How to Organize Your Junk Drawer
Dump out the drawer., Once your junk drawer is completely empty, give the drawer a quick wipe down with a moist paper towel., Take all of the pens you find in the junk drawer and test them out on a scratch piece of paper., Another common item for...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Dump out the drawer.
Find a big, open surface – either a floor or a big table where you can dump everything out and sort it into piles.
Make the piles into "like" items, where the tools go together and all of the craft items have their own pile.
Separate miscellaneous items so you don't end up with another junk pile. -
Step 2: Once your junk drawer is completely empty
Try using a multi-purpose cleaner and spray the inside of the drawer a few times. , There's no need to keep pens that are out of ink, so immediately throw them out.
Pens rarely hold sentimental value, so no excuses for keeping them! , Go through them and pile them together before placing them in a simple manila folder so they won't move around in the drawer. , They come in a variety of shapes and sizes so you can choose the best one to fit the size of your drawer.
Go to any home goods store or organizational store to purchase the organizers.
The organizers come in plastic, bamboo, silver, and many other styles and colors to match your décor.
The organizers are also stackable so you can oftentimes slide the organizers or move them around on top of one another.
When purchasing the drawer organizers, consider the size and depth of your drawer, as well as what types of items you have going into the drawer. , Put all of the larger items (tools, etc.) in the larger compartments and place the smaller ones (pens, etc.) in a smaller one.
Try using different colors of organizers to better label what items go in each place. , Alternatively, use small boxes like little butter tubs.
Test out the batteries and recycle any out that no longer work. , It's OK to have a lot of pennies and dimes, just as long as they're grouped together and have their own space.
When the piggy bank gets too full you can go to a coin machine at your local supermarket (try Coinstar or, better yet, take your coins to your bank where their machine can count them for free) and transfer it in for cash. , From this point on, it's essential to return everything to its place.
If it doesn't have a place, think twice about dumping it in – perhaps disposal, recycling, or a different storage space are better options.
Make sure you occasionally check on your drawer so the junk doesn't start accumulating again.
Clean things out of it throughout the month and keep a process going on keeping it clean until waiting till it looks like it's about to explode.
Don't put anything in the drawer that doesn't have a place – instead, find an organized space for that item.
Warn other members in your home about the new change with the organization.
Tell them what items belong in each drawer and show them the effort you made to keep the drawers clutter-free.
Warn them that you will periodically throw out things that have been dumped in there! -
Step 3: give the drawer a quick wipe down with a moist paper towel.
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Step 4: Take all of the pens you find in the junk drawer and test them out on a scratch piece of paper.
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Step 5: Another common item for junk drawers is take-out menus.
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Step 6: Purchase drawer organizers.
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Step 7: Take all of your tools and place them back into your purchased organizers by the type of item.
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Step 8: For all of the tiny items that are hard to compartmentalize (tacks
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Step 9: paperclips
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Step 10: batteries) place them in Ziploc bags by type.
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Step 11: Put all of the loose change in a piggy bank.
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Step 12: Enjoy your tidy new drawer.
Detailed Guide
Find a big, open surface – either a floor or a big table where you can dump everything out and sort it into piles.
Make the piles into "like" items, where the tools go together and all of the craft items have their own pile.
Separate miscellaneous items so you don't end up with another junk pile.
Try using a multi-purpose cleaner and spray the inside of the drawer a few times. , There's no need to keep pens that are out of ink, so immediately throw them out.
Pens rarely hold sentimental value, so no excuses for keeping them! , Go through them and pile them together before placing them in a simple manila folder so they won't move around in the drawer. , They come in a variety of shapes and sizes so you can choose the best one to fit the size of your drawer.
Go to any home goods store or organizational store to purchase the organizers.
The organizers come in plastic, bamboo, silver, and many other styles and colors to match your décor.
The organizers are also stackable so you can oftentimes slide the organizers or move them around on top of one another.
When purchasing the drawer organizers, consider the size and depth of your drawer, as well as what types of items you have going into the drawer. , Put all of the larger items (tools, etc.) in the larger compartments and place the smaller ones (pens, etc.) in a smaller one.
Try using different colors of organizers to better label what items go in each place. , Alternatively, use small boxes like little butter tubs.
Test out the batteries and recycle any out that no longer work. , It's OK to have a lot of pennies and dimes, just as long as they're grouped together and have their own space.
When the piggy bank gets too full you can go to a coin machine at your local supermarket (try Coinstar or, better yet, take your coins to your bank where their machine can count them for free) and transfer it in for cash. , From this point on, it's essential to return everything to its place.
If it doesn't have a place, think twice about dumping it in – perhaps disposal, recycling, or a different storage space are better options.
Make sure you occasionally check on your drawer so the junk doesn't start accumulating again.
Clean things out of it throughout the month and keep a process going on keeping it clean until waiting till it looks like it's about to explode.
Don't put anything in the drawer that doesn't have a place – instead, find an organized space for that item.
Warn other members in your home about the new change with the organization.
Tell them what items belong in each drawer and show them the effort you made to keep the drawers clutter-free.
Warn them that you will periodically throw out things that have been dumped in there!
About the Author
Walter Thompson
Walter Thompson specializes in educational content and has been creating helpful content for over 11 years. Walter is committed to helping readers learn new skills and improve their lives.
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