Frankly, my junk drawer is
insulted!
I didn’t mean to insult it but
apparently I have. Perhaps that is why, over the years, it has
lost this little part or that little bit that I so desperately
needed.
Looking in the dictionary, I find
that junk is a traditional Chinese seagoing vessel. That is true
but I don’t think that is what I meant. However, I have seen
some junk drawers, perhaps just like yours, which could hold
everything, including a Chinese ship.
Junk, according to the dictionary,
is any old discarded material or anything that is worthless,
meaningless or contemptible. No wonder my junk drawer is
insulted. Any junk drawer worth its weight is stuffed with
valuables.
People might wonder why in the
world would a professional organizer advocates keeping a junk
drawer. Without a junk drawer, how do you find a twist-tie to
close the bread wrapper, a battery for the remote or a pen for a
message? Without the drawer, how do you find the phone book, a
magnet to hang art work on the fridge or one more birthday
candle to make the right number on the cake?
Let’s rename it the Necessary
Drawer. It is surely necessary to have one in every household.
Who doesn’t need a glue stick, scissors, a lighter, an ink pen,
several pennies, and a Phillips head screw?
In other words, a junk drawer
holds everything but junk.
|
Junk Drawer Before |
Junk Drawer After |
To tidy up your necessary drawer,
you really do need to remove the worthless junk. Remove
everything from the drawer and give it a good cleaning. Sort out
the items that were in the drawer by deciding if you need it or
use it. If you don’t need it or use it, out it goes.
You can make it easier to find
items in your junk drawer by using a junk drawer organizer. Just
search on line under the key words “junk drawer organizer.” Or,
you can purchase a variety of small square and rectangle baskets
at a dollar-type store.
You might wonder why bother with
sorting out a bunch of junk. Remember, it is actually a bunch of
necessities. Sorting the necessary items – from batteries to
spare keys to stamps- into the small baskets or drawer dividers
will keep them from shuffling together like a deck of cards each
time the drawer is opening and closed. Organizing should make
your life simpler, even when it involves the junk drawer.
I don’t know what’s in your junk
drawer but here are some ideas of great things to have on hand
in the kitchen.
