Hunting through the supply closet at work is always an adventure. My latest discovery was the Tenex Wave Drawer/Tray Top Organizer. I remembered seeing this in the top drawer of a spare desk and wondered why it had migrated to the closet. I grabbed it to see if this organizer would work on my desk top.


Description

This Tenex organizer is constructed from one solid piece of sturdy black plastic in a matte finish. It measures 13 3/4" long x 6" deep x 1" high. The front of the holder has a slight wave design along either end. The side pieces are not straight up and down; they curve slightly inward at the top.

This unit has 7 compartments. Running along the entire back edge of the organizer is a compartment measuring 1" wide. On the left side is an area measuring 8 1/2" long x 1 3/8" wide. In front of that compartment is an area divided into four areas. At the left is an area measuring 3 5/8" wide x 3 1/4" deep. To the right of this are three compartments: 1) measures 4 5/8" wide x 1 3/8" deep, 2) measures 1 1/2" wide x 1 7/8" deep, 3) measures 3" wide x 1 7/8" deep. At the right is one large compartment with holders for five 3.5 diskettes. There is also a holder for a tape roll. Next to that is an open area 1 3/4" wide x 6" deep.

The bottom of the organizer has four square feet so that the tray is raised from the surface it is sitting on.


My Experiences

This organizer is designed to either sit in a drawer, on a desk or table-top surface, or it can affix to the Tenex side-load letter tray.

I first encountered this organizer in a spare desk located in the conference room where I was doing a special project. The organizer was situated in the center drawer where pens, pencils and typical office supplies are located. A few paperclips, an eraser and a pen filled some of the compartments ... and every other compartment was empty. There wasn’t even tape loaded into the tape dispenser. Of course, since this organizer was in a shallow desk drawer, there was no room to utilize the space that holds five 3.5 diskettes upright.

In my desk drawer, I am already using an organizer that I love. However, I often have Post-it notes, rulers, pens, and pencils littered across my desk. I thought this organizer might be a good way of corralling those supplies so that they didn’t become lost amidst papers.

The good news is that this organizer can hold a 12" ruler, a 3"x3" Post-it note pad, five 3.5" diskettes and a roll of tape (a roll of 3/4" x 296" tape is currently in the dispenser) as well as some writing utensils and paperclips.

The bad news is that there is little room for anything. The 12" ruler cannot lay flat in the longest compartment. I have to stand it upright along the back edge of the organizer or lay it flat across the other items in the holder. The space for the Post-it note pad is a bit too large. In order to anchor the pad in place, I had to remove the back sheet and stick the notes onto the holder. The five 3.5 diskettes loosely sit in the slots designed for them. It is easy to flick the disks back and forth to see them; however, if the tray tips, there is nothing to anchor the disks in place. The tape dispenser is also awkward to use. The tape lays flat against the tray, and the cutter doesn’t give a clean cut.

In the long area at the back of the holder, I was able to lay four stick-pens flat (six pens fit if they are stacked). Three pens can fit side-by-side in another compartment. In all instances, the pens are difficult to grab and pull out of the tray.

I use a lot of paperclips. A box of 100 small paperclips will fit in two of the smaller compartments.

There is a lot of wasted space in this organizer. For instance, at the extreme right is a large area of empty space next to the diskette slots and tape dispenser. I experimented and found that I could stick a pad of 2" x 1 1/2" Post-it notes to the tray next to the tape dispenser. The area is too small for pens or pencils (unless they are short). An eraser could fit there.

For me, this organizer does not work well. I’ve tried to use it in a variety of locations. It’s been on my desk ... takes up too much valuable room. I relocated it to a table that abuts my work area ... it’s too far away. I tried placing it in the bookshelf unit next to my desk ... awkward placement that is inconvenient. This holder doesn’t fit my work area.

If you have only a few office supplies, then this organizer would work well provided you had the space for it.


Purchasing

Our office supply person bought this organizer about two years ago from Staples for about $15.99.


Summary

I have decided that the Tenex Wave Drawer/Tray Top Organizer takes up valuable real estate on my desk top. This organizer doesn’t hold enough to make it a worthwhile investment. Since a temp employee will be working in our office soon, I’ll place this organizer in the drawer of her desk. If she decides it doesn’t suit her needs, I have a feeling I’ll be seeing it back in the supply closet.

I hope you have found this review useful.

Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Please read more of my reviews:

Eldon 9-section Drawer Organizer

HON Metal Bookcase

Global Armless Task Chair

Swingline Electric 3-Hole Paper Punch

Tombow White Correction Tape

PaperMate Dryline Grip Correction Tape

Pentel Click Eraser

Sharpie Twin-Tip Permanent Marker

Sanford Major Accent Highlighters

Acme Titanium 8" Scissors

Fiskars 8" SoftGrip Scissors

Sony Micro Vault 512 mb USB 2.0 Flash Drive


Copyright 2005 Dawn L. Stewart

Recommended: No