Let’s start the year out right – giant antique card catalog.
I like my New Year’s resolutions to avoid any whiff of self-evaluation. I am already the best at what I do: irritable, controlling, whimsical, hoarding, weird grammatical choices… there is no room for improvement.
As validation that I am doing life extra right, the universe has sent me yet another giant piece of furniture that I do not need… practically for free.
Thanks, universe!
Paul and I were both home… We had an out-of-town event and were planning to leave around noon.
By 11 o’clock, I still hadn’t taken a shower. Or packed. Or generally done any of the things I needed to; but because there is never a time when procrastination is not appropriate, I decided I should look on craigslist.
And? This is why you always, always, always, always check craigslist.
No. Matter. What.
I already said this in the Victorian Wardrobe post but it bears repeating:
When there is something on Craigslist that you really want, and it is listed for a ridiculously low price, you must contact them correctly.
To stand out from the 400 emails the seller is going to get, you must be the one person who requires nothing. You must be a beacon of simplicity and straightforwardness:
Hi,
I want that.
I can come anytime.
I can move it myself.
I don’t need your help.
Here is my phone number.
My social security number.
My bank account number.
Then I went and said to Paul– small detour ahead.
Paul said – you know, we need to leave pretty soon.
And I was like – yes. I know. THIS IS WHY I NEED A CREW.
He looked at the pictures and said – I thought you didn’t like oak?
I said – true. I do not like oak. However? For $50? I REALLY LIKE OAK.
It was not even 10 minutes away— in the loading dock of an office park.
It’s not in perfect shape, but for $50? It’s in FANTASTIC condition.
In the craigslist photos, I could kind of see that something was off about the stacking… if you look above, you can see that there is a thin, chipped board sticking out; but it turned out to be no big deal– at some point they had split up the sections and made a makeshift top.
It’s missing two strips of the decorative molding… one of which we found in a drawer. We’ll hold off on reattaching it until we figure out what side needs to be the “good” side.

**random transition**
This post has been sitting, (unfinished) for over a month now…
I have tried to end it a couple of ways: speculating on what I might use a 55 drawer card catalog for. Gibberish about repurposing it for the kitchen. Trying to think of new and ridiculous ways to stage it.
But what does it really matter? I’ve acquired it, it is awesome, eventually its purpose will be revealed.
The End.
OR
It will serve no purpose, and it will just take up a giant chunk of space and become yet another unusable area of the house.
Based on my research conducted over the last weeks, this is the likely outcome.
I’ve moved it from room to room to room to room to room… stood back and thought – that does not look right… then after a few days, I start stacking other unused furniture bits on top.
If I reach the ceiling, I win some kind of disorganized/hoarding prize.
see all my favorite Craigslist finds
December 31, 2016 @ 3:36 pm
DEEPLY envious! I’m a writer and library-lover and crave one of these. Today on our local Craigslist? Saw one for $700… ::sobs::
January 1, 2017 @ 10:42 am
I am in bed sick and enjoying your page and decided to punch “free” into my local craigslist. Well sure enough, there was something I needed! A 125 gallon fish tank. I had been debating about getting rid of my class pet (someone donated a turtle) because I don’t like that it is “trapped” in a small aquarium. Now I can give it a big, comfortable home! Absolutely love your blog (and have a card catalog of my own that’s been moving room to room)
January 1, 2017 @ 5:00 pm
I would use it to hold the stuff that normally ends up in a junk drawer. Have a battery drawer, a post-it drawer, a drawer for pens and pencils, etc – put cute little library tags on the drawers and you will never struggle with a junk drawer again!
January 1, 2017 @ 8:27 pm
Hi,
I want that.
I can come anytime.
I can move it myself.
I don’t need your help.
Cookie cutters. The perfect thing to live in these drawers. If you ever want to sell it I’ll be right over with some cookies and the money! Then I can take my cookie cutters out of their sharpie labeled ziploc bags!
January 22, 2017 @ 10:04 am
I have one, and wine bottles fit in it perfectly. Love mine!
January 24, 2017 @ 11:57 pm
Hello, what a fantastic piece! If ypu never find a use for it I’d be more than happy to buy it from you! Thanks and happy shopping.
February 2, 2017 @ 2:53 pm
Wow, oh wow! What a find. I have wanted a wooden card catalogue all my life. Twenty five years ago, they turned up regularly at estate sales, usually out in a tatty garage and filled with boxes of screws or light sockets. Then, about the time I could afford to buy one, they vanished off the face of the planet. I asked everyone. No luck. I tried antiques dealers. No luck. The only card catalogue I could find in a local store was massive, missing some of its drawers, and priced $3,500. Then a few months ago, the heavens parted, and light shone down. Upstairs in a house, in the midst of a busy estate sale, there stood a smallish one. Not as old and cool as yours. A bit mismatched in the drawers, but clean, sturdy, and good. I didn’t care that it was upstairs. I didn’t care that I never saw the rest of the upstairs rooms. It was affordable, and I stood there with one hand clutching my find while I desperately texted for help. Now it’s mine, all mine! Like you, I don’t know what to do with it either. A few drawers hold paperback books. The rest are empty. I don’t care. I LOVE it. Congratulations on your find.
February 11, 2017 @ 9:12 pm
Hey, I’ll take it off your hands for $100. Looking for just this thing for my essential oils!
February 17, 2017 @ 2:08 pm
I have a smaller version and I love it! I use it for sewing supplies. One drawer for each color thread. Drawer for sissors. Drawers for seam binding and lace and trims. Drawers for embroidery thread. Etc.
March 2, 2017 @ 11:38 am
I use my card catalog to store office supplies, extension cords, etc. Way better than a junk drawer and I can find things.
July 5, 2023 @ 2:18 pm
“I’ve acquired it, it is awesome, eventually its purpose will be revealed.”
’nuff said.
And yet I have not been able to convince my husband that this is how it works.
But – spices. Use it for spices. Or socks.
And who doesn’t like oak??