One of my favorite organizing helpers is (what we call in our house) The Useful Drawer. I set this up years ago on (yet another) swing at organizing our family of five.
The useful drawer, formerly known as the junk drawer, the junque drawer or junk drawer 1 (1996), junk drawer 2 (1999), junk drawer 3 (2000) was something I read about in one of the copious amounts of organizing books I’ve purchased (yes Missy, I did say purchased! Missy Gerber of Organizer’s NW is huge proponent of LIBRARY books. Love these, too, but it’s just not the same…but I digress). We had a houseful of junk drawers. Maybe you do too? about 10 years ago, I recreated this drawer to one per floor (at the time a three story house). Main floor was in the kitchen, of course. Basement was a toolbox in the laundry room, and upstairs was the top drawer in the hall chest. This handy little drawer contained some or all of the following in EACH location.
- Tape
- Scissors/coupon cutter
- paper clips/rubber bands/alligator clips
- thumb tacks
- convertible screw driver
- small hammer
- picture nails and hooks
- thumbtacks/tack stick/glue
- post it notes (although I’ve since sworn off of these!)
The beauty of these drawers is the ease of finding what you need quickly AND being able to get it back there quickly to find it again!
The article below is a re-print of Missy Gerber (of Organizers NW) Helper Drawer – same idea, different name (italics are where I felt the need for personal commentary):
Make Your Junk Drawer A “Helper” Drawer A junk drawer makeover is a great way to start off the New Year. It is a relatively small project without the emotional potholes that a bigger project, such as cleaning out a closet, might have. We don’t generally have emotional ties to loose keys, dead batteries, and paperclips like we do those designer shoes we never wear but can’t seem to part with. So make a commitment, don’t answer the phone or check email. Spend 60 minutes of focused time on organizing your junk drawer, and it will reward your efforts every time you open it.
Follow these steps to achieve total satisfaction:
1. Remove EVERYTHING from your junk drawer.
2. Give the drawer a good wipe down.
3. Make decisions regarding what gets to go back in the drawer. What goes in the drawer should only be items that are used in the kitchen area. Business cards and paper clips belong in your office area, not the kitchen.
Some useful items may be:
o Small hammer and screwdriver (Stop using your good knives).
o Scissors o Scotch Tape o Small Tape Measure
Measure the drawer and take stock of the items that will be returning. Reuse or purchase individual drawer organizers.
We love Storables line of sustainable bamboo drawer organizers. Just make sure you take your drawer measurements and a sketch of how you would like the drawer laid out. Storables also makes a battery rack (note to self: get the one with the on board battery tester) to help organize all those batteries that shouldn’t be, but probably are, rolling around in your junk drawer. Lay out the configuration of your containers and items. Make sure what is frequently used is at the front of the drawer, and less used items at the back. Purchase a roll of Velcro® tape and place small squares of the tape on the bottom of the drawer and the drawer organizers. Voila! No more drawer organizers sliding around. (Yowza! Love this idea!!!!!!) Label the inside bottom of the drawer organizers with what items it will hold. This helps the whole family know where things are and where they should be returned. The goal is to make the item as easy to put away as it was to get it out in the first place.
