We’re taking a break from the bathroom to work on our taxes tonight. This is the first year that I have to file on my own. Luckily, I have my dad to help, but seriously why didn’t anyone ever tell me that you’re supposed to save all of these receipts? I thought I was being responsible by shredding them! This is not common knowledge amongst those of us who have been claimed our whole lives!! Now, I’m searching through old credit card archives and tearing the house apart looking for anything and everything that I might have forgotten to shred.
With this newfound realization that I’m supposed to keep this paperwork, Peter and I decided to buy a filing cabinet and a new shredder. Apparently all of that great shredding that I did all year killed ours. (Can you sense the bitterness?) After visiting store after store only to learn that filing cabinets and shredders are both *really* expensive, we headed over to our neighborhood Goodwill. And lo and behold, we found both of these things for a total of $24.
We actually saw the guy wheeling this filing cabinet out onto the floor and chased him down. I think we terrified him.
(The sticker on the filing cabinet was there when we bought it. It was not an accessory that I chose.)
I was skeptical about buying a used shredder. I reasoned that someone probably donated it because it didn’t work, but Peter found one that someone had jammed paper into and didn’t feel like fixing. He patiently removed the jam and found an outlet to test it out. All the while I was shifting back and forth impatiently like an angry teen out shopping with her mother. He’s pretty great for putting up with me–and for other reasons as well!
I like our filing cabinet but I think I want to jazz it up a little bit. The boxes below are my inspiration, but I’m generally a neutral kinda gal who likes smaller pops of color.
What do you guys think? I brought home a few swatches to get an idea of the shade of blue that I want to paint them, but so far I’m not loving any of them.
So, should I paint it blue, paint it grey (because that is always an option), leave it as is, or find a new idea all together? I know this one is already thinking long and hard to figure out a solution.
A little P.S.–If next year will be your first year filing taxes on your own, I am warning you save everything!
You and I are similar shoppers. Whenever Lee stops to examine something at the store for more than a few minutes, I get real antsy and cross my arms and try as hard as I can to be patient. But usually, I’ll end up saying something like, “You ready?” when he’s clearly lost in his thoughts. It’s awful, but I’m not a very good shopper. I like to go, go, go without any breaks for an hour and then quit.
Well, you might not want my input because I love color, but I vote for blue! My Goodwill filing cabinet is so cheerful in red and really makes a statement with our cream walls. I think Nesting Place said that for that pretty robin’s egg blue to always go a grayish blue instead of a blue that kind of looks turquoise. So, you could have the best of both worlds! http://www.thenester.com/2009/07/painting-pine-furniture.html
I love that you do the “You ready” thing too. I think I missed out on some sort of girl gene because I always want to keep moving while shopping. Peter gets so lost in things but, to be fair, he has his share of antsy moments too.
Thanks for sharing this post with me. I’m shocked that I’m not already following this blog! It’s fabulous.
I love your filing cabinet. It’s so adorable. I’m just worried that since the one I found is so tall that adding color would be overwhelming. I think I need to get over this. I mean if I hate it I can always paint it some other color, right?
hahaha…My hubby thinks I am nuts for saving all the stuff I do throughout the year. Then he sees why. I like the blues more than the grays. But I had an idea…what if you painted the cabinet a tiny bit darker and the drawers a tiny bit lighter?
I don’t blame you Danielle. Even though the filing cabinet is still not pretty, I’ve created some file folders and am stashing every possible thing in there. I think I’m teetering on the edge of hoarding. I’m doing some freelance work in addition to my regular job so I’m hesitant to throw anything away.
I think the blue is really nice. If I find something light enough without looking too Easter egg-like then I think we’ll be in business. Painting the base one color and the drawers a different color is a great idea and would definitely be easier than taping off sections for the edging, but for some reason I’m really drawn to this look.
Has anyone tried spray painting or using a roller on metal and then taping off sections and painting details? Will the tape rip off the spray paint?