Fast Tip Friday: The Junk Drawer

We all have one. And, despite my best efforts, when we moved into our new house, we created one almost immediately. I’m talking about a junk drawer: that mystery drawer in the kitchen or the front hall filled with everything that doesn’t have a place anywhere else in the house … and lots of other flotsam and jetsam representing peculiar elements of your household existence.

I’m not saying you can’t have a junk drawer, just that some of them could use a little help. Ours especially. So here are some tips for making your junk drawer into more than a repository for all those extra tiny packets of condiments you pick up when you get takeout.

Take out the trash.

I don’t even own this coffee maker anymore. Why do I need the manual? Recycle your old menus and pitch any weird pieces of garbage that end up the drawer.

Everything in its place.

If you look at your drawer you’ll immediately see a bunch of stuff that can actually go elsewhere in the house. I now have a reusable coffee filter so those paper ones can go into my craft supplies in the basement. The Command Strip hooks can go with our other hardware, also in the basement.

Same with these batteries, this Allan key, and these pieces of lamp hardware.

These plates need to go up on the walls in the kitchen, and they’re not going to do that just sitting in the drawer. If I put them out on the counter they will annoy me enough to put them up. Whenever I’ve been putting off dealing with something, I always place it exactly in the way so I will have to do something about it sooner rather than later.

Tidy spaces.

When you’re dedicating a space to all sorts of things with different purposes, it helps if you don’t just chuck them all back in the drawer willy-nilly. Then you get confusion, like when your corgi thinks you’re still keeping his pig ears in that drawer.

Compartmentalize! Everything in its place on a small scale means that you can find everything again very easily.

And you don’t have to buy specialty drawer dividers, either. This yogurt container is ideal for storing the tiny but essential components of this drawer.

That’s all there is to it – have a great weekend!

Coordinating My Crafty Crap: the Desk Drawer

We are moving in about a week so I’m not entirely sure how permanent this particular solution is, as the desk I’m currently using doesn’t belong to me and the desk I have not yet acquired may or may not have a drawer. Anyway, the Pie got some piece of technological something a few months back and when we unpacked it I found a cardboard “box” shaped like this.

Isn’t it perfect for a drawer organizer? (Just say yes. Humour me.) The best thing about drawer organizers is that there’s only just SO much room for any one thing.  So instead of having your fifteen favourite highlighters in there, you can only fit one or two, which cuts down on clutter, and saves your office drawer from becoming a catch-all junk drawer.

You can buy stuff like this at various organizational stores, but it’ll cost you a pretty penny.  This puppy was FREE.  Fits all my most-used pens, paper cutters, and post-its, and has a perfectly-sized slot for my favourite lip balm.

Not to mention assorted mini staplers and scissors, paper clips (only some, mind you, not all of them), hockey tape, antique measuring tape … the usual stuff.  Oh, the FLARP?  Office stress management.  If I client has been rude to me I pop that open and make fart noises until I start to giggle.  Works every time.  I highly recommend it.

Here’s the organizer in situ.  Now the drawer contains only the essentials I use all the time, next to other office necessaries like calculators, chocolate bars, and teeny tiny laser guns.

If you can’t find a custom tech-box like this, try making your own by cobbling together smaller cardboard boxes left over from tissues, toothpaste, and even toilet paper rolls.