{"id":2368,"date":"2020-10-07T00:59:46","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T07:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shescribe.com\/?p=2368"},"modified":"2022-07-27T23:34:08","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T06:34:08","slug":"what-went-right-with-my-file-cabinet-makeover-gone-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/07\/what-went-right-with-my-file-cabinet-makeover-gone-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"What Went Right with My File Cabinet Makeover Gone Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I love organization even though I can be quite messy \u2013 just another irony in my oft paradoxical life. \u00a0As such, I\u2019ve been wanting a file cabinet for quite some time, because I\u2019m a bit of a document hoarder as well. Since this thing would be going in my room, I didn\u2019t want an old boring, basic file cabinet staring at me \u2013 it would definitely be getting a makeover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also for quite some time, I\u2019ve been putting purchasing one on the back burner. But this year, I finally got one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m somewhat of a perfectionist, not to mention a bargain hunter \u2013 all the aforementioned attributes creating a recipe for the unnecessary yet inevitable stress that ensued in my file cabinet pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hunt<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the quarantine upon us, I figured it was the perfect time to get started. So I started checking file cabinets out online, only to discover that they are ridiculously expensive. I actually came across a rather cute one on Target\u2019s website for only $50 \u2013 practically a steal compared to the $200-plus they were going for at other places. I was ready to purchase it too, that is until I read the reviews. People were saying the thing was cheap as fuck, metal denting and falling apart mere days after they brought it home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Umm, I can\u2019t have none of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when I decided to turn to a trusted old friend. You may know him — Craigslist. It\u2019s been a while, but we\u2019ve had good times. When I moved from Atlanta to New York some years ago, I sold practically everything I had on Craigslist, from my car, to my couch, hell even my blender. More recently, well, about six years ago, I bought a wooden tanker desk on there, so I figured I\u2019d check him out again.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you know, I was in unwanted-file-cabinet heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Primarily, I was looking for the 2-drawer variety. I don\u2019t know what turned me on to the 4-drawer ones, but that\u2019s what I ended up with. I wanted to get the cheapest file cabinet possible or even better, free, in order to mitigate my overall costs. But I guess the cheap and free ones were going fast, because nobody responded to me. Nobody except the guy who had a $50 filing cabinet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Mergers Just Acquisitions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sure I was ready to spend $50 on the brand-spankin\u2019 new filing cabinet from Target, but on Craigslist that seemed like a bit much. Still, I drove the half hour or so down to his damn near 2 million dollar house (yes, I looked it up \u2013 that may sound like a lot \u2018cause it is a lot, but this is California, oh and I guess me looking up the value of the house was a lot too, anyhoo) determined to get him down to $30, else I walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like in the pictures the seller provided on Craigslist showed, the filing cabinet was pretty much in pristine shape. Save for a scratch on the side, and drawers that kinda caved in a bit, it looked great. But I wasn\u2019t about to tell him that. I circled it like a shark does its prey, calling out any imperfections I could as a reason to get the price down. But this guy, a retired engineer I learned through small talk, was better at this negotiating thing than I was. I drove out of there with a 4-drawer file cabinet sticking out of the back of my VW Beetle, and $45 less cash in my pocketbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcycle Uphill Battle<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now it was time to spruce it up. I didn\u2019t take pictures of the before because I didn\u2019t think I would write about it. But it looked like any other standard beige office filing cabinet you\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not a DIY-er so this was quite the intimidating undertaking, even as all the YouTubers and bloggers I researched raved about how easy it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily mine was in good shape which eliminated some of the initial work. The guy I bought it from kept it pretty clean too, but I still gave it a little once over with my Method all-<\/a>purpose<\/a> <\/a>cleaner<\/a>. Figuring out how to remove the hardware proved to be one of the hardest parts. Eventually, I was able to remove the handles and the insertion plates (or whatever those things are called), but that little button you push when opening the drawers totally stumped me. After fiddling with it for what seemed like forever, I finally came up with the bright idea to spray paint those knobs first, let them dry and cover them with painters\u2019 tape before painting the rest of it. And what do you know, it worked!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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