In Australia it was the milk crate - available everywhere, free and multipurpose. You could use them to raise your bed, make a computer desk, store paperwork and junk. Some people even sold made to measure covers for the milk crate in a variety of attractive fabrics.
I have discovered the maroon Albert (http://www.ah.nl) crate. Superior in design to the Aussie milk crate, this has retractable sides to enable flat storage.
Below I have illustrated what fun you can have with an Albert crate (it’s been a very quiet weekend). This is a makeshift laptop table, hiding cables, bass speaker, Buffy toys and external HD inside the unit.
