted, but was just a little too narrow for the job - a number of lever arch files had to be shoved to the back.  Not a problem when one was 57 and less arthritic.  Significantly more of a problem for one with shite knees and recent abdominal surgery.

I did a bit of on-line research, and found quite a nice shelf unit, deep enough for said files and wide enough to take them all in one rank.  £170.  The egregious Mr Kamprad’s Billy is too shallow fore and aft for the job, but his successors at IKEA do a satisfactory line called Kallax.  £39.  OK: it meant getting on hands and knees and making with Allen keys, but they now provide a plastic Allen key holder that adds useful leverage.  The new box is made of solid shit, but it does the job, fits the space well, and matches Martyn’s rather more substantial desk.  

The amount I’ve spent at IKEA over the years hardly bears thinking about, though a lot was reimbursed under my expat deals.  So I do IKEA in English, French, Schwyzertüütsch, German, and even a bit of Vlaams.  Much of the stuff from various flats stayed behind in Lagrasse to help buyer Alain get started, and will no doubt have found its way to new homes - or the déchèterie.  Anyway, the non-IKEA storage box on castors is on its way to our local déchèterie tomorrow.