Can I please throw these away?

by Judy Parkey

+74

Answered

I am refurbishing furniture by cleaning, painting the furniture and replacing the handles with knobs. I particularly do not like this type of handle. I do see people spray painting them and reusing them and they look fine. With this particular dresser one of the handles was broken so I elected to remove them all, will fill in the holes, drill new holes, and have ordered new knobs. I think it will "make" the look of the dresser. I am also a recovering hoarder. I have a really hard time throwing things away thinking I will someday need or want it. I am saving my old knobs but do you think it's ok if I throw these away? Or, if they are all in good condition am I just making cost and work for myself by not reusing them? I have recently retired and have now taken my hobby from hobby to self-employed fun job.

q can i please throw these away, painted furniture, repurposing upcycling

64 answers

Melissa Dawn Terrel on Apr 06, 2014
Judy, if one of them is broken, I think it's ok to not use them for sure. If you know some one that would like to have them or buy them from you...that's great. I don't know how many you have, but they would make beautiful handles for a tray maybe. I think they are very nice!

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Wendi @ H2OBungalow on Apr 06, 2014
You can throw them out, but depending on the style of your dresser they may fit nicely with an update in color. Two points to consider, 1. If you do reuse them you'll save a lot of money, knobs can be expensive and from the size of yours they have an extra large spread between the screw holes. Replacement ones may be pricey. 2. Is this for resale or yourself? If for yourself and you want the perfect look you may be ok with spending a lot on knobs. If this dresser is for resale it could add a lot to the cost of your project which cuts into your profits. Just a few thoughts to consider. Good luck!

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Jennifer G on Apr 06, 2014
If you have no use for them, DONATE them! Your local ReStore or Thrift store would be happy to have them and people who shop thrift stores are always on the lookout for hardware. Added bonus - you can write off your donations :)

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- See 1 previous
- Judy Parkey on Apr 06, 2014
  @Jennifer G What a great idea.
  
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- Jennifer G on Apr 06, 2014
  @Judy Parkey Even broken pieces can be salved for other things. I've seen some ladies here on Hometalk do wonderful things with broken bits! I'm not one them (LOL) but I do donate a lot of things for others to find and re-use!
  
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Judy Parkey on Apr 06, 2014
If one of them had not been broken I would have cleaned, painted and reused it. I actually got a dresser with a matching night stand. I am just now having an epiphany: I was planning on selling them as a matching set but maybe not? I've painted the nightstand and sealed up the two holes for the drawers. I ordered a set of knobs from Amazon and paid a fair price. I can use them on later projects. BUT, I could take one intact handle from the night stand to make a complete set for the dresser? I've learned sealing up the holes, sanding, then drilling new ones takes time. I don't MIND the work/labor it just takes time. Let me see if my scattered/hoarder self can round them all up! This site is so wonderful!!! Sometimes you just need someone to talk to. I was locked into the idea of selling the dresser and night stand as a set...and that was a detail I didn't tell you about.

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Shari on Apr 06, 2014
Consider listing these and any other pulls/knobs you have for sale on eBay or Etsy. Vintage hardware can go for BIG bucks and could generate a little extra "fun" money for other projects you may want to do. However, eBay and Etsy (or similar resale sites) can be time-consuming (picture taking, writing a detailed description, packing & shipping etc.) so you have to decide whether the return on what you list for sale is worth the time you put into it. If you determine it's not worth your time, definitely donate because you know..."one man's trash is another man's treasure." :)

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Jessica C on Apr 06, 2014
You have my permission to throw them away!

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Miz Amerika on Apr 06, 2014
I have been making necklaces with old hardware. Don't throw them away. Donate or give them to someone like me!

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- See 1 previous
- Judy Parkey on Apr 06, 2014
  @Miz Amerika Maybe I need to see a pic of your necklaces!!!
  
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- Melissa on Apr 06, 2014
  @Judy Parkey id like to see her necklaces too!!!
  
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Lori Kelly on Apr 06, 2014
I believe I might be a hoarder or beginning to become one. I understand your pain and frustration! However, I love to help people(it's just my nature) and I love The Restore for Habitat for Humanity. It helps so many people and gives me crafts. I bought a cabinet door, filled the holes, and and waiting to sand and pain with chalkboard paint. It cost me $1.00! I already have hooks I can put on it for keys, chalk will lay in the cabinet and I already have picture hangers. Can't wait to finish it! But if it were not for kind people like you donating even the smallest thing(like knobs or pulls) which is why I went there in the first place, I would not have a craft to do:(. Thank you for your generosity.

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- Judy Parkey on Apr 06, 2014
  @Lori Kelly Several of my projects are painted cabinet doors! Besides being a great practice it was a great way to spend the winter besides EATING!!! I've now been to the Habitat store in Oklahoma City and Fort Worth. OKC charges by the inch...Ft Worth's manager "eye balls" for the charge and he must have taken pity on me!!!
  
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Julie Benson-Grant on Apr 06, 2014
Consider selling them on eBay... I did just this with an old dresser and I actually made more on the hardware than the piece cost. People are always looking for old and matching hardware and this might just be the piece they are looking for.

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Paula Englert on Apr 06, 2014
You could attach them to a picture frame and make a serving tray. I am a hoarder. It hurts me to throw away anything! I want to be like you but I have a long way to go. Good luck.

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Michele Walker on Apr 06, 2014
I would donate them to a refurbishing or thrift store. You would be surprised the things people can do with one woman/mans treasure!

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Chris aka monkey on Apr 06, 2014
donating is a great idea but please remember these are yours to do with as you please throw them away if you want xx

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Lori J on Apr 06, 2014
In a wasteful world, why not offer someone a chance to reuse them. The attitude that it is mine and therefore I can throw it away has left us pondering at the volume of crap that ends up in landfills. They might still have end up in a landfill, but there is a chance for reuse along the way.

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Miz Amerika on Apr 06, 2014
I've tried twice to post the photo (necklace). Something must be wrong with my phone. I will try again later.

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Dee on Apr 06, 2014
Freecycle is another great option. You can search on Yahoo groups for your area. You post what-have-you to give away, or a request for an item you're looking for. It's purpose is to reduce the amount of trash going into our landfills. I've offered bubble wrap & packing peanuts (popular for eBay-ers), books, even broken electronics. Plants, craft supplies, you name it!

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- Jennifer G on Apr 07, 2014
  @Dee As an eBayer - I LOVE when my family and friends offer me their bubble wrap and packing supplies! I refuse to buy that stuff new and I reuse everything I can. I never thought of Freecycle for packing materials… Thanks for the great tip!
  
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Savvy Chic Michelle on Apr 06, 2014
If you have a Habitat for Humanity by you bring them there. Someone would love to have them.

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Linda Vellucci on Apr 06, 2014
I'd paint the part that hits the furniture white, then the handle a contrasting color to make it more modern. If you are attempting to make some money, USE THEM, attached them back to the furniture and toss them. If you don't have enough, I've used different handle, like a knob, on say the smaller drawers or just the top drawers and then the full handle on the rest. I'm not a hoarder, I'm a reuser of EVERYTHING and self supporting.

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Homeroad on Apr 06, 2014
I'd be saving them for another project! They may look perfect on something else

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- Denise Clemons on Apr 07, 2014
  @Homeroad Did you see the part about recovering hoarder? "Might use it later" is what hoarders say when they hold on to really ugly stuff...
  
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169756 on Apr 07, 2014
Donate them. Someone would love to either use them or repurpose them. Don't keep if you are a recovering hoarder. Only adds to the confusion.

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Nancy H on Apr 07, 2014
Since you're a recovering hoarder I would highly recommend getting them out of your house. If you're not comfortable throwing them away (I wouldn't be either) maybe you can find an architectural salvage place nearby that can use them. Or maybe even a high school art class. They are beautiful, but us hoarders see a purpose for everything and we have to be brutal about letting go.

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Jody H on Apr 07, 2014
As you defined yourself as a recovering hoarder, possibly you could just put them in a potted plant. Silly, but I do put all sorts of things in my potted plants: marbles, broken ceramics,kids tiny toys,beads......looks cool and you can still "keep" them.

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Jan Treuter on Apr 07, 2014
NO! They are fabulous. Take them to an antique dealer, furniture refinisher or rehab store.

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Pam Greene on Apr 07, 2014
I think on the inside of a door and then use the handle part as a towell holder

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- Nancy Spencer Carlson on Apr 07, 2014
  @Pam Greene cool idea!
  
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Pam Greene on Apr 07, 2014
I think on the inside of a door and then use the handle part as a towell holder

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Nancy Gramm on Apr 07, 2014
I'm sure you've gotten some great advice here, but I just wanted to say I have a midcentury Lane lamp table that I threw away the knobs for ages ago. Would love to have them back! Tastes change, people change, and dollink so will you, one of these days. ;^)

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Judy Parkey on Apr 07, 2014
Thank you for all your answers. I love them all - from "throw them away" to "keep them for another day"!!!! As I said in an earlier post in "talking to you" I was able to reason out my thinking. I bought this as a dresser with mirror and night stand. I struggled as to whether to sell as a set or separately. When I decided to sell it as a set I then was locked in on the idea to make everything uniform. I skipped right over the trend of having different knobs on the top level which would have worked. Thinking outside of the box is a skill I'm working on. So, thanks to all of you I have gone back to an earlier idea: I will sell the night stand and dresser separately. The dresser has some detail work I might even eliminate with wood filler. I FOUND 6 unbroken pulls and will clean and paint. I'm probably going to paint the dresser a home-made chalk paint and Behr Ashwood (ASCP French Linen) and Behr Polished Pearl (ASCP Old White) with black, possibly ASCP Graphite, pulls. I've already painted the night stand with home-made chalk paint Behr Cathedral. I will top it with ASCP Graphite (I still have lots of ASCP Graphite) and clear and maybe dark wax. I ordered a set of of 10 satin pulls and will use 2 on the night stand. I'll have future them for projects to use them on. I didn't pay an arm and a leg for them and am wiser for the experience. I'm still on the life learning curve of being a single working woman with a decent job and a hobby to being retired and trying to make a hobby more than pay for itself.

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- Jennifer G on Apr 07, 2014
  @Judy Parkey YAY! I'm glad you found the answers and support you were looking for! Hometalk is great for bouncing ideas around and learning from others. Enjoy your 'new' job/hobby and post photos of your finished work! We would love to see all your hard work realized in the finished pieces :)
  
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Karyl on Apr 07, 2014
If you posted them on Craigslist and were local to me I'd snag them up, paint them and use them on a dresser I'm painting. :-)

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Kate Allen on Apr 07, 2014
I have a relative who is a hoarder and I know how painful and tough a challenge that can be. Don't feel you have to keep anything. Whatever you don't like, you can put, for instance, those drawer pulls in a plastic bag and drop off at Good Will. Here's a quote from William Morris that I love and keep in my office: "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful".

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Jean Adams on Apr 07, 2014
Too many knobs out there to fill and drill holes. What a mess. You can find the right size for your holes easily.

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Lillian Garcia on Apr 07, 2014
Donate..donate..donate.. There are so many people out there on a limited income who could really use furniture hardware to upgrade old furniture. I recently changed my kitchen hardware to polished nickel and donated a bagful of hardware to Goodwill. They are extremely grateful, especially receiving matching pieces.

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Edie Barlow on Apr 07, 2014
id love to have these for my kitchen my cupboards have brokend handles

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Sally Hilfiger on Apr 07, 2014
Stony throw away, donate or sell! Those are too cool to not recycle.

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Brenda Goodell VanderZanden on Apr 07, 2014
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Black metal is very in - donate!

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- Judy Parkey on Apr 07, 2014
  @Brenda Goodell Vanderden THANK YOU! I pulled "black" outta my hip pocket! I had no idea it was very IN! See above...I'm going to re-use and planned to paint black.
  
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Justfixit on Apr 07, 2014
You can give them to Goodwill or sell them on Craigslist for a small price. If you are a recovering hoarder, don't keep them.

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Linda Buzard-Moffitt on Apr 07, 2014
Definitely Do Not Throw Away Donate :0)

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- Linda Buzard-Moffitt on Apr 07, 2014
  @Linda Buzard-Moffitt Or Re-Use like Pam Greene said Great Idea BTW
  
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Judy P on Apr 07, 2014
@Judy Parkey, you could decorate the front of a tall birdhouse or some outdoor art project. Just a thought.

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Therese C on Apr 07, 2014
Like Judy P said..a birdhouse, and that gave me a fabulous idea! You could build a tall, multi-story bird house, paint these handles black, and glue them into a 'permanently lifted straight out' position for perches! Cute and clever! Plus, you still have them around if you need them.. :)

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Jeannine on Apr 07, 2014
Hi, never throw them away ..... I look for them at thrift stores for my projects (with prices so high you have to cut costs somewhere) .... so donate knobs and handles that you do not want so that other people may use them. You can also donate them to Habitat for Humanity for a tax right off plus they will be sold to other people that can use them if you cannot. Same goes for any pieces or parts of usable materials that you hoard but don't need can be donated to them. And you will be helping their projects to build homes for people in need. :)

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Wanda sinnema on Apr 07, 2014
I'd save them,, they may be just what you need for your next project... I'd get a clear plastic shoe box sized tote with lid.... put all your misc. hardware in there..I am also a hoarder of craft stufff I may use,,the trick is to keep it in clear totes,,,,,you can label and SEE.... It keeps the clutter down, and is still handy.. Metal tins DO NOT WORK,,,,, OUT OF SIGHT~~~OUT OF MIND,,,,in my sewing/hobby room. PLUS, I found I was buying duplicates of stuff,,not cost effective !

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Gilkey on Apr 07, 2014
I love them!!! You can send them to if you’d like!!! I’ll pay the shipping!!! But I really like them!!!

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Robin H on Apr 07, 2014
HANG ON TO THEM - if you don't use them on the current project, one will come along where they'd be JUST PERFECT! Those look like pretty sturdy handles and they don't really make them like that anymore without them costing a FORTUNE!

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Judy Parkey on Apr 07, 2014
Thanks for the answers I'm enjoying the exchange of ideas!!!

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Cathy U on Apr 07, 2014
would love these...

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Anita Erskine on Apr 07, 2014
Let them go. Place an ad on your local freecycle - someone may be looking for just that item, and it will help with your recovery. We really don't need to keep everything - it has taken me decades to learn this!

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Britt on Apr 07, 2014
Try eBay auctioning them - 'vintage' hardware brings good money on eBay and is quite popular. Will give you some seed money for your next hobby/job!

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Judy Cambiano on Apr 07, 2014
I'm an Okie too! I'd love to buy them and pay shipping!

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Lois Bendheim on Apr 07, 2014
donate to your local thrift store......some of us who have not gone into recovery will love these!!

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Kathy Crews on Apr 07, 2014
Paint them another color and put them on the ends of wooden tray. When you have guest to come over you can serve them drinks or something to eat on your new tray. The tray will be easy to carry with these at both ends.

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Jackie on Apr 08, 2014
I would take them apart and use the back pcs as raised accents pcs and paint them the same color that I was painting something else. I too am a hoarder, I can give you 100's of ideas LOL! So just give them away!

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Judy Parkey on Apr 08, 2014
I've decided to use 6 of the 8. That leaves one broken and one not. jtparkey@yahoo.com

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Sally Roesner Fuhr on Apr 08, 2014
Has anyone tried to recover from the "paint slopping" addiction? I see so much gilding of the lily.

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Janis Hill on Apr 08, 2014
Sell them or give them away. As a recovering hoarder you know they will take up space, but may never be useful to you.

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Miz Amerika on Apr 08, 2014
@ Judy Parkey, I was finally able to get them on here.

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Wilma Hurley on Apr 08, 2014
I will buy them and pay shipping ......606-456-3040

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Le' on Apr 08, 2014
This type of handle is good to screw on your cabinet in front of your sink and pull your hand towel through....then it's there when you need it.

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- Dcsharpe on Apr 13, 2014
  @Le' That is one of the most freaking brilliant ideas I have ever heard! I'm doing this to my cabinets right now! Thank you!
  
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Melissa Gutilla on Apr 08, 2014
I like them. Keep you may find a use for them later on.

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Patricia Knox on Apr 08, 2014
Depending on what you are doing with the dresser. You could use it on the side for a Place to hang your scarfs, or something.

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Deb C on Apr 13, 2014
donate to habitat for humanity.

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Jessica Mullen on Apr 13, 2014
i also was going to say sell to someone or donate to your local habitat for humaity

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MaryAnn A on Apr 13, 2014
Habitat for Humanity is a good place to donate these. I'm anticipating painting my kitchen cabinets (almost) white and I plan on using my old hardware, which is very similar to yours after painting them black. . . so you see, someone else WILL get to enjoy them.

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Le' on Apr 13, 2014
We all learn together.....right? I'm a camper and I just read to keep the toilet tissue in a plastic coffee can..Mine kinda seemed slighty damp in the camper bathroom....I think that is the most freaking brilliant idea!!

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Wilma Hurley on Apr 15, 2014
I buy and resell furniture to people who rent ...They are tired of rent to own .

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- Jeri Harrison-Grace on Apr 18, 2014
  @Wilma Hurley I wish you were in California. WE HATE rent to own furniture!
  
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Ann|The Apple Street Cottage on Jan 27, 2023

If you don't like them, sell them on Ebay or Marketplace.

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Deb K on Feb 20, 2023

Hello, feel free to toss them or recycle them, no need to keep them if you are not using them.

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