Do you have a junk drawer? I don’t. I never really have. I grew up in a house with a junk drawer (or several to be honest), but I thought that was just my family’s way. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized that junk drawers, or junk rooms, or junk closets are pretty common. I would guess that 90% of Americans have some sort of catch-all space or drawer. Don’t bother fact checking my numbers because I just made it up. However, it’s based on what I’ve seen and experienced. No, I don’t go snooping around my friends’ homes to see if they are organized. Okay, sometimes I do, but it’s usually with their permission because they are looking for ways to do things differently. So this begs the question. Why do so many of us have a space designated for stuff we either don’t need or don’t want. I think the answer is simple: Uncertainty laced with a bit of fear.
Even though I don’t have a junk drawer, I have become a bit of an expert in junk storage. The truth is that most people wouldn’t have a junk drawer or junk space if all the things in it were clearly junk. The reason you keep these things is that you are unsure if you will need them in the future and you’re afraid that you’ll throw it out, and then regret it. If you have a room full of trash and take-out containers, that’s a different website. Please go there now and seek help. Seriously, that’s a problem. However, if you have a drawer full of things that you might need and afraid to part with them; you’ve come to the right place!
Take-out menus? You may need those and I agree. But what if you just accessed them online instead? Or created a binder with all the take out menus neatly stored on a shelf?
How about random batteries in a drawer? Great. Those will certainly come in handy. Collect all of them from your various places around the house and put them in a $1.00 plastic shoe box from the Dollar Store. Easy to find next time and you never buy more AA batteries when you already have plenty. Look at you saving time and money!
Random office supplies? Every home (no matter the size) should have a designated place for an office. It can be as simple as a folding table and chair in a bedroom; but you need this space. You need a small file of some sort and a place where you keep supplies for paying bills, kid’s craft, school work, office work, greeting cards, etc. All of these things fall in the “office” category.
Coins Everywhere? That one is easy, get a coin jar and involve everyone in the house. Every time someone finds a coin or empties their pockets, put it in the jar. The agreement is that you use the money for something fun for the entire family. It’ll make everyone more eager to help.
Various Medicines for Adults, Kids, and Pets? For safety reasons, these really need to be in one place; probably grouped together in an adult bathroom. Kid medicine can be in their bathroom out of their reach if necessary.
Screws, nails, and bolts? I was at the Dollar Tree a few days ago and I saw mini-toolboxes for $1.00. What a great way to keep all your small pieces, nails, etc. together. If you want to do it completely free, I’d just get a plastic storage bag and put every random screw, nail, and bolt I find into that bag. I keep something similar in my garage alongside our toolbox. You never have to worry about losing a piece to something you assembled or a kid’s toy and you also have extra parts for whatever you need.
The bottom line is this: There’s A Place For Everything and Everything In Its Place. That’s always been my mantra and that’s the cheesy slogan for OK-Organizing with Kim. It’s what I truly believe. I think once everything has a place where “it goes”, then there becomes a shared understanding that you put it there. Milk goes in the refrigerator, flour in the pantry, toilet paper in the bathroom closet, take-out menus in the binder, batteries in the battery container. You found a random nickel on the ground? Great, goes in the coin jar my sweet 13 year old son. You found a random screw? No, loving spouse, you don’t randomly put it in a drawer; that’s right it goes in the screw bag in the garage beside the toolbox. The junk drawer is now obsolete.