Organizing the “Junk” Drawer

Updated January 31, 2023.

While cleaning and organizing I have been avoiding something. You probably avoid it whenever you clean up.

Be honest now. You do.

The Junk Drawer.

Mine is in my desk and has in it, among other things, random twists of threads that don’t have a place, cards of beading needles, templates from LNA luggage tags, magnets that don’t hold needles very well, jewelry, and who knows what else.

It needs cleaned out. It needs organized. Because of the cats (this also applies to small children), I have to do it all at once.

Here’s how.

1. Take everything out.
2. AS you do examine stuff. Decide about each item if:
   • It’s a storage container. If so put it aside, you’ll use it to put stuff into back in the drawer.
   • It belongs somewhere else in the house. Put these in piles by room or floor and put into bags and take them there.
   • It’s trash. Throw it out right away without delay.
   • It should be given away. Make a pile of these, inventory them when you are done for tax purposes, bag them and get them out of there.
   • They belong in your junk drawer. This pile should now be fairly small.
3. Take your junk drawer pile and sort it with like items together. Put scissors with scissors for instance.
4. Look at your storage containers and see what of your pile will fit in them. Also decide what in that pile should go someplace else. For example, I keep my small project scissors in a pot on my desk so I can grab a pair quickly. My markers are all in a big box in another drawer except for a few in my pencil jar on my desk.
5. Put your stuff into the containers you have and put them back into the drawer.

Depending on how bad your drawer is, this might take an hour or two.

But when you are done, you are organized and can find that elusive tool you KNOW was there.