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Writer's pictureTina Mader

Kitchen Organization: Does Everyone Have a Junk Drawer?


I wonder how many homes have a junk drawer? Is it a me thing? A Midwest thing? An American thing? Is it really that bad if you have multiple junk drawers ? It can't just be me - right?


It turns out that the word "junk drawer" became a thing back

in 1912. According to Word Sense a dentist in New York mentioned "junk drawer" in "context of keeping all of gadgets handy to where he was working."


In Snapshot of Life in a Junk Drawer By Marshall Conner he points out that "It is a practice that spans all corners of the globe, cultures, genders, and it has endured for centuries." He compares it to a time capsule, a place where we hide our clutter.


how to get your junk drawer organized
semi-organized junk drawer

"Friends from England, Scotland, France, and multiple Caribbean islands all reported the existence of junk drawers in their nations. Different names maybe, but the same thing."


Most frequently found items in junk drawers are: batteries, pens (with or without ink), old photos, receipts, business cards, rubber bands, tacks, glue, love notes, toys, vacation mementos, name tags, crayons, tools, to do lists, cake candles, and menus. That sounds about right, What do you have in your drawer? Do you do anything different or unique?


Junk drawer and kitchen organization seems like an oxymoron. But without order comes chaos and frustration. There is nothing worse than when you are in a hurry and you can't find something. You know it's there, but you can't see it in amongst the clutter. You never know when you will be in a hurry a will need an item from that drawer quickly. I like to have everything in small containers so I can see exactly what I have and where it is. I have an abundance of pens and post it notes. I have to write everything down because I have a terrible memory. When life becomes chaotic, I need my home to be in order, to be predictable. It is the only way I can handle the ups and downs life throws at me.


How to Measure for Organizers: Girl Math!
Measuring for Organizers

I can not measure!! I have tried and tried and failed! Because of that, I take tissue paper and make it size of my drawer. I also take the blue scrapper to make a nice sharp edge. If you have multiple drawers, number them so you know what goes where.


Now it is time to head off to the store and get the cubes. Because I have the tissue paper template, I know they will fit. I also don’t like the cubes moving around so I put some wax to keep them in place and it doesn’t ruin my drawer. I use Howard wax it all. I don’t know if there is another or better hack. If there is, please share in the comments! I do move my cubes around a lot, I change drawers around, my kitchen is always moving. You can take a cereal box and make dividers in your drawer. You don't have to go out and buy containers. Just need to think outside of the box so to speak. If you want more suggestions, feel free to shoot me a note hear at Square 1.


Finished Organized Drawer
Finished Organized Drawer

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