A Deep Dive into Pigeon Hole Cabinets & Racks

When it comes to storage organization—whether in a warehouse, workshop, office, mailroom or retail back-stock area—pigeon hole cabinets and racks offer a compelling solution. In this blog, we’ll explore what they are, why they’re useful, how to choose one (including from the selection at A Plus Warehouse Solutions), and key tips to get the most out of them.

What Are Pigeon Hole Cabinets & Racks?

A “pigeon hole” system consists of a storage unit that is subdivided into many smaller compartments (“holes” or “pigeon holes”), where items can be stored in an organized manner.

• In the context of cabinets: these are fixed-units (often in offices, schools, workshops) with dozens of equally sized slots for mail, documents, parts, tools.

• In the context of racks: these are shelving or open-framed structures used especially in industrial settings, where each “hole” or cubby can store long items, bar stock, tubes, trim, lumber etc.

• The term “pigeon hole” originates from old pigeon cotes (bird houses) where each pigeon had its own little compartment.

In short: one system, many compartments → organized storage.

Why Use Them? Key Benefits

Here are the main advantages of installing pigeon hole cabinets/racks:

• Space Efficiency: Because items are separated into many small compartments, you can use vertical and horizontal space more intensively. 

• Improved Organisation & Access: With everything in its own slot, retrieval becomes faster, and items are less likely to get lost or piled up.

• Durability & Low Maintenance: Many industrial pigeon hole racks are constructed from heavy gauge steel, designed for long-life and heavy use.

• Flexibility & Customisation: You can select the number of compartments, size of holes, open vs door‐front, and even expandable layouts.

• Visual Order & Productivity Gains: Especially in busy environments (mailrooms, workshops, offices), giving each item a “home” reduces clutter and improves workflow. 

Where They Fit – Use-Case Scenarios

Here are some real-world settings where pigeon hole storage shines:

• Warehouse / Industrial: For storing long materials (pipes, bar-stock, timber), or many small parts sorted by type. E.g., the “extra deep pigeon hole industrial shelves” with 18-96 compartments for heavy duty use. Southwest Solutions

• Office / Admin / Mailroom: For sorting mail, documents, files, individual staff mail slots.

• Workshop / Maintenance: For tools, parts, fasteners, each staff member or job can have a slot.

• Retail / Back-stock: For separating items by style/size/color, or storing inserts, small components.

• Schools / Shared Spaces: For student gear, lockers, shared equipment rather than full lockers. FSP Australia

Choosing the Right Pigeon Hole Cabinet or Rack – What to Consider

If you’re shopping (for example via A Plus Warehouse Solutions) or evaluating your storage needs, here are the factors to check:

1. Compartment Size & Count – Make sure each hole fits the item(s) you plan to store. For long items, depths matter (48″, 60″ etc). Example: a long-bar pigeon hole rack capacity: 7,700 lbs per frame, 2,000 lbs per level.

2. Material & Construction – Heavy duty steel frames for industrial use; wood or lighter steel for office/retail.

3. Open vs Door / Lockable – Do you need open access (fast retrieval) or secure compartments (for tools, valuables)?

4. Expandability & Modular Design – Will your storage needs grow or change? Choose systems that can be extended.

5. Footprint & Layout – How much floor/vertical space do you have? These systems allow good use of walls/unused corners.

6. Ergonomics & Visibility – Ensure items are easy to see and reach; avoid deep slots that require bending or crawling.

7. Integration with Workflow – Labeling, slot assignment, user access, retrieval paths matter—this isn’t just furniture, it’s part of the system.

8. Budget vs Life-Cycle Cost – While maybe not the cheapest storage option per slot, durability and organisation can drive ROI by reducing retrieval time, mis-sorting, lost items.

Highlight: A Plus Warehouse Solutions’ Selection

On the A Plus Warehouse site you’ll find a category of “Bin Cabinets”, including items listed such as “112 Pigeon Hole 96 Bin 5S Cabinet”. This illustrates how they carry heavy-duty cabinet systems geared toward organised small-parts storage.

If you’re evaluating purchase there, consider reaching out to them to ask for these details:

• How many compartments (bins) per cabinet?

• Are the bins removable, labelled, colour-coded?

• What materials (steel gauge, finish, powder coat)?

• Dimensions overall and per hole (width/depth/height)

• Shipment/lead time, anchoring/installation requirements

• Whether extension modules are available (for scalability)

Best Practices for Implementation & Use

To make the most of a pigeon hole system, apply these tips:

• Label Each Hole: Use clear labels—employee name, part number, job code—for faster retrieval and accountability.

• Assign Ownership: Give each team, person or job its own slot(s). When items have a home, they’re less likely to be misplaced.

• Keep Clear Access Paths: Don’t block front rows or access aisles; ensure slots are reachable safely.

• Use Ergonomic Heights: Place high-frequency slots at waist to shoulder height; reserve low/high height for rarely used items.

• Regular Audit & Clean-out: Periodically check if slots are still in use, contents are accurate and slot to item mapping is still valid.

• Training & Standardisation: Make sure everyone knows the system—how to put items away / retrieve them—so order is maintained.

• Don’t Over-fill: While the holes are efficient, over-stuffing defeats the purpose. Keep compartments at a level that allows easy access and visibility.

• Adapt & Grow: As your inventory or storage needs change, use modules or reconfigure compartments to suit new sizes or types of items.

Final Thoughts

Pigeon hole cabinets and racks are an underrated but powerful tool in the storage-organisation toolkit. Whether you’re looking to tidy up a mailroom, improve parts retrieval in a maintenance shop, optimise workflow in a warehouse, or simply make better use of wall‐space in your office—they deliver value through better space use, visibility, faster access and less waste.

If you’re exploring options from A Plus Warehouse (or elsewhere), make sure you take a close look at the specifications, match them to your real-world use case, and plan how you will implement them (layout, labelling, process).