Junk Drawer

I like old, vintage windows like these, because I like vintage homes. Even though they can be drafty, and sometimes rattle in the wind like a haunted house, old windows just go well with the vintage-ness of an old house or apartment. My old bedroom window was not very well insulated, and it used to get all foggy, and even icy. Now I have new, well-sealed windows, and it makes things warmer, but I kind of miss the old ones in some ways. I wonder if removing old windows takes away something from a vintage house. If these windows were original to the house, it’s like throwing a part of the house away. I suppose if it were an issue of coldness, I would have replaced the windows too. But I would have saved one, at least, to remember what they were like.

I used to think it was a bit strange to see drawers thrown away with no cabinets, or anything for the drawers to fit into. But it seems I see more and more lonely drawers hanging out in alleys with no place to go. I assume these are all older built-ins that have been discarding during remodeling. I can only guess that new cabinets and/or drawers were put in, while the old ones were removed. These particular drawers, however, didn’t appear to have any age or wear to them. They were white and bright, and lying in a pile, with a cabinet on top. Maybe somebody ordered so many drawers to have built into a room that they didn’t all fit, so there were leftovers. Maybe somebody moved in who really disliked drawers, and just took them out and tossed them. A person like that wouldn’t care for junk drawers either. It’s hard to imagine such a person. The nice thing about drawers is that they conceal things very easily, and they can be as neat and organized, or as disorganized as you want. You can designate a drawer for specific things, or nothing specific at all. Drawers are often cleaned out, like when you clean your desk, but drawers themselves are not usually thrown away. These lost drawers have no place to be. If only there were a larger drawer to store them in.

This pile of wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, and gift bags looked like the remnants of a birthday party, or Christmas day. It was actually a little of both strewn together, including a Santa bag, and ribbons in bright birthday type colors. All this seemed to be a collection of discarded gift wrapping supplies, a little scruffed up, but possibly never used. Somehow it was all open, and just lying in the alley next to an apartment building. Perhaps someone was just cleaning out their things. Or they decided not to give gifts anymore. Whatever the story was, it sure was a colorful mess.

Gift wrap is not something people usually just throw away, since there are always gift giving occasions around the corner. Some items are easy to save and reuse, such as gift bags. One time I gave my brother a gift in the same bag he’d given me for my gift the year before. It’s nice to recycle gift wrap like that, since so much of it is kind of a waste of paper. I know that many cats love holidays simply for the opportunity to dive into wrapping paper to play in. I imagine that some alley cats may have gotten into this pile.

When I recognized the natural woven material of this oval shaped thing, I realized it must be from some kind of straw hat, and specifically the brim of the hat. There was no top portion of the hat around to be found. This brim must have worn off and just fallen right off the hat. I had to wonder if this had happened while somebody was wearing it. Perhaps they tossed the brim aside and went on wearing their hat without any brim. Of course, it would no longer provide shade from the sun, but it would certainly be a new style. Maybe the fashion statement would be something about continuing to wear clothing even when parts of it are falling off, and letting it disintegrate naturally. I still haven’t figured out the whole story on this hat brim. But if you see somebody around town wearing a brimless straw hat, then you’ll have an idea of what may have happened.

This old potato cutter in the original box would be considered an antique, and more of a collectible than a junk drawer item. So, why was it chosen as a find of the week?
Well, its partly that I like potatoes, but that’s another story. Basically, this find was not at an antique shop, and never had been considered much of a worthy antique by the previous owners. I found this at an estate sale, and although the sales people recognized its value ($4, seemed like a good deal), it was sitting there like a junk drawer relic. It was stowed up in an old wooden kitchen cabinet, among aged plastic trays, and glass serving bowls. Its box was still with it, not because it had been considered valuable, most likely, since the people who had lived there had saved many things in boxes. The box was simply a convenient way to store this potato cutter, and in storage is probably how it had spent most of its time. There is no date to be found, and the box is only marked PRINTED IN ENGLAND. This at least would explain the use of the word “chips” on the box instead of “fries.” The lithograph printing suggests it must be at least early 1950’s. If it was purchased back then, that was a time when frozen French fries were not available at the regular grocery store. So, if you wanted fries at home you had a to slice them yourself, and what better way to do it than with a potato cutter like this.
Despite the appeal of fresh fries, it doesn’t look like this potato cutter ever had much use. Even so, it was considered worthy enough of keeping. You never know when you’d want fresh fries, or chips (if you’re British). So, it’s not that it outlived its usefulness, since it could very well be used, although I probably won’t. What’s interesting is that it went from kitchen junk drawer item to culinary collectible, just by sitting in a kitchen cabinet for several decades. Kitchens always seem to have good junk drawers, or junk cabinets, and this potato cutter is one item that is now more visibly stored in my own kitchen.

The science fair was the highlight for Junk Drawer this week, so it only makes sense that the find this time would be something from the Junk Drawer display. Several junk drawer odds and ends were presented as mystery items, and people were invited to guess what they were.
This item I figured out when I first found it in an office supply cabinet. It was past the pens, sticky note pads, and other items people normally need in an office. It is an envelope sealer. You use it simply by filling the cylinder with water, and rolling the foam roller over the gluey part on the envelope to moisten it. If you’re sealing a whole pile of envelopes, this will save your tongue from getting too sticky. Now, some envelopes are kind of tasty, but too much of that might not be good. Hence the need for an envelope sealing device. It seems that anyone doing large mailings these days has an automatic sealer, or they just buy those self sealing envelopes that you fold over, or pull a tab to uncover the sealant. A check at the local office supply mega-store has confirmed that envelope sealers are still available. However, they have a plain spongey end, so this old wheely kind might be an old design. The sealer itself is kind of an old design, so it might eventually become obsolete. At least, in one particular office, it is not currently being used.
I’m not sure how many people at the science fair were able to identify the envelope sealer, but maybe now people will know what it is if they come across one. Not that they’ll want to use it, since some people still don’t mind a nice, minty envelope.

I recently caught a glimpse of the Chicago skyline in my rearview mirror, while driving past an alley near Western Avenue and Diversey. This was not the real skyline, but an imaginary view, painted on three cardboard panels. I quickly got out and took them from the side of the dumpster and put them into the back of the hatchback, where they just barely fit.
Each section is about 4 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. The scene is mostly airbrushed, and it looks like it might have been part of a set from a play. A friend thinks that it has a certain cheesy charm that would be fitting for a prom, or a school dance. It was most likely from some special event, but now that that event has passed, this skyline has no place to be.
If it had been a backdrop for a dance, there must be photographs of this skyline there in the background, with everyone all dressed up. If so, then at least there will be some record of it, for memories of that moment.

I’ve since discovered that one of the panels fits perfectly in the window next to my bed, which helps block the morning sunlight better than the blinds do.
Besides that, it also offers a nice imaginary view.

This find is a drawer, which is kind of appropriate.
Perhaps it is a junk drawer, or maybe just a junked drawer.
It’s rather uncommon to find just a drawer like this. There are plenty of dressers, desks, and cabinets out there, with drawers sometimes out and laying around. But a single lone drawer seems pretty out of place. It must have been from some built-in cabinets, and the builders somehow ended up with an extra drawer. This drawer didn’t appear to have anything wrong with it. But unless you have a cabinet that’s missing a drawer, there’s not much need for one by itself. So, this drawer I decided to pass up. I thought maybe somebody handy would find it, and build a cabinet around it.
The point of a drawer is that it can slide into something and conceal its contents, but this drawer had no place to slide to. It still would be a good spot to store odds and ends. Though, this drawer managed to become an odd and end in and of itself. In that respect, it could make for a perfect junk drawer.

Every week a new find will be featured on Junk Drawer.
The find will be some random object that doesn’t quite seem to have a place to belong.
It might actually be some item from a junk drawer, but it could also be an object of interest from a garage sale, a thrift store, down an alley, or in some box of stuff at the back of the closet.
These finds won’t all be things I’ll take home, nor will they be things that could even fit into a junk drawer. They will be various odds and ends of the type most likely to be found in some grand, virtual junk drawer—a drawer compiled of finds both large and small, from places near and far. And only one, every seven days, will be featured as the Junk Drawer Find of the Week.