Alert! Alert! I'm a loser! At the very least I'm losing the battle of how to move forward on my antique hardware cabinet.
You may remember this slick looking antique hardware cabinet from last fall. I dragged it home from a flea market, cut it down to size so it would fit on this wall and then pledged to get the drawers filled up and handles switched out once Christmas was over and I had more time.
Aren't I hilarious? We're all hilarious actually. Future time is WAY more abundant than real time. Ditto for future money! We always think we're going to have more of it than we have right now. That almost never happens. O.K., it never happens, ever, I just didn't want to sound like a downer.
When Christmas rolled around and I had a week off after it, I had WAY better things to do than figure out my hardware cabinet. I have absolutely no recollection of what those things were but they definitely weren't figuring out what to put in my tiny drawers or what kind of handles I should have on it. I have a blurry memory of me alternating between sleeping and napping for a full week but that can't be right.
Every so often I try to shove something in one of these drawers. Very little fits. I bought a box of microwave popcorn thinking I could fill a couple of drawers with bags of microwave popcorn because that's the weird kind of thing I think would be fun to keep in there. That and doll heads.
But the bags of popcorn don't fit ... and this is the important part ... by about a quarter of an inch. EVERYTHING doesn't fit in these drawers by about a quarter of an inch. Each box measures 4 ¾" wide x 5 ¼" long by 5 ¼" high on the inside.
I KNOW there are things I should be keeping in here. I know these are the BEST drawers in the world for ... something. Like they're seriously perfect for holding 4" by 5" boxes. I thought for a time I'd keep my seeds in the drawers but that's dumb. I do all my planting in the basement so having my seeds upstairs doesn't seem very practical. And I like to be practical. I say that with all the confidence of someone who cooks her pizza in an outdoor wood burning oven that requires chopping wood and stoking for 3-4 hours.
AND I STILL NEED TO FIGURE OUT A GOOD SYSTEM FOR INDEXING THESE DRAWERS. We've established I have no ability to remember if I own avocados or not, I'm never going to be able to remember what is where in these drawers without some sort of a list or index.
One of the suggestions you gave the last time I was whining (about this) were to keep one drawer for alphabetized index cards. Someone else said to hang an antique clipboard on the side with everything itemized. I think that would look good actually.
As far as handles go I still don't have a clue, but I think I'll probably get something basically like what I have now only not so ugly. Just a round, worn brass knob that looks authentic. I just realized something and now I feel bad for you. I'm basically just thinking out loud putting zero thought into making this post entertaining for you. In keeping with that poorly executed writing style - I just lifted my head from the computer to the television and thought I saw a young girl with a massive black beard. Turns out she was just holding a doll with black hair in the vicinity of her face.
Back to this cabinet. I need help. Am I missing something? Is there something that I should be putting in those drawers that's painfully obvious that I haven't thought about?? Don't say spices because I don't want to have to open 34 drawers to take a look at all of my spices. I'm a spice browser so I like them all to be in one big drawer for easy eye access.
I realize not knowing what I own is likely to make this difficult for you, but I probably own the same things you do. Scissors, paper, elastic bands, a guinea pig merry-go-round, those sorts of things. I'd want to make the best use of the drawers possible which at this point is making any use of them.
As a last resort I do have one thing I can put away in all of those drawers - all of my hopes and dreams for this hardware cabinet. Just kidding, I still love it, it's beautiful. It's just a bit of an asshead.
Have a good weekend!
Jacquie Gariano
Everyone has such good ideas, I'd have a hard time picking between them. When I replaced the pulls on my drawers I went to a remodel recycle store and got the pretties china knobs that matched my kitchen color. Flea markets, thrift stores, etc frequently have these things and I love to go to them to find things(usually things I didn't know I needed..LOL).
Sheryl Powell
What great ideas. My favs are batteries, recipes, matches, chip clips, cake decorating stuff including all those little bottles of colored sugar and sprinkles, mouse traps, fancy toothpicks (umbrellas anyone?) and napkin holders. I also thought the time capsule idea was pretty great. Forget the lightbulbs though. What would fit in there? One? Two? I also agree with the person that doesn't want to walk far for whatever they need. I must have 12 pairs of scissors all over my house. And it is still the greatest piece of furniture ever. I think the knobs are fine but maybe they don't look as good in person.
Nora
What was the cabinet originally for? Maybe that would provide a clue. I know, something they don’t make and we don’t use any more!
Karen
Drugs or nuts and bolts. I'm not sure, lol. ~ karen!
janpartist
love all the suggestions but the conglomeration of it all would confound my OCD-ness. So I would have to divide it into rows or columns of like minded items. For instance, health and beauty, oils and fragrances (candles etc), office type supplies, small kitchen/entertaining supplies, & hardware items. Then I would use one row or column for each category. Now go to town! (I like the knobs that are there-they go with the cabinet)
Karen
The style does go with the cabinet Jan! But they're cheap, awful knobs and they aren't even all the same size. It's hard to tell from the photos. Also ... some of them are ... PLASTIC! Ach. I do like the idea of each row being a "topic". ~ karen!
Loli
When you got this BIG beautiful cabinet, I thought more power to you. I love it. I had a very much smaller(not antique) cabinet that I just had to have.The drawers were much smaller than yours. It sat on top of my dresser. I half filled it with stuff. I put in locks with keys, jewelry, staples with mini stapler, more jewelry, paperclips, index cards, mementos, hair clips, hair elastic thingees, and I still did not fill it. But the thing I hated about it was I could not find anything! I got lazy and kept putting things back in different drawers, and then in order to find anything I kept opening drawer after drawer after drawer. It was very impractical for me and exhausting and frustrating. I got to hating the impracticability of it. But I sure loved the looks. I know you will find a purpose for it that you will just love. I have faith in you. Smile. Really.
Sue, a different one
Either groove a channel or add chunks of wood with a groove that's half the depth of the drawer to be able to put a little chunk of dowel rod in and actually hang ribbon, twine, tape in the drawers. Open the drawer, unspool the twine/ ribbon, etc. and cut the length you need from the drawer. That should use up a few drawers. You could get some brass chain and hang a cool old pair of scissors from it near the ribbon drawers.
You could also put back stock of tp, one roll per drawer in one of the harder to reach rows.
I agree with you about the seeds, you should keep them cool so they last longer. Still, for organizing them it would be awesome!
Bonnie Gutierrez
Dryer lint for sculpting1
Vanessa Devoto
For knobs I'm leaning towards the card catalog kind, with the labels so you know what is where.
As far as what to put in them I'm leaning towards ALL the "junk drawer" items. String, tape, ketchup packets, batteries, random dice, paper napkins etc. The small size drawers would benefit you here keeping all the junk organized and there by freeing up a larger more user friendly size drawer!
And is it just me, or have you really not thought of a drawer of twine with a small pair of scissors. I don't know why, but the idea of always being able to find twine AND scissors when needed makes me happy!
Nicole
48 different varieties of marijuana :)
Avril
Lots of great ideas on what to put in the drawers. Initially I also thought making them bigger with a false front would be great, but like you say, too much work for the outcome, and still not big enough for kitchen stuff. Just open up a few of them and see what lands in them, and keep them open for awhile. You might just get more ideas than the multitude of ones others have suggested here! ...tea towels, and dishcloths?????
Linda Stengel
i'm coming in on this conversation very late, but how about , nuts, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, a nut cracker, picks for digging the nut meat out, etc. Certainly not in all 54 drawers but in some.. but then think about it, they may draw furry critters to your kitchen if you don't have them sealed. ok never mind, bad idea maybe. i would love a cabinet filled with loose spices, your own dried herbs, tea, etc. things i use every day.
Kipper
One drawer for cat treats, another for cat toys, another for kitty meds (hi Ernie😻)
One drawer as mini first aid kit with a few bandaids, gauze, Neosporin, OTC pain relievers
Another drawer for the emergency chocolate or whatever special sweet treats.
A drawer with a few nails, screws and maybe Gorilla or SuperGlue.
Drawer with one of those small multi head screwdriver things and a tape measure
Drawer with extension cord and some twine, cable/zip ties
Drawer with money for when ice cream truck is in the hood in the summer
Basically the drawers have a bit of the stuff you have in other parts of your home but you feel lazy and don’t want to walk that far.
Katt Philipps
I have an apothecary cabinet in my kitchen that suffered the same fate for years. Finally I found a tupperware container that fits and now I use it for various different sugars or flours I don't often need (’00’ for example). Sure I have the same crap in multi drawers but I had 36 drawers to fill. So, maybe take a drawer to the dollar store and see if you can find bins that fit? Or maybe the worlds largest tea chest? Eye of newt and other potions for a new blog, ’Art of witchy stuff’
Sherri
Eggs.....
Ann Patton
We have a primitive hardware cabinet of 36 drawers. We are filling it with sentimental or just fun things. A small jar of his old marbles; soft plastic pig, dog, and horse with teeth "noses" on elastic to wear, Plez containers, a small jar of dice and other old odd game pieces, many very old and new Cracker Jack prizes, a battery operated Bag of Laughs, a 1940's Woolworth "diamond" ring; a pair of clacking false teeth, tiny wind-up walking characters, his old yo-yo, and some more serious things like pocket knives, sun glasses, WWII bakelite "fashion" jewelry from my mom, cuff links with a tiny diamond from his dad. Mostly though, just "stuff" to make us laugh or remind us of old and new good times. Every time we pull out a drawer it is a good memory or a laugh. Friends we have shared it with will sometimes pull out drawers to see what's there.
Darcy
Your cabinet looks great as-is, so it is a totally backburner project (as you have admitted). If it were mine (and yes I do covet your cabinet!), it would be a glorified junk drawer housing my unsorted coins and paper sleeves, post-it pads, pencil lead, rubber bands, twisty-ties, string, batteries, toothpicks, cupcake papers, essential oils, canning lids, tea bags, playing cards, keys, tape measures, super glue, tape (duct, electrical, transparent, gaffer), binder clips, nitrile gloves, paperclips, all those USB backups, etc. There, filled. Just need a cute-font printed diagram (probably black or cocoa brown with white typeface) in an old frame on the wall to let you know in which drawer you left things. When the right hardware presents itself, you can tackle that...don't force it. We might just find those at the next garage sale we go to, right!
Cussot
Could you pop out some of the drawers and use them elsewhere in the kitchen as open storage for stuff like wooden spoons or whatever, then use the voids for display?
Idaho Girl
There you go, teasing me with that amazing cabinet again... IMO it's such a piece of art in and of itself that it doesn't need to be functional, but I know you won't be happy until it serves a purpose in addition to making you happy when you look at it (which I hope it still does, despite the guilt of not filling it yet). My suggestion is to look in all of the drawers and cabinets around your house and pull out all of the small objects that you don't use very often (and can't make yourself get rid of) that are taking up valuable space elsewhere: Crab picks, garnish tools, burger press, cake/cupcake decorating supplies, birthday candles, cookie cutters, tea, rolled napkins, wine corks, melon ballers, cheesecloth, cooking twine, lightbulbs, business cards, etc. It'll be an adventure every time you're trying to remember which drawer you put what in, especially when you get older!
Sandra Dowkes
I know you said not to say this, but spices was the first thing I thought of (the fronts would be labelled, of course). Alphabetically, if you want. You could take the spice drawer to the counter to use, too! If you found another spice the drawers are easily moved, since they're the same size. You could line the drawers with something to protect the spices, or make them removable, so the drawer could be cleaned.
That's what I would do - I'm having a problem trying to think of a good way to organize what I have now (3-4 places where I have my spices, non of them great spots). I've moved my dishwasher out, so I'm thinking of making four rolling shelves to hold spices, flour, sugar, etc.
Google is helping, somewhat :)
Jeanne
Depending on how tall you are, I would guess you could eliminate the “need” to fill maybe the top two rows of the cabinet drawers because they are higher than you can see into without a ladder. Convenience is everything in my book! On the other hand, there are some very attractive antique ladders out there...
Karen
I've already thought of my shortness and the cabinet's tallness. :/ I'll put things I don't often use there. Like common sense. ~ karen!