I live in my base, more or less. I would never live in chests. That would be far too uncomfortable.
Killing time is often the main reason for organizing my storage. That's why I often do it at night and I organize it in a way that allows me quick access to the materials I need on a regular basis.
The next game on my list to play through is Planet Crafter. Half of the game involves organizing your warehouse. At a certain point, you can automate some of the work with drones and autocrafters, but you still need to organize the production since the autocrafters only have a limited range. I guess the game isn't for you, then.