DEVAISE 2 Drawer Mobile File Cabinet, White

This was a God send! I was looking for a small, decently priced, and cute filing cabinet to store my papers/notebooks/documents and that I can put my printer on top of and that’s just what I got!! The material isn’t amazing, but it’s sturdy enough to hold/store everything. I love that it’s on wheels that lock as well! Makes it very convenient and easy to get around in my small office space.

This little cabinet is PERFECT for my small little home office! I’ve been using it as both a filing cabinet and printer stand. Money is a little tight this season, so I didn’t want to spend a fortune, but I needed something durable, lightweight, and functional, but that didn’t look or feel cheap either. The DEVAISE 2-drawer cabinet looked like it would tick all the boxes in the product listing, but I admit that I was slightly skeptical about whether it could actually deliver.

Thankfully, it is even better than I’d hoped. It looks incredibly sharp now that it’s fully assembled. It actually holds more files than the old plastic storage container I used to use (and looks a lot better, to boot). It’s the perfect size for use as a printer stand. The drawers slide easily. The casters make it easy to move and reposition as needed. And despite the fact that the drawers are made of a soft material, it’s shockingly durable.

As a couple of other reviewers mentioned, don’t be dissuaded by the soft-sided drawers. Intuitively, it may feel that soft-sided drawers would be flimsy and not sturdy, but they work incredibly well, even when packed full of heavy hanging file folders. In fact, they work a lot better than the old metal cabinets I used to have in my old office, which were forever getting stuck or running of their rails. These drawers glide smoothly, have plenty of capacity, and are far more sturdy than I’d have imagined. Not only that, the material is a nice departure from the cold, utilitarian harshness of traditional metal cabinets.

I noticed that some reviewers express frustration with the assembly process. I will say that the directions are not quite as clear as they could be, but they’re not difficult to follow either – if you examine the illustrations closely, it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s required at each step. From start to finish, it probably took me about 45 minutes to get it assembled. It would probably take even less time if I’d had a second pair of hands to assist.

The only MINOR issue I have with it is that there is a slight gap at the top of each drawer, so from certain angles, you can see that there are files inside (as evident from the photo I attached with this review). It doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but I can see how it might be a concern for some people. (Although now that I think of it, it would probably behoove me to tidy up my file tabs a bit and make sure that all the folders are hanging straight…)

ASSEMBLY TIPS:

1.) In theory, all the tools you need to assemble the shelves are included in the box. However, I found that using my own tools made the job a lot faster, as the ones that the manufacturer provide are miniatures, somewhat flimsy, and difficult to manipulate if you have larger hands and sausage fingers (like me).

2.) I noticed that a few reviewers complained about the “clips” used to install the support rods that the file folders hang from on the inside of each drawer. Although they look as though they are clips that simply “snap” together with a friction fit, after closer inspection under a flashlight, the male portion appears to be threaded – so instead of a snapping “clip” system, they’re actually closer to a plastic nut and bolt. I think this misunderstanding may have led to some of the issues that other users have experienced, because the directions are NOT clear about this fact and the 2 pieces are so small, it’s difficult to see with the naked eye. So, rather than trying to force them to snap together when installing the hanging support rods inside each drawer, use two flat-head screwdrivers to hold one of the pieces in place while you lightly screw in the other.

BOTTOM LINE: This cabinet does seem to be somewhat polarizing, but I’ve been extremely happy with it. It’s eminently affordable, surprisingly sturdy, perfectly sized, and it looks about 10x better than any other filing cabinet I’ve ever used or owned!

I bought this to store some personal files that I need handy. The end result looks great. I would have given it 5 stars except the product directions, which were easy to follow for most of the assembly, took a confusing turn at the end. I finally got it assembled and it seems to be working for now. Definitly not for heavy files.

Fairly easy to assemble, except they chose to use plastic snaps instead of screws and bolts. Because you’re assembling from weird angles, and the snaps are hard to snap together, it takes a while and there’s lots of swearing.

I’m not sure it will hold up if I completely fill the drawers. But I couldn’t afford a sturdy filing cabinet, and this will do. I also like that it easily wheels out of the way so I can clean, and it’s great for a small space.

If you know what you’re getting, this might be a good product for you.