The “junk” drawer
Posted on August 18, 2011
I don’t have a junk drawer in my house. During my years of helping others get organized, I’ve discovered many don’t even know what’s in their “junk” drawer. So why have one? (The name itself should give you a hint as to what to do with most of the items it contains.)
Take the plunge and DUMP the junk drawer out on a table. You can probably throw out a good portion of what’s in there immediately, for instance that key that doesn’t open anything you can think of, a marker that doesn’t write, a three-year old receipt for something you thought was important, a pack of chewing gum from the 90’s, a tube of Super Glue® that has sealed itself shut, etc.
If there is something you do want to keep, decide NOW where its new home will be and then put it there. If the drawer contains lose items such as paperclips, get a drawer organizer and separate like items—e.g., all paperclips together, all thumb tacks together, all rubber bands together, all batteries together. Make a space for a roll of tape, tape measure, a small screwdriver, a scissor—things you might actually need and use. Now you have a utility drawer.
I once tried this and it worked great, but a couple weeks later, the drawer looked exactly like it did before. Now I’m convinced there is a junk drawer fairy that visits junk drawers at night to make sure they arn’t too organized.