Command Center Filing Cabinet

The small space wall command center was only the first part of our organizing journey.  Slowly, but surely I am starting to get our life organized.  One awesome little furniture makeover has completed this corner and made this one of the happiest spots in the house!

When I happened upon this file cabinet at an Antique Store, it left a lot to be desired.  The previous owners had painted it yellow and orange, and put a cooler inside the top.  When I bought it, I was thinking it would make an interesting end table with the open shelf below.

When I got it home, it didn’t even make it 10 ft. into the house before finding its new permanent home.  I quickly forgot the end table idea when I saw how perfectly the cabinet fit in the small corner of the mud room below our command center.  I wanted to restore this cabinet to its former purpose and what it does best…store files!

We have struggled with record storage and filing.  It was never easy in this home.  All the paper, from school work to mail, comes through the back door through the mud room and ends up on the kitchen island.  We had a decorative box at one point to disguise the drop zone, but that system quickly failed once the box got full.  The fault in the system was the location of our file cabinets and shredder, which live on the opposite end of the house in the office.

Organizational systems always work best when they are convenient and easy.  Our old system was neither of those.  I knew we needed to move the file storage a lot closer to where we actually process the never-ending stream of paper coming into the house.  This little file cabinet was the motivation I needed to create a new system!

First, the file cabinet desperately needed a makeover.  There was some serious eyebrow raising for my hubby when he saw it in the mud room all orange and ugly.  But, I had a plan.  With one can of spray primer and two cans of Rustoleum Lagoon spray paint, I banished they yellow and orange.  The cart is now teal inside and out.  Can you believe this is my first piece of teal furniture?!

To finish the makeover, I used Krylon Gold Leaf spray paint to refinish the handle and the metal part of the wheels.  I adore the warm gold tone against the teal.  This is the same gold finish I used on the hardware for the accordion wall file.

Now, we can file papers away right when they come in the house.  No more pile on the counter!  There are files inside for everything from tax papers to important school papers.  Along with the command center above, everything has a place!

The recycling bin is only a few steps away in the kitchen.  The only thing we couldn’t fit in this corner was the paper shredder.  It will stay in the office.  But, I added the basket on the open shelf of the file cabinet to hold papers waiting to be shredded.  No more pile on the counter!

Have I ever mentioned I hate baskets?  Well, most of them.  I love the natural element of baskets, but most are a bit too country or rustic for my tastes.  I have a serious case of wickerphobia  I generally steer clear and use bins, plastic or wire, instead.  But, this seriously awesome seagrass milk crate-style basket needed to come home with me.  (By the way, it is also available in coral for non-teal lovers.)  Thankfully, it was the perfect size for the shred bin.

Besides being an organizational bright spot in our house, this corner is now a seriously happy place.  I love the bold colors and patterns all playing nicely together.  I sort of want to spend time there filing papers!

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