Junk Drawer No More

In my first post, I talked about the mental clutter that physical clutter brings and the freedom we can feel when there’s a designated place for everything and everything is in its place.  The sense of peace when the items that fill our homes serve a clear purpose.  But if that’s not your reality it can feel overwhelming trying to get started.  There’s. Just. So. Much. Stuff.

Experts always suggest starting small.  Don’t attack the entire garage, walk-in-closet or kitchen when you’re first starting out. As with anything worthwhile it takes practice, muscle building, failing and trying a different route before we truly hit our stride on the decluttering journey.  Set yourself up for a successful first “baby step” by starting with a single drawer.  You know the one I’m talking about…the junk drawer (dun, dun, dun…)!

When you hear the phrase “junk drawer” I’m guessing a visual image immediately comes to mind.  I mean, it’s literally in the name right!  Pens advertising local businesses, pencils with broken lead, batteries of all shapes and sizes except the one we need, twist ties from plastic food sacks, scissors, gloppy glue sticks, random post it notes but never the one we need, command strips but no hooks, dead flashlights, those earrings we thought we lost, wrinkled and torn take out menus, the flathead screwdriver when we need the philips, the permission slip our child was supposed to have turned in a week ago, and on and on it goes.

Now maybe that’s a slight exaggeration or maybe your junk drawer is even more packed with random items, but the bottom line is we all have a junk drawer (or several) in our homes and often they are not serving us well.  I say, let’s take back the junk drawer!  Let’s reclaim it through a simple process:  rename, reframe and redesign it to serve its intended purpose.   By doing so we will eliminate the physical chaos (something is always stuck so it won’t open) and mental clutter (so much junk but never what we actually need).  Ready?!?! 

Rename

Just the term “junk drawer” has a negative connotation.  Junk belongs in the trash, not taking up valuable real estate in our homes.  Why are we deliberately giving it a name that is in direct opposition of how we want our homes to feel and function?  We can do better than that.  I propose we rename it the Utility Drawer because scissors, tape, batteries, pens, etc are basic utilities necessary for everyday home functioning. If you don’t like that name you can choose another but let’s agree to put the term junk drawer in the trash where it belongs.  Other locations might warrant names such as Office Supply Drawer or Tool Drawer. The name alone can assist all family members in knowing the correct spot to find and/or return items.

Reframe

Using Utility Drawer as our new name we immediately see the reframe necessary.  Utilities by definition are “things useful or beneficial” so this drawer should contain items we regularly use or are beneficial to our home.  742 twist ties from bread sacks are not useful or beneficial.  10 maybe?  Dried up pens?  Not useful.  The take out menu from that place now out of business?  Not beneficial.  Now here is where the work really begins.  You need to empty out the drawer completely.  Yes, take every single item out.  Once it’s empty, wipe it out because, of course, it's going to be filthy.  Now you have a beautiful, clean, empty drawer that you are going to make serve you and your family as needed.

Redesign

See that pile of stuff you emptied out of your now gleaming drawer?  You are NOT putting it all back inside.  This step can feel tedious but it's the vital step in our decluttering process.  Take each item, one at a time, and evaluate.  Garbage goes directly in the trash.  That’s easy.  But you’re going to need to check every ink pen, highlighter or sharpie to see if it’s functional or trash.  Grab a kiddo for this task if they’re handy while you tend to the rest of the pile.  As you touch each item, make mini piles of like items...paperclips, rubberbands, screws…just sort everything that was in the drawer.  As you go through this process you should start to see some themes or patterns.  How many times did you say “Why in the world is that in there?”  Or “I knew we had these somewhere!”.  Or “Why do we have 387 rubberbands?”  Because until they are piled together on the kitchen counter we don’t have a clue where they are or how many we actually have.

Once you’ve gone through every item and you have like items sorted, you’re ready to make decisions of what will go back into the Utility Drawer.  This is the final step in the redesign phase.  What makes sense in this drawer?  Do you have a desk elsewhere where the rubberbands, thumbtacks and stapler make more sense?  Do you have a space in the laundry room where lightbulbs, screwdrivers and batteries also live?  Generally speaking, having items designated to one spot is the most efficient system.  Obviously, having an  inkpen handy in the utility drawer is fine even if the rest of them live in the desk drawer; but I wouldn’t store something like batteries in multiple places.  What remains in the Utility Drawer needs to easily fit (no one needs 387 rubberbands), make sense for that specific location (no jewelry in the kitchen!) and be limited to items that you regularly use and serve a clear purpose.

For reference here is what I store in my kitchen Utility Drawer:  

• Scissors

• Box knife

• Letter opener, because this is where I stand to open the mail/deliveries

• Ink pen & a Sharpie

• Dry erase marker for labeling glass containers

• Batteries

• Screwdrivers, hammer & measuring tape

• Glue

• Packing tape & duct tape

• Lighter

• Flashlight

In a plastic divided container with a lid I keep small items like command hooks, picture hooks, felt pads, nails, etc.

Depending on your drawer you can utilize a multi space organizer or individual containers or jars to provide much needed boundaries.  If the thumbtack jar is full not only will you easily be able to find one when you need it but you’ll also know you have plenty so any found elsewhere can simply be donated or tossed.  Let the space decide the inventory which greatly simplifies your decision making.  Boundaries are your friend in life and in decluttering!  Any items that didn’t make the cut for that specific location can be relocated to where they most make sense.

Now, stand back and enjoy the beauty of your decluttered drawer.  Take a moment and savor this feeling.  Store it away as motivation for the next project!  You’ve successfully renamed, reframed and redesigned your Utility Drawer.  You’re reclaiming your sense of peace and freedom in your home and I’m right here cheering you on.  Please share your before and after photos in the comments!

Simply,

Stefani