Junk Drawers
Let’s talk about something almost every person has in their home… a junk drawer. A drawer that becomes the catch all for those random items that don’t quite have a home. Mystery cords and chargers, last year's utility bills, scissors, tools, and maybe even some snacks. They all belong in the junk drawer right? Well the answer is yes AND no. Most clients will ask me if I can clean out their junk drawer and find a place for everything. But the truth is, your junk drawer can be useful if you can clearly see everything in it. Many times clients are shocked that they get to keep a junk drawer. Not every organizer may agree, but personally I advocate for at least one “catch all” drawer in a common space like your kitchen. This doesn’t mean you get to keep your junk drawer in the same condition it is now. Let’s talk about how to have an organized junk drawer.

For starters, you need to take everything out of that drawer and lay it out so you can see everything. Immediately you might find some stuff you're looking for, something that has a place in another room, or obvious pieces of trash. Once you’ve done your once over, put all the items into categories, as many as you need. There is no need to get micro with these categories. A few examples are tools, tape, electronics and paper. Once you’ve got all your items into clear categories do one more overlook. Look for doubles of things you don’t need doubles of, papers that aren’t of any importance, pens that have no ink left and screws that you have no idea what they belong to. Now, you have all of the essentials for your junk drawer. It should be free of trash, unimportant items and things that already have a different home.

Now comes the fun part, organizing! For this part I strongly suggest getting drawer dividers. I recommend these ones from Target because they are interlocking, but any dividers will work. The dividers will prevent things from shifting around or getting tangled together. If you don’t have dividers don’t worry! You can organize your drawer without them. Keeping your categories together, find a spot in your drawer to place each group. If you have organizers, see what items fit in the different sized containers. Next, you’ll probably need to play a game of Tetris. Keep shifting your categories around so they fit nicely in your drawer. If you have organizers, you’ll have to move the containers around until they all fit easily in the drawer. This part can be a little tough but don’t give up on finding the perfect fit! It is VERY important that during this game of Tetris, you’re keeping your categories together. If you’ve got items placed in different categories just because they fit better, your hard work will be for nothing. After all, this is how the drawer became a junk drawer in the first place. Once you’ve got everything to fit, make sure everything is easily accessible and visible when you open the drawer.


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Yay! You’ve got an organized junk drawer! Hopefully you found something you thought you lost, something you need more of or a part to an unfinished project. You will be surprised to see what you end up finding in the abyss of your junk drawer, trust me. From now on, it will be so easy to access the things in your organized junk drawer and to add new items. Remember that it's fine to have your catch all drawer, just make sure its organized.
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