Many homes have a junk drawer. It’s where all the random things go — extra pens, rubber bands, batteries, coins and more.

The contents of your junk drawer — or utility drawer as some call it — says a lot more about you than you might expect. The seemingly random items often reflect the owner. I can often tell if someone is artistic, sentimental, health-conscious, playful or concerned about safety.

While some people find a junk drawer to be untidy and disorganized, others love the one-size-fits-all storage space. Many of my organizing clients and professional organizer students have more than one junk drawer — usually a “junk container” in every room of the house.

Everyone has different a threshold of organization. What might be unorganized for one person may be overly organized for the next. A designated space for “everything else” can help families store random or unrelated objects out of sight.

Here are a few items that typically show up in junk drawers:

  • Batteries
  • Loose change
  • First aid supplies
  • Clips and tacks
  • Scrap paper
  • Stamps
  • Small household tools
  • Eye glasses + eye glass repair kits
  • Florist packets
  • Spare keys and key chains
  • Coupons, gift cards and loyalty cards
  • Recipes
  • Flash drives and camera memory cards

Stay Organized

Small storage containers that fit in your junk drawer can help you keep everything organized.

Repurpose gum or mint boxes for very small items like coins. Empty baby wipe bins and cigar boxes can organize larger items like scrap paper and small tools.

Small Ziplock bags, cosmetic bags, zippered pouches and mesh drawstring bags make it easy to store “families” of items — groups of similar objects like your go-to dinner recipes and coupons.

Finally, you can purchase a tray specifically designed to organize and compartmentalize drawers.

How do you organize your junk drawer?

 

 


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