Transform Your Junk Drawer Into A Useful Administrative Sundries Drawer
The ubiquitous junk drawer: You do have one, don't you? And it probably lives up to its name. I'll even venture a further guess that it's located in a top drawer, in a prime spot: your kitchen. The kitchen is a crossroads, a gathering place, the hearth, and very possibly the heart of your home. As such, it contains some of the choicest household real estate, so everything that's there must really earn its keep.
But very often the junk drawer is packed with miscellany that's not worthy of this prime placement. That's not to say that it shouldn't exist at all — it just needs some respect and careful management. My goal is to help you turn that plum space in a hub room into a well-functioning resource for logical, useful things that aid rather than drain you.
So the first thing we're going to do is change the name of the oft-maligned junk drawer to the Administrative Sundries drawer — with capital letters, no less! But what's in a name? Plenty. This new name will help to reframe your thinking about this spot: it will no longer be a dump-it-all junk reservoir — it will now be a streamlined, well-defined, orderly, and useful go-to place.
Are you ready for the transformation? Here's what to do:
1. Dump everything out, wipe the drawer clean, and install drawer liner if you like.
2. Sort every bit of the drawer's contents into piles of like items — pens, paper clips, nail files, batteries, and all the rest.
3. Purge out what you no longer need, use, or love; whatever there's too much of; and whatever you're certain belongs elsewhere in the house (or better yet, in the trash or recycling bin).
4. Define what should now reside in this new “blank slate” of a space. This is very important, because it drives not only what goes back into the drawer now, but also what will be allowed to reside in there forever after. Consider what you use regularly and what you'd like to include that isn't there now. Here's where you can shift your thinking to truly turn it into an Administrative Sundries space — something akin to a tiny, but very useful office.
But why contain mainly office supplies in this place? Chances are, you need these things in the kitchen. Some administrative tasks just tend to take place there, even if you have a home-office space elsewhere. And if you don't have another home-office space, you need supplies in order to do a good job with your paper work.
That means including a few pens and pencils, a notepad or some scratch paper, one pad of Post-Its, a few envelopes and stamps, a roll of tape, a pair of scissors, some paper clips, a stapler and some extra staples, a few rubber bands, a small calculator, and conceivably a few other office products such as a staple remover, ruler, eraser, roll of masking or duct tape, and/or a pencil sharpener. But be moderate! You don't need enough supplies to fill a warehouse in this prime-real-estate spot.
You might also personalize your drawer with a few push pins, a few straight or safety pins, a few twist-ties or bag clips, coupons, a nail file or nail clipper, a few band-aids, a flashlight, a small amount of spare change (but corral the giant collection somewhere else), a book of matches (if they're safe there), perhaps a tube of Chapstick or a tiny bottle of hand lotion, and/or extra keys (but find out what they open first and label them).
5. Install a drawer divider. I recommend buying one because manufacturers anticipate what may reside in them and therefore can offer specialized slots or adjustable compartments for your specific needs. But, you can also craft a solution with silverware trays, egg cartons, ice-cube trays, muffin tins, checkbook boxes, or any other small boxes, tins, or containers that you may have. The goal is to contain every “keeper” in its own designated compartment, and you can even label the bottom of each one to help with “compliance.” Now put the keepers in their designated spots.
6. Every time you open that drawer, revel in the space, light, and order you've created. Let it serve as a microcosmic role model of the order that you're creating everywhere else in your dwelling space. Most importantly, vow to keep it that way by resisting the urge to throw random junk in there. This space now has very definite — and well-defined — boundaries on its contents, so it's no longer a place to toss whatever you don't feel like putting away or don't know where to put away. Choose to keep future chaos at bay with just a few minutes' maintenance now and then, and educate your housemates on this (perhaps new) concept.
Now that this space is working so well, you may wish to remove the pencil mug and paper holder from the kitchen counter, as well as some of the stuff that's stuck on the fridge, and add those items to your drawer — or not. Just be very clear about what fits your definition of the items that deserve to reside there.
But what to do with all the stuff that doesn't make the cut to be in the Administrative Sundries drawer?
You'll probably find quite a few tchotchkes, trinkets, and unsavory bits that don't belong in your drawer. If you do, determine whether they're worth keeping at all, and then house them elsewhere — whether in the kitchen or not — with like items. One partial solution is a Household Sundries box: a companion container that resides elsewhere (but maybe near the kitchen) to accommodate some of the household items that didn't fit the definition of Administrative Sundries. Here are some worthy candidates for relocation:
* Hardware, tools, and home-repair supplies: nails, screws, washers, picture hooks, cup hooks, 'S' hooks, screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, cans of spackling and household oil, outlet adapters, and extension cords
* Candles: votives, tea lights, tapers, tiny birthday candles, those chunky pillars, and anything holiday-esque
* Beauty and grooming products: dried-out nail polish, orphaned earrings, gumball-machine rings, last year's mascara, stray hair ribbons, bobby pins, and hair brushes that are clogged with hair (ick)
* Health-care products: bottles of aspirin, cough drops with lint on them, travel-size toothpaste tubes, old prescription medicines and receipts, Sally Jesse Raphael eyeglasses, and errant contact-lens cases
* Sporting goods: golf tees, tennis wristbands, baseballs, ski wax, fishing lures, bobbers, and hockey pucks
* Toys: marbles, balls, hand-held games, long-lost puzzle pieces, dice, birthday balloons, bent playing cards, rooks, pawns, checkers, wrinkled Monopoly money, microscopic Barbie shoes, and Happy Meal toys
* Dangerous stuff: straight-edged razor blades, model-airplane glue, Super Glue
* Light bulbs and batteries: Designate specific containers for bulbs and batteries; fill them with every kind that you own (you'll know what you have and what you're out of, and you can segregate the various battery types using small plastic bags); and store the containers in a defined area. Dispose of or recycle dead batteries properly.
* Photo stuff: rolls of unused or ready-to-be-developed film, developed photos, and their negatives
* Food et al.: packets of ketchup and soy sauce, restaurant napkins and hand wipes, gum with cat hair on it, crumbling dog treats and granola bars, coffee stirrers, bendy straws, toothpicks, plastic silverware, and all those chopsticks...
* Souvenirs: swizzle sticks, shot glasses from Niagara Falls, novelty bottle openers, and tiny drink umbrellas
* Other sundry stuff: keys that don't seem to fit anything, mystery bits that you can't identify, or useless stuff that you can
* Paper: Take-out menus, soccer schedules, outdated maps of San Francisco, overdue bills, newsletters, expired coupons, postcards, travel brochures, recipes, that massive phone book, wadded-up tissues, ads and business cards for services you don't use, owner's manuals, your checkbook, and old grocery lists. Once you've weeded out the paper that's no longer useful or belongs far away, put the paper that you do need when you're in the kitchen in a binder, folder, box, or file and store it in or near the kitchen for handy access — but probably not in this drawer.
Rethink your junk drawer! Give this household icon its due as the very useful home fixture and nerve center that it is by renaming it, redefining its contents, revamping it, and reclaiming your control over it. Junk drawer no more!
Paula Apfelbach began her business, Breathing Room Professional Organizing, in May 2005. She transitioned out of organizing in the fall of 2010, but continues to write a free mini-zine called “exhale” and accepts freelance assignments on the subjects of organization and life simplicity. Paula lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
Click here for more information: https://tinyhouseexpedition.com/4-simple-ways-to-transform-your-tiny-home-outdoor-space/