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.

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.