The "junk" drawer
practigal
8 years ago
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Junk Drawers, go away!
Comments (11)I think the problem with dealing with junk drawers is the memorabilia, stuff you really don't want to throw away but has no real use any longer. The make it hard to make decisions on throwing out. Perhaps you could approach the problem with the attitude that you are going to do just a little compression and sorting, not a main cleanout. If it's a drawer, can't be too big so find a card board box (or two) and as quick as you can without giving yourself time to change your mind, hold your breath (kind of like jumping into cold water LOL) and dump that sucker totally out. Release your breath. Get a few gallon ziplock bags handy. I find them useful as sort of file folders for the drawer. eyeball the drawer and try to come up with some higher level categories. Turns out our junk drawer had a gazillion pens and pencils (one bag), a million rubber bands of various sizes (another bag), hundreds of small batteries (a little plastic tray I found) and a very large stack of owner's manuals/product info (perfect for a ziplock). Also, a curious assortment of memorabilia including old keys which I didn't want to throw out(a little box). Assign a zip lock bag to each category (if size works) or use box Now. just wipe off each item and put it in the appropriate ziplock bag or box (whatever). If it's a pencil or pen, make sure it writes before keeping it, else toss. If its an owners manual, make sure you still use the product. Else toss. Put the bags and/or little boxes back in the drawer. At least it will be sorted. You probably still need to do more declutering but at least now you know what decisions to think about regarding what to toss (I'm thinking there is no way we need that many batteries when we can buy them so cheap. I will probably toss many of them but haven't yet.) Don't put the bag of memorabilia back in the drawer. Put it somewhere else with other memorabilia, maybe where you store your photos, or in the attic or somewhere that it doesn't take up such precious real-estate. --Alice...See More'What do I *WANT* in my junk drawer?'
Comments (3)So then I'm left w/ a few things that I'm not sure what to do with. Probably they're extra enough that I shouldn't own them--but they're spares, and so I'm not sure what to do with them. There are the "Band-It trash-can bag holders (basically, a ponytail holder that's so big, it fits a kitchen garbage can). It was SO hard to find, and it's SO valuable to me, and it can get lost easily, that I bought about 12 of them. And potato-chip-bag clips that actually work. I have enough of them in service; these are packages I bought that I thought I might give as gifts but haven't yet. I may move them to the "Christmas present stash" that's in the box in the bottom of my closet, and then I'll have them to give as presents to all the cousins when it's time. I have the magnetic strips that came w/ the room-darkening curtains that I've been too lazy to install. I probably won't ever install them, but I'm chicken to toss them. I actually *DO* have a place for them--the closet is a triangle, right? So when I set the plastic 3-drawer unit in it, there's a triangle of space behind it. I've cut a shelf out of foam board to sit on top, to keep stuff from falling in there. So there's this void back there--difficult to access. I put them in there. I also put most of the Band-Its in there--all but 3. AND, to keep myself from forgetting they're there, I wrote a note on an index card (w/ an arrow) and stuck it to the wall. Silly, but I feel relieved at not throwing them out....See MoreJunk drawers
Comments (11)I have been lurking here for over six months, but I am usually on the garden forum. I just have to speak to this issue. I had three drawers in my kitchen that were all junk drawers, only I think crap drawers would have been more truthful. Small tools, office supplies, screws, tacks, and other odds and ends of small hardware, product manuals and instructions, coupons, cookbooks and recipes cut from the paper, car parts, matches, and on and on and on. I went to Lowe's and bought two of those 'parts bins' for workshops (their selection was about 8 different sizes and configurations, HD two). I dumped a drawer on the kitchen table, and scanned it for 'categories'. For example, rubber bands...then I picked out all the rubber bands, decided how many I needed, and labelled the correct size drawer in the bin, and put them in the drawer. On to the next category, like matches and lighters. Same routine as for the rubber bands. I did that until everything had been categorized and put into a labelled bin. I got that tip from a previous posting here, to sort by category as a fast way to get it done, instead of picking up each individual piece of clutter and taking the time to ask, what is it, do I keep it, where does it go,and putting it there. What I ended up with in the drawers is stuff I use all the time. One is a tool drawer, with screwdrivers, pliers, tape measure, butane BBQ lighter, all in a divided tray. The second is for pens and pencils, note pads, a divided desk organizer with paper clips, safety pins, post-its, and a couple of small cookbooks and recipe books. The third is now my spice drawer, small jars with the label on the LID so I can see the name, all arranged alphbetically. I spent a day trying to figure out what to do with the bins. I knew they had to be fairly close or I would never take the time to put anything away in them. I was going to hang them on the garage wall right outside the kitchen door. Instead, I hung them on the wall on one side of the stairs going to the basement. I have actually added two more to the wall, so I have lots of room to grow. And one of the bins is labelled 'labels'! That isn't the end of my need to organize things by a long shot, but is was very exciting to see such substantial results in a very short period of time. It's been since March since I did this, and they are as tidy as they were then. And THAT is my biggest accomplishment. A thanks to all of you on this forum, you have been the single most important inspiration to me to get my house out of CHAOS. When I grow up, i think I'll be tidy. Barbara Here is a link that might be useful: lowe's...See MoreIf you could redo it -- shallower or deeper drawers?
Comments (9)I think it depends on what you plan to store in them and how wide the drawers are. We have one 12" 4-drawer and one 12" 3-drawer bank, plus wide 30" and 36" deep drawer banks (two over two). The wide deep ones are fabulous for storing pans, tupperware, jars, etc., and we are having more in the new kitchen. The narrow deep ones are just annoying---we keep gadgets and towels in them, but they would be far more useful if they were shallower since I'm constantly rooting around in them for things. I do like the one we use for linens, but that's about it. In the new kitchen, we're limiting the 12" wide drawers to just the top row (where they'll be shallow) in pairs over wide deep drawers. I think with 18" or greater width, you'd be set with deep drawers, though. What's interesting, though, is that our current kitchen is 75 years old---definitely before its time in the number of drawer banks! (The only cabs are sink, broom closet, and the two blind corners.) So it has definitely given us an appreciation for drawers over doors (though I can't wait to have drawers that slide smoothly...)...See Morepractigal
8 years agoAnnKH
8 years ago
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