Do you have a problem?
Is that problem finding a housing (i.e. a box, folder, envelope, bag, etc) for something in your collection?
Do you not want to spend hours pouring through four different vendor catalogs, trying to find the box that fits your item the best?
Well, you’re in luck because I have the solution to your housing problem!
It’s a spreadsheet, of course!
You start by entering what type of housing, and the dimensions of the item you are trying to fit to a housing.
Then, with any luck, you’ll be presented with a list of available sizes of housings that would fit your object. Pick the size you prefer, and then the available list of vendors that sell a housing in that size will appear next. Select the vendor you prefer (if there’s more than one), and then the next choice will be to select the specific product.
In the event that your first search doesn’t bring up a product, you can also add some modifications to expand your search. These include allowing for products that are bigger in the length/width dimensions and/or the height dimension. To do that, you can add a number to the “L/W tolerance” or “Height tolerance” columns.
Also, if you are looking to find a bunch of same-size boxes for a large pile of things that are all the same size, you can also add a number to the “split by” column. For example, if you put a “6” in the “split column”, then that will tell the spreadsheet that you actually want to find six 2″ high boxes for your 12″ high item.
From there, the world is your oyster – add that information to a purchase order, or go search for that product on the vendor’s website for more details.
As with many of my projects, you are welcome to make a copy of this sheet and adapt the code or the list of products in the “MEGALIST” tab to better meet the particular needs of your collection and/or cultural institution.
When you’re ready, follow this link to try out the Housing Solutions spreadsheet for yourself!