We’re probably all guilty of having at least one junk drawer somewhere in our house. This is the drawer that started out as a helpful drawer that kept all the handy items in one place like tape, pens, buttons, safety pins, and so forth in one central location, but turned into the drawer where other things manage to accumulate when people don’t know where they go or don’t feel like taking the time to put them away properly. Get this drawer (or drawers) back into useful mode again by using a few simple steps to bring things back under control.
First of all, in order to clean it out, you’ve got to empty it out. Remove everything. Place a piece of paper or tea towel down to protect your countertop or table surface. You may want to make sure all items are placed on this protected surface. Once the items are out of the drawer, they need to be sorted.
Group all similar items together, and if you can’t determine what something is or if it’s needed after consulting with others in your family, you may decide to get rid of it. If there are things in this drawer that belong in another location, be sure they are put away promptly. You can clean the drawer completely and wipe dry. Afterwards, you may want to lay a fresh drawer liner or contact paper inside.
The next trick is devising a simple, workable organized system that everyone in the family can use. Ice cube trays, small boxes or even 35-mm empty film containers work well to store small things in. If you cannot see into it to determine its contents, make sure it’s clearly labeled.
Most importantly, encourage your family to keep the drawer organized and neat. If it’s properly maintained, there should be no need to shuffle through the drawer looking for things, creating an even bigger mess to clean out yet again in a few months.
