17 Things Families Kept in the Desk Drawer in the '60s

The family desk drawer from the 1960s was more than a place for things that got lost. It was a center for the house, full of the things people needed to pay bills, write letters, keep track of things, finish schoolwork, and fix little problems every day. Stamps and envelopes made it possible to send messages, while checkbooks, receipts, coupons, and papers about warranties helped adults take care of business. Pencils, scissors, rulers, tape and paper were used for school and quick fixes. Even simple things like rubber bands, paper clips, and matchbooks had a spot in the mess. All these everyday items showed how much family life relied on paper, writing by hand, letters sent through the mail, and simple things that could be used again and again every day.

1. Postage Stamps

Every household desk seemed to have a pile of postage stamps. Families used them for birthday cards, paying bills, sending letters to relatives, and filling out mail-order forms. A parent would often place a booklet or loose sheet of stamps in the drawer next to envelopes so all the things needed for a letter were right there together. In the 1960s, a first-class U.S. Stamp cost four cents at the beginning of the decade. Went up to five cents in 1963. That made a few stamps cheap but important items around the house. When someone remembered a bill after dinner or finished writing a letter at night, that little stack of stamps in the desk drawer saved the trouble of going all the way to the post office.

2. Envelopes

A thick stack of envelopes often rested inside the family desk drawer for whatever needed mailing. Envelopes in white held bills and business letters, while smaller stationery envelopes accompanied personal notes and thank‑you cards. Families still depended heavily on mail, so keeping envelopes nearby made practical sense. A mother might address a birthday card at the desk while a father prepared a payment for the company. Children sometimes borrowed an envelope to mail a letter to a pen pal or grandparent. The drawer became a household post office, holding the simple paper supplies that kept relatives, companies, schools, and friends connected across town or across the country.

3. Ballpoint Pens

Ballpoint pens became common in desk drawers during the 1960s. People still kept fountain pens at home. Ballpoint pens were cheaper and easier to use. They made writing simpler and less messy. Families used them to sign checks, fill out school forms, write shopping lists, address envelopes, and leave phone messages. Brands like BIC helped make the disposable ballpoint a familiar item in homes after entering the American market in that decade. A pen might roll under papers and stay hidden until someone needed it fast. Then it would disappear back into the drawer. Not many things looked less exciting. A working pen mattered every time the phone rang, a bill came in, or a signature was suddenly needed.

4. Address Book

A small address book often stayed close to the telephone or inside the family desk. Its pages held names, street addresses, and phone numbers for relatives, neighbors, doctors, schools, and family friends. Before digital contact lists existed, losing that little book could create a household headache. Parents updated entries when someone moved, married, or received a telephone number. Children might search it before addressing a Christmas card to an aunt or cousin. Some books included spaces for birthdays and anniversaries as well. Tucked inside the drawer, the address book served as the family’s compact directory and helped everyone keep important connections within easy reach.

5. Checkbook

Families often kept a checkbook in the desk drawer because household bills were commonly paid by check. When the electric, telephone, insurance, or department-store bill arrived, a parent could sit at the desk, write the amount, record it in the register, and prepare the payment for mailing. The checkbook also provided a running record of money leaving the household account. Carbon-copy checks and handwritten registers helped families track spending before online banking made balances instantly available. Keeping the book in one familiar drawer reduced the chance of misplacing it. For many households, opening that drawer near payday meant it was time to settle another stack of monthly obligations.

6. Transparent Tape

A roll or dispenser of tape was another useful thing that lived in the family desk drawer. Scotch transparent tape had already become a household item long before the 1960s. Families found all kinds of reasons to reach for it. Kids used strips for school projects. Parents used it to fix papers, seal packages, or fasten notes. During the holidays, the tape dispenser often moved from the desk to a table covered with wrapping paper and presents. After the wrapping was done, it usually made its way back to the drawer. A dusty dispenser, with a jagged metal cutting edge, was not very shiny or fancy. It solved little household problems fast. It rarely stayed unused for long.

7. Wooden Pencils

Families often kept pencils in the desk drawer, especially when kids needed them for homework. Wooden pencils were good for math problems, spelling exercises, writing lists, and any task that might need an eraser. Some pencils were freshly sharpened, while others had worn erasers, tooth marks, or names carved into the wood. Parents used pencils too for balancing checkbooks or making notes they might want to change. Brands like Dixon Ticonderoga were already well known in schools and homes. The drawer sometimes held pencil stubs that no one wanted to throw out. With modern ballpoint pens around, the reliable pencil stayed a useful tool in daily family life.

8. Rubber Bands

Rubber bands had a way of multiplying inside household desk drawers. Families saved them from newspapers, packages, produce, and other everyday purchases because they seemed useful to throw away. A few could hold rolled papers, tie up pencils, seal a bag, or keep loose cards in place. Some rubber bands dried out over time. Snapped when pulled, leaving tiny brittle pieces scattered in the drawer. Kids found that rubber bands could be fun to play with, though adults often didn’t like them being launched across the room. Still, their presence showed a habit many homes shared: save something small today because it might help with a problem you didn’t expect tomorrow.

9. Paper Clips

Paper clips are usually gathered in a box, a cup, or a loose pile at the bottom of a desk drawer. Paper clips keep bills, receipts, school papers, and correspondence together without fastening anything. Families can reuse the paper clips again and again, making paper clips perfect for ordinary household paperwork. Children sometimes bend paper clips into shapes. Link several paper clips together into chains while sitting near the desk. Adults have practical plans, especially when organizing tax records or documents that need attention later. Some paper clips become slightly rusty or twisted with age. Paper clips rarely disappear completely. Wherever papers accumulate, a few dependable paper clips are usually behind.

10. Advertising Matchbooks

A booklet of household matches sometimes ended up in the desk drawer, especially when businesses handed out matchbooks as a way to advertise. Restaurants, hotels, bars, gas stations, and small local companies printed their names and phone numbers on covers, turning something simple into a tiny ad people could carry. Adults used these matches to light cigarettes, candles, fireplaces, or gas stoves. Families often gathered different matchbooks without even trying to collect them. Even though keeping matches near children was clearly dangerous, matchbooks stayed common in homes during a time when smoking was normal and disposable lighters were not yet everywhere.

11. Store Receipts

Receipts often went missing in the desk drawer after going shopping or paying bills. Families kept them for things like appliances, furniture, repairs, medical costs, taxes, or anything that might need proof of purchase later. A receipt from Sears or another store could be important if a new item broke or needed to be returned. Without emails or online records, the paper slip was often the easy way to remember what was bought. Some families kept receipts neatly in envelopes while others just put them in a pile that kept getting bigger. Months later, someone might look through the drawer trying to find one old piece of paper and feel happy when they finally found it.

12. Scissors

Many family desks had a pair of scissors set aside for paperwork and everyday chores. They opened envelopes, trimmed coupons, cut wrapping paper, and helped children finish school projects. Unlike kitchen shears, desk scissors mostly worked with paper, string, photographs, and light craft materials. Over time, the metal blades could become dull, especially when everyone borrowed them, and nobody remembered to put them back. Around Christmas, they often disappeared under piles of gift wrap. Only reappeared after the presents were unwrapped. A reliable pair of scissors saved trips around the house. When a package needed cutting, a newspaper clipping needed trimming, or a stubborn piece of string had to be snipped, everyone knew where to look first.

13. Instruction Manuals and Warranty Papers

Families often tuck instruction manuals and warranty papers into the desk drawer after buying household products. Families remember putting thetelevision’s manual and the vacuum cleaner’s warranty into the drawer. Whenever something stops working after a month, they can pull the drawer open and find the troubleshooting steps, the model number, or the warranty terms. The registration cards sometimes stay in the drawer until I remember to mail them. The paper becomes creased and mixed with papers, but discarding it feels risky. Before manufacturers posted manuals online, that folded booklet was the source of technical help for the household. The drawer quietly became an archive for all the machines we use in the house.

14. Scratch Pad

A small pad of paper, or a scratch pad, was almost necessary beside the family telephone. When a person called and left a message, someone had to have a place to write the name, the number, or a reminder. Families also used sheets for grocery lists, measurements, quick math, and notes for other people in the house. Some pads came for free from banks, insurance agents, pharmacies, or from businesses with ads printed on the top. Others were made from the backs of old paper. When the pad was full, the individual sheets moved around the house. Having another pad in the desk drawer made sure that clean paper was always ready whenever something needed to be written down.

15. Greeting Cards

Families kept cards in a desk drawer so that birthdays and holidays would not need a last‑minute trip to the store. An unused birthday, anniversary, sympathy, thank-you, or get‑well card could cover many occasions. Some households bought assortments while others saved attractive cards bought during sales. When news arrived that a relative was sick or a neighbor had celebrated something, someone could open the drawer and choose an appropriate design. Cards were especially useful when written correspondence carried everyday importance. Beside the envelopes and stamps, that little reserve made the family desk a station for maintaining social ties and family courtesies.

16. Newspaper Coupons

Coupon clipped from newspapers and magazines often landed in the family desk drawer until the shopping trip. Grocery manufacturers promoted soap, cereal, coffee, canned foods, cleaning products, and countless other items, with cents‑off offers. I remember a parent might cut out a coupon, place it somewhere supposedly safe, and rediscover the coupon after the expiration date had passed. Others kept their clippings neatly bundled or tucked into an envelope. The habit turned the desk into a savings center, especially for households watching weekly expenses. Before coupons and store apps, using a paper offer meant remembering to carry the coupon to the supermarket and hand it to the cashier.

17. Ruler

A ruler often lay flat along the side or back of the family desk drawer, waiting for schoolwork or household measuring jobs. Children used it to draw lines, create margins, and complete math assignments. Parents reached for it when measuring photographs, envelopes, furniture spaces, or small objects. Wooden rulers with metal edges were common, and many carried advertising from banks, hardware stores, insurance agencies, or other local businesses. Inch markings usually handled tasks, while school rulers might also include centimeters. Because a ruler was thin and easy to misplace, the drawer gave it a home. Whenever a straight line was needed, someone knew where to search.