Saturday, July 20, 2013

Thrift Finds: The Useful, "Industrial" Edition

Useful finds are today's topic. Do you know how much cheap-looking plastic office staplers cost these days?
Quite a bit  more than fifty cents, which is what I paid for this stylish vintage Swingline one.
It was made to last forever - you know, the way things USED to be made?
My handy little business card file box goes along with it very well:
Weldon Roberts Jet Erasers, with an eraser for pencil on one end and for pen on the other:
And another fifty-cent vintage stapler, from Bates this time.
 The color was probably made to match a Bates List-Finder.
This one was also made to last - that's why it's still around:
Who can't use eighteen little drawers to store things in? 
Place them inside a pretty blue metal housing?
 Even better:
And add on a handy strap on the top - the easier to carry you with, my dear:
I found the desk chair below for five dollars. It was missing one caster, but there was a bin nearby with casters for sale so I just grabbed one to put on it. Later, it needed to be glued into place, but that was no big deal. I like that it actually has wood, and is not all plastic. It's a pretty low chair, and is not adjustable, but if I sit on a pillow, it works for me. Cheap - and more comfortable than what I had been using:

 The last thing, below, was the best deal of all. A filing cabinet that looks brand new, which was free - and delivered to my house!
I saw two cabinets the very same day at two different thrift stores. They were both scratched and thrashed and quite obviously well-used  - one of them was priced at $12, and the other was $15.
Mine was courtesy of my boss, who had been cleaning out a building where lots of stuff had been stored for years.
Thanks, Jeff!


2 comments:

Tina Dawn said...

Well you are definitely all set for an office, you just need to buy the room now cheap at a garage sale! LOL. I have an old stapler, similar to your first but longer, that I call my "art deco" stapler. I got it from an old job when we upgraded to electric staplers. I also keep my earrings in a much smaller and all plastic akro mills 10 drawer box. Yours looks like it is probably made by them, great deal! Love your free file cabinet too. Love T

Andy's Attic said...

Fun finds. Love the eighteen drawer thing with the handle!!!!