Not ideal

At the moment, my styrene supply is kept in the original Evergreen poly sleeves, standing on end in a magazine file. Sheet plastic is also stored here, and the plastic sheets help to protect the more delicate strips. Useful scraps are collected in freezer bags.

The advantage is that saving the original package makes it easy to identify sizes without measuring and saves the part number for reordering.

The disadvantage is that the whole arrangement can be top heavy, so it stays on the floor by the workbench.

The file cost me $2 at a neighborhood garage sale.

Storage

I use the expandable folder for sheets that fit, bigger ones i store flat on a shelf. For strips and angles ect., I have a draw in my work bench that I have some adjustable silverware storage bins. I have them sorted by type in them. For strips and angles that are to big, I hang them off of nails on the end of my workbench. 

Sheet protectors?

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=a5+sheet+protector&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=94474405597&hvpos=1t2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15242999940829141123&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033259&hvtargid=kwd-25088917428&ref=pd_sl_3fsj0lfxn3_b

Wrong type item

Needed for strip styrene not sheet styrene.

Was envisioning laying strips side by side and...

You could use a low-tack type of tape (drafting tape for instance) to hold them together if that failed.  Then there are also mailing tubes...

An idea I saw..

I saw a guy who used a bunch of cardboard tubes stacked together horizontally with a slight upward tilt to store his strips (wood and styrene). It seemed like a really good way to do it.

Tubes

When I was facing this issue a year ago I researched various types of tube and was put off by the cost. Finally, I read about fluorescent tube protectors on another forum. They cost about $0.50 a foot and come in several diameters and lengths. I got a bunch and cut them into 12" chunks. Then I tried a few systems for organizing them:

There were two methods I would consider successful--  on the left you see a frame made of foamcore cut with a hole saw. I use this as a temporary sorter on the workbench when building a kit with a lot of strips. i.e. the first sawmill I made last winter:

However, the best approach was to caulk them directly together to make a pyramid:

I used dabs of silicone household caulk. This pile is continuing to grow, as you can see in the first picture. I thought about adding labels, but realized that took more time than just looking for what I need.

I still leave the very thinnest stock (scale 2x4 etc) in the bags hanging on a nail. (They just droop off the end of a tube.) I cut a slot in the bag to make it easy to get one out.

pqe

Organized in a binder

Graham is almost where I started from.  The full story is on my blog, but for the Coles Notes version, I arranged the strips on pages of a binder in order by first then second dimension (ie .010x.010, .010x.020, .010x.030,...,.020x.020, .020x.040,...).  This enables me to quickly find a given dimension.  It is also so compact that for a long time I kept an entire suite of Evergreen stock in a 2" binder.

I've outgrown the original binder, and now keep my stock in a couple of wine boxes under my workbench.  One contains styrene (sheet, strip, rod, tube and other shapes), and the other contains wood strip and metal (sheet, strip, tube and other shapes).  I have also improved the page style over the years.  

Styrene Strip Storage

I made this from foam board that works quite well.

Steve 

PVC pipe

I used 12" lengths of PVC pipe, with a 30 deg cut on one end, glued and taped together. A piece of cardstock covers the back end .  Since this pic, i have added thin labels projecting out from the side of each tube withe the scale size and decimal size.

-Eric

Hardware bins

Many moons ago, the hardware store I worked at redid it's nuts and bolts aisle.  I picked up a bunch of the old bins.  I use them for track pieces and styrene strips.

I like this set up...

Steve,

This looks great. How wide and high are the sections? I see you 44 sections. Looks fairly easy to make...

Neal

Drawers?

   I have an old watchmakers storage cabinet with shallow drawers that works fine for detail parts and stuff like these plastic strips. I have a plastic strip drawer, a plastic sheet drawer, brass sheet,brass strip, details for different scales, etc......DaveB

PVC Options

I use PVC pipe. It is only $2-3 for a 10 foot section. I cut them to 10" lengths. I then glue them to a .080 sheet of styrene. I paint mine flat black. When gluing the PVC pipe together I just use PVC primer. You do not need PVC cement. The primer is enough to glue the PVC pipe together. I use 5 minute epoxy to glue the glued up sections of PVC pipe to the sheet of styrene. There are many methods you can use to label what size is in each tube. I choose to use my spreadsheet to show what is in each tube. That makes it easy to rearrange my styrene strips.    

I have found that if you

I have found that if you leave small strips of plastic (or wood for that matter) standing up by themselves over time they develop a bend that can be a problem.  This does not happen if you hang them up in a bag because the bag keeps the straight.  So I would either hang the bag they came in or lay them down flat.  

This is for thin stock say 2x or thinner in HO, 4x is probably ok and 6x is fine.  

-Doug M

Here's next storage question

First I have yo say that there are bunch of really resourceful modelers here.

Now, next question on storage. How and where do you store that left over 3" long piece? It'll disappear in that 10" long tube. Any good suggestions?

Bernd

That is another advantage of

That is another advantage of just hanging the little bags the plastic comes in on a hook.  The bag will hold the little short sections.

Have you ever seen a hobby shop that had pegboard racks hanging on the wall where the pegboard stuck out from the wall on a hinge and you could hang things on both sides?   Do a small version of that and a row of hooks or nails to hand the plastic bags the plastic comes in.  If the plastic is sized to "dimensional" sizes like 2x4s or whatever you can use the same hook to hang scale lumber on. 

-Doug M

 "where do you store that

I just put them back in their original bag( I cut a small slit in the bag to get the pieces out and back in) If the piece is too short to put back I throw it in small scrap box along with other plastic sheet and strip scraps and use it where I need a tiny piece. .....DaveB

Odds & bins

I keep (well, try to keep) scraps in plastic bins:

These come in many sizes from cute to industrial.  "Hanging bins" have a downward facing ridge across the back that will hook into a z-strip. This makes them easy to move to the bench when searching for elusive parts. They also stack neatly if they are all the same size and brand. The labels are index card slipped into a holder on the front. They say things like styrene scrap, junk, more junk, and looks important. The label just gives me a clue to where I saw something when I was looking for something else.

For stuff too long to go into a tube, I made some narrow shelves from 2" molding:

They are visible in the center of the pegboard. (Oh, look, more bins!) They are held on by screws from the back of the pegboard, but I don't plan to move these much.

pqe

p.s. The room is unnaturally clean because I am taking a break from modeling to work on other projects.

3cm squares

Hi Neal

The pockets are 3cm square and as long as the lengths of the strips.

Cheers

Steve

In the same "bay"

Hi Bernd

I store left overs in teh same 3cm square storage bays as the longer sections.  Being horizontal, the pieces stay where I put them

Steve

Necessity is the mother....

Lots of great ideas as always folks. But I was staring at the problem this afternoon and then it dawned on me. I have everything I need to make my own box. I had a small tote box and plenty of my favorite building medium....snipe signs. Political signs to be precise. A sharp knife, some quick measurements and a hot glue gun and voila..enough room for strip styrene and even sheet styrene.

There you go...

That poor cat-- skinned 12 ways in a little over 3 days.

pqe

Storing Styrene Strips

I often need to carry my stock of styrene between home and the club. So I use an old briefcase, I fasten like stock (strips, rods, angles, H-channel, etc.) in groups with Velcro tape. The little leftover pieces go in with the full size material. Sheet material fits in the lid compartments.

Carl Neste