Comments on: Junk drawer wars

By: gypsypacker

gypsypacker — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:18:18 +0000

Harbor Freight makes a good wall-mount battery holder for conventional batteries, but not watch batteries.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:52:26 +0000

We call ours the Magic Drawer. It still needs a good clear-out though…

By: Rue

Rue — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:28:04 +0000

The purpose I see for a junk drawer is for those things that you use too often to store them, not often enough to keep them in plain sight, and you don’t have a lot of them so they don’t warrant their own storage space.

In my junk drawer I keep a lighter for candles, takeout menus (we only have three, so there aren’t enough to warrant a binder as some would suggest), extra gum/tictacs, spare batteries, and a letter opener (it’s right where I sort the mail).

My mom, on the other hand, has a junk drawer full of office supplies (enough to where she could get a sorter) and another full of things like take-out menus, expired coupons, appliance manuals, a dog leash (even though she hasn’t had a dog in 8 years), sign language flash cards (she hasn’t worked at the deaf school in about 6 years)…those are the kind of junk drawers that don’t need to be junk drawers. Every once in a while I clean them out and re-sort them for her…but they always end up the same.

By: Tabitha (From Single to Married)

Tabitha (From Single to Married) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:21:55 +0000

I hate junk drawers! They’re a necessity because you have to put the stuff somewhere, right? But I find that I never use what’s in the drawer because it’s full of junk!

By: Dream Mom DBA www.dreamorganizers.com

Dream Mom DBA www.dreamorganizers.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:17:03 +0000

No junk drawer here. A junk drawer means some things don’t have a home or they weren’t put away.

I like opening drawers and having everything labeled and sorted. Even the center drawer on my desk has a beautiful label with my name on it. It makes me feel good.

By: Gail

Gail — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:12:42 +0000

Hi, with reference to the very first post about postage stamps; I keep them in my purse, next to my money. I buy a book of ten stamps and keep them in a small card space in my purse, they are valuable.

My junk drawer is right next to me where I have this computer, I know what is in there and it’s all useful, but probably needs sorting, eg., pens.

Thanks for the prod. Gail, Australia

By: JEANNE

JEANNE — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:44:53 +0000

LOL I’ve done the “dump and sort” thing before and it all comes back… I swear the clutter breeds or something!!!

By: Another Deb

Another Deb — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:59:44 +0000

I see junk drawers and cabinets ( I have both) as sort of a Purgatory for stuff. You need to decide if an item stays or goes and after years of seeing it in the drawer, you can finally send it on its way to the Other Side with no regrets that you will need it again.

Of course, I can usually justify keeping almost anything. It’s a teacher thing. After a certain number of years I can now go right to the cabinet, pull out the bin and grab just what I have been saving for 10 years. Last week I made a transparency washing machine out of a large snack cylinder.

By: Sue

Sue — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:10:07 +0000

“Is it a junk drawer if the stuff in it isn’t junk?”

Junk is easier to spell than miscellaneous! LOL!

By: Jude

Jude — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:32:55 +0000

No. I have no “junk drawers.” I have sort of a junk house, but every drawer has a purpose and is organized. The same is true at work.

By: Becky

Becky — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:50:41 +0000

I love my junk drawers! One in the bathroom, one in the kitchen. It’s the only space I willingly designate to a wild frontier of sheer disorganization. I love how weird and random they are. I will do a semi-purge the second I have trouble closing or opening the drawer. Otherwise, I let my little science experiments thrive.

By: Shalin

Shalin — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:13:21 +0000

I don’t have a junk drawer ’cause…I don’t have a chest of drawers for it. OMG…wait, I have a couple crates of random stuff and a couple shoe boxes of misc. stationary, postage, and writing implements though…

–S

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:00:53 +0000

We had always had a Junk Drawer in the kitchen – I thought every house had to have one. One day I cleaned it out – found most of the stuff had homes elsewhere.
Put in a couple small bins for pens/pencils/tape/rubber bands/etc. Now about a year later it is still organized.
Most stuff in the junk drawer is like in the garage – just one step away from the dumpster away so I just helped it along. I didn’t put any of the items up for discussion, which can be a real hindrance to decluttering!!

By: Christy

Christy — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:41:35 +0000

The way i see it, either the stuff in a “junk” drawer is un-needed and needs to be discarded, or it is misnamed.

I cleaned out our “junk drawer” and got rid of the junk and found a ton of useful stuff. I keep a small set of screwdrivers and a small hammer and nails that getb used regularly. I also keep a utility knife, WD40 and other useful things for those never-ending fixits. Now it’s called the “utility drawer’.

By: becoming minimalist

becoming minimalist — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:13:59 +0000

i actually put my entire junk drawer on ebay (minus the confidential insurance cards and gum). unfortunately, no takers. but it did make throwing away 80% of its contents much easier.

By: C

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:13:08 +0000

@Squawkfox Put your manuals in the filing cabinet (which is what I did) or scan them.

I’m pretty well organized:

batteries-tool box
scissors,flashlight-strategic locations
glue-craft drawer

By: infmom

infmom — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:22:40 +0000

Aw, I think if the space is available there’s a purpose for a junk drawer (and the article seems to agree). Sure, you could put the screws and tools back in the toolbox, but then the next time you need them you have to go get the toolbox.

We have a junk drawer for things we otherwise have no designated place for–extra candles for the mantelpiece candlesticks, the key that turns the gas floor furnace on and off, a huge pocketknife with lots of useful blades that’s too big for anyone’s pocket, a small retractable tape measure, etc etc etc. The drawer is in an antique dry sink in the parlor and isn’t getting in anyone’s way during their normal travels, nor does it take up a drawer in the kitchen that could more properly be used for something else.

Is it a junk drawer if the stuff in it isn’t junk?

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:01:02 +0000

I have decided to rename my “junk” drawer my “miscellaneous” drawer. All the clutter gone in an instant! Actually, my junk drawer has things like magnets, string, chalk, batteries, bamboo skewers, timers, extension cords, and locks. None of these things are really clutter because I use them. I’m just careful that I don’t put actually “junk” in the “junk” drawer.

By: sky

sky — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:27:15 +0000

With only two kitchen drawers there is no room for “junk”. I have a desk nearby for what goes there and cabinets in my laundry room with plastic boxes for batteries, candles, etc. Labeled of course!
Thanks unclutterer!

By: Amphritrite

Amphritrite — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:37:03 +0000

I must be the only person in the world who doesn’t have a junk drawer – I live in 375 square feet and I literally (literally) only have ONE drawer in the entire apartment. It is organized to the T because I need every inch I can get. From washrags to silverware to large utensils, sponges and tape, everything is in that normal-sized, average drawer.

Trust me, organization helps when you need your drawer!