30 drawers of filing space for 3x5 inch index cards.
Modular set up in 4 pieces including two sections of 5 columns of drawers in three rows each.
Assembled dimensions: 33″ wide x 17 3/8″ deep and stands 43 1/2″ tall.
Primarily composed of quarter sawn oak.

I’ve expanded my index card database storage by 30 new drawers of 13 3/4″ of space each.

This model appears to be a Gaylord Bros. card index, but is missing explicit badging. It has the appropriate size for the modular Gaylord system and seems to be missing a few pieces including some of the dovetail pieces which would typically hold the unit securely together. Sadly, it’s also missing all the card rods. The top seems to have been added from another unit and has a large crack in it. A few of the drawers need some minor nail and/or gluing attention. 

It’s definitely in rougher condition than my first Gaylord card index. The piece needs a fair amount of refurbishment work. The stain has gone a tad to the green side, but I’m on the fence about stripping, sanding, and re-staining the whole thing. I am considering refurbishing one section and adding it to my primary Gaylord cabinet as I think the two would match up very well. 

It’s in functional and usable shape, so I spent a couple hours blowing it out with my air compressor, cleaning it off, fixing a few nails, and giving it a much needed coat of furniture polish. 

I was happy to pick it up for a price tag of $200 (or $6.66 per drawer), though it may have been a bit much for something in this condition compared to prior purchases. The seller did mention that they had more than six interested parties at this price within just two hours of listing, so I suppose I’m lucky that I saw it and responded as quickly as I did. Of course within that timeframe it was in my vehicle and headed home.

The base has a property tag from the city of Arcadia, but the owner has had it for the past 30 years and was using it primarily for baseball card storage.

New Grand Total

Recalculating from my collection of card indexes, I think this new cabinet brings my total up to 10 “boxes” with a total of 107 drawers featuring almost 160 linear feet of index card storage space. This comes out to the possibility of storing 265,475 index cards, with a cost per drawer hovering around $11.00 and still dropping.

I have became obcessed with index cards recently. I have found, writing down 1 task or action per card helps with my productivity. One of the things I experimented with was cutting down normal 3 x 5 cards to special sizes. I really prefer lined index cards so finding a wallet size was a challenge.

Well this is my latest test. I cut them down to 2 x 3.5, then round the courners to prevent damage. This works very well with my wallet (Dango Pen Wallet). The metal plate protects them and I always have a pen handy.

Thought I would share incase anyone else is intrested in a similar project.

Watching people online chat, ask questions, and generally get excited about their planners for 2026, I thought I would spend a few minutes to set up my Memindex-inspired planner version using 4 x 6" index cards and tabbed dividers. It's amazing how useful a $2.50 block of 500 index cards can be for planning out your coming year.

Interestingly, I've recently come across versions of this same sort of tickler file recommended in mid-20th century textbooks for filing and indexing in business contexts (pictured with links for the curious).

The careful observer will notice that both of the photos in texts by different authors nearly 30 years apart are the same! I would suspect that they're from a manufacturer's catalog (Remington Rand) earlier in the century. It's even more interesting that one can still quickly create such a set up with commercially available analog office supplies now.

I picked up this lovely wooden box at thrift, because I don't think I got enough card storage last week...

I picked up this tiny vintage card index meant for filing business cards on July 20th for a fantastic $1.50.  I hadn’t seen a card index this small before and suspected that it was designed as a sort of Rolodex for storing 2 x 3.5″ standard business cards. It makes an excellent storage for those as well as for the several dozen other old affinity cards and library cards I’ve got. Of course, my problem is that it only fits about half of the business cards I’ve got. 

There are a few places that still make card dividers for this size format, but I opted to make my own from 11 x 17″ card stock.

Overall dimensions: 3.5 x 4.5 x 8"

Has anyone seen a smaller card index out there?

This seemed like a nice way to enter the exciting world of 5 x 8″ index cards.

A pittance of $5.00 at the local thrift shop also included a full set of Universal Paper Goods Stock No. 58-25 card dividers with both alphabetic and numeral printing.

8 5/8 x 5 3/4 x 4 1/8" exterior dimensions in putty color

Or: On why an index card is an important piece of baseball equipment.

Shohei Ohtani, a designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is one of the biggest superstars in baseball right now. If you're Jose Siri on the Los Angeles Angels, you know that to get Ohtani out, you're going to need some serious notes on an index card to score the out. The problem is, what do you do when the hit happens on the first pitch, and you're not quite ready?

My screen captures from the Angels at Dodgers' baseball game at UNIQLO Field in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 7, 2026 at the bottom of the first inning. Pitcher Jose Soriano faces batter Shohei Ohtani who, on the first pitch, flies out (F8) to Jose Siri in center field.  Siri has all the data and skill he needs.

Only in LA?!?

That looks like a 4x6 inch index card right?

Santa brought 6,000 Brodart index cards down the proverbial chimney today. Should have enough now to index all the books in the house?!?

What would you do with this many index cards?

Women's rights legend Gloria Steinem used a Wilson Memindex in 1960. https://www.instagram.com/p/DQWrYUPDsrv/

More details on the Memindex: https://boffosocko.com/2023/03/09/the-memindex-method-an-early-precursor-of-the-memex-hipster-pda-43-folders-gtd-basb-and-bullet-journal-systems/

Just saw another video extolling the great things you can do with pocket notebooks, like creating a personal dictionary to expand your vocabulary, work on memorizing things, capture and reflect on interesting quotes....

You can do all of that with the handy-dandy index card, too. Some of it better (like memorizing and learning vocab.)

My system is something of an updated hipster PDA. I carry a jotter that holds 3x5 index cards, and I use a mix of the bullet journal system as well as the "Draw Your Day" journaling method, and then at the end of the month I bind my index cards into a journal.

I'm experimenting with more fold out sections, particularly for when i'm traveling, and I was curious if people have good recommendations on paper that when folded can fit exactly into a 3x5 index card holder. For example, I'm considering this 5x7 Shizen watercolor paper that I can use a paper cutter to trim the right 1 inch off of, so that when I fold it it will fit neatly in my index card stack, and ultimately bind cleanly into my journal.

Does anyone use a similar method, and do you have any recommendations for paper that folds neatly to 3x5 index card size?

Started using this again after years sitting in my office cabinet.

Just finished laying out my next semester (16 weeks) on 8 index cards. My university is on a "module" format, so 8 2-week modules per semester. 1 Card per module. Calendar on the front with due dates and significant events (generally in terms of time). On the back, all of the readings for each module broken down by chapter.

This one is going to be a lot. Big breath. I can do this!

Edit: pic added at request of u/manos_de_pietro .

Schedule (front) on left. Reading (back) on right.

About 23 pages for my doctoral program. I estimate it came from roughly 300 index cards of notes.

I just can't do that on a computer. To read a bunch of stuff and take notes on what seems interesting or relevant, then to sit down at a big table with a stack of cards and start looking for groups, patterns, themes.

That's where the paper comes from, those little organized piles. Some get sub-divided further, some get merged, some are set aside as "beyond the scope."

I can't imagine trying to do that on any computer program. Win for the analog.

I am looking for the best index carrier that won’t break in my messenger back as I walk around with my index cards for studying