Junk Drawer

A major point of contention in our house is our "Junk Drawer".....while I am of the firm belief that everyone's house claims at least one of these, my husband maintains that most people don't have them.

So who is going to back me up and admit to that junk drawer? 

Some things that I find interesting about Junk Drawers:

1)  If you start it, they will come (stuff will show up in your drawer that you never put there and was previously lost for days, weeks and sometimes years).

2)  Junk Drawers are fertilized every night by the Junk Drawer Fairies, I know this is true because the junk in the drawer grows overnight.....Seriously, I am not kidding, this really happens.
3)  Junk Drawers are magical with secret hidden compartments, again I know this because whenever I want something from the Junk Drawer (that had been there previously) the item I need is never there.

In case you do not have a junk drawer and would like to start one, the following items are mandatory in Junk Drawers: 

1. One shoelace, not two shoelaces.....just a single one.
2. Pencils that need to be sharpened, but never place the pencil sharpener in the Junk Drawer, otherwise you would need to sharpen the pencil.
3. Bobbie Pins, Hair Clips, Paper Clips and just for fun throw in a magnet or spool of thread.  I think the spool of thread is more fun - it will magically unwind and wrap itself around all small gadgets in the drawer.  If you really want to live dangerously, put two or three spools of thread for hours of fun unwinding everything.  Make sure you don't put scissors in the drawer though, you don't want to make it easy for cutting the thread all apart!
4. Junk mail - this should go in the Junk Drawer, not the recycling because you want to make sure your Junk Drawer is super messy!
5. Anything that is broken - you will fix it "some day".
6. Tape measures & rulers.
7. Pens that don't work.
8. Nightlights that need the light bulb replaced, but make sure you don't put the new replacement bulbs in the drawer.
9. Birthday candles, leave the box open so they can spill out in the drawer....it's more fun if they are able to roll around in the drawer.
10. Plumbers tape - this is even more fun than thread when it unwinds!
11. Directions for the remote control (make sure it is mixed in with all the junk mail).
12. New batteries, make sure the package is open so they fall out.
13. Old batteries that need to be checked to see if there is still a charge.
14. Flashlight with dead batteries.
15. Push pins.
16. Neosporin.
17. Safety pins.
18. Christmas Ornaments that you find after Christmas is over.
19. Phone numbers that you write down, but don't write down who it belongs to.
20. Expired Coupons.
21. Fingernail polish.
22. Fingernail Clippers.
23. Emory boards.
24. Hand cream.
25. Recipe cards that didn't get put back with the rest of the receipe cards.
26. Magazine articles that have been torn out of magazines.
27. School lunch menus.
28. Soup labels (these will eventually be sent to the school since they collect them to turn in for money).
29. Report cards.
30. Happy Meal toys.
31. Junk.
32. Whatever else you can think of.

If you want to start your own Junk Drawer and have not done so before, it will work out best if your drawer is located in the kitchen.  Also you will want to compile all of your "Junk", once you have it in a pile try to find an empty drawer that is slightly smaller than your pile - you want the pile larger than your drawer so that stuff can easily fall out into the cupboard or drawer underneath of it.  Sometimes it's fun to make a game of it....I call it "What Fell Out of the Junk Drawer Today".  If you can guess what fell out of the Junk Drawer, you win a prize (Prizes are always located in the Junk Drawer).

Occasionally you will need to organize your Junk Drawer.  You will need to set aside at least an afternoon for this and you will need use of your whole kitchen table.  The easiest way is to remove your drawer and start pulling items out of it grouping them together by where they should go, i.e. Bathroom, Medicine Cabinet, Sewing Kit, Kids Room, Office, Etc.  Make sure you start organizing late in the afternoon.  Once you are about 1/2 way though organizing it will be time to make dinner and set the table.  Simply put away whatever you can and scoop the rest back into the drawer.....ta da - you have now organized your Junk Drawer, don't you feel better?   I knew you would. 

Stay tuned for a future article on organizing your Linen Closet - you know the one I am talking about - it's the closet that has towels and sheets on 2 of it's 5 shelves and who knows what else on the rest of the shelves.......