My Simple Second-Hand Stamp Secretary

In one corner of our family room sits a simple stamp secretary that I've found very useful for my stamp mail. Previously, I used a photo-box for this purpose, but it always looked like a photo box with a bunch of stuff stuffed into it. This simple stamp secretary actually looks like a piece of nice furniture. Google shows me this for secretaries of the non-human variety:

Someday, I'll have a Smithsonian-quality room called The Stamp Room. Lined with oaken shelves, it will contain all my albums, my rack of tongs, a soaking set-up, a roll-top desk, boxes full of stamps, an easy chair, brandy and snifter, smoking jacket, well you get the idea. Until then, this secretary can be placed on any table in the house and look useful as well as ornamental. How did I come by it? I normally self-ban from thrift stores. But one day, in a weak moment, I found myself inside our local Value Village and this little wooden number called my name. Seven bucks later, I had it home and safely stowed on a shelf. Like dollar stores, thrift stores show us things we didn't know we needed to buy! 

Then, one bright and shining day I had an epiphany that this second-hand secretary just might be useful for the sending of stamp mail. That's likely what it was intended to hold - paper items. So I got it down from the shelf it was stowed on to actually use it! Let's look inside:

Back-to-front and left-to-right, I have current postal rates (always too high!), my book of exchange partners, notepads, postcards and envelopes, pens, address labels, mint stamps, and in the drawer, Canadian stamps for exchange, stamps I need, and stamps to soak (before they go in the stamps-to-soak boxes!).

Then, when the mail is ready to go, close up the doors until next time!