No matter what size home you live in, you’ve probably got at least one junk drawer. Everyone has that drawer where they throw everything that doesn’t have its own dedicated place, and while it’s a decent short-term solution to clearing off countertops and floors, you can very quickly run out of space and have trouble finding items you may actually need.
Luckily, if you’re looking for tips on how to organize a junk drawer, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll go over what should and shouldn’t be stored in a junk drawer, how to declutter your drawer when it gets out of hand, and how to organize your drawer so clutter doesn’t become an issue again.
What should I keep in my junk drawer?
A junk drawer is best used for items that don’t have a specific place, but you may need to reach for them from time to time. For example, my parents have always had a drawer in their kitchen where they keep their address book, Scotch tape, sticky notes, and assorted pens and pencils for easy access.
Your junk drawer may look completely different from theirs, but for the best results, only store items that don’t fit into a specific category but still get a lot of use.
Ask yourself what items you always have to go into another room to find, and consider storing one or two of those items in your junk drawer to save you the trip.
Your home office may have plenty of writing supplies, but if you constantly find yourself needing a pen while you’re in your kitchen, you might want to keep a pen or two in your kitchen’s junk drawer.
Here’s a quick list of items you should consider keeping in your junk drawer:
- A pen or pencil
- Tape
- Measuring tape
- Scissors
- Paper clips
- Keys
- A phone charger
- Reading glasses
How do I declutter my junk drawer?
If you’re not careful and discerning of what items go into your junk drawer, you can end up with a lot of clutter really fast. Thankfully, decluttering is pretty easy if you follow the following steps.
- Take everything out of your drawer. This should give you a clean slate to start from and help you get a better view of everything that’s in there.
- Sort through each item and decide whether it belongs in the drawer. Some items probably go in a more appropriate place; other items may need to be thrown out entirely. When decluttering, we typically recommend creating piles of things to sell, donate, and throw away, but most junk in a drawer won’t sell or be an appropriate donation.
- Organize the items you have left.
How do I organize my junk drawer?
If you already sorted your items during decluttering, keep that sorting in mind when moving on to organization. Keep similar items together and place them in the drawer in a way that lets you reach everything when you need it, and make sure you don’t overfill!
For a little extra organization, get ahold of some drawer dividers. Many of these are geared towards organizing silverware, but they’ll work just as well to help you organize everything in your junk drawer. For example, use one slot for pens, one for scissors, and a larger slot for tape and other fasteners.
Where should I store junk if I can’t fit it in a drawer?
A junk drawer is perfectly fine for small items, but if you wind up with a lot of larger items taking up space in your home, you’ll probably want to store them somewhere to get them out of the way. If a storage unit sounds like the right solution for you, you’re in the right place!
Take a look at SelfStorage.com’s built-in search tool to compare the best storage facilities near you and sort by the features you need, or give us a call to speak to a storage expert and get matched with the best solution for you.
