The Junk Drawer

Raise your hand if you have a "junk drawer."

Don't know what I'm talking about? Then you don't have one. Here's mine -- it's in my kitchen:


Would you look at all the crap in there? Tape, checkbooks (both current and retired), random cords, chargers from gadgets long gone, ear phones, ear plugs, paper clips, mysterious keys, white-out, pens, markers, Post-Its... just tons of stuff that doesn't seem to have any other place to live.

We had a junk drawer at my parents' house growing up, too. I guess I just always assumed that everyone had one. I've actually got multiple junk drawers in my condo -- there's one in my bathroom with hair accessories, Q-tips, sample sizes of lotions, old make-up, brushes, etc., etc.

You might be thinking, "Well, all of that stuff seems to go together in a way -- why is that so weird?" I'll tell you: What makes a junk drawer a junk drawer is its utter and complete lack of organization. Check out the one in our laundry room -- it's probably the worst we have:



Impressive, huh? Tape, flashlights, various household tools -- all sorts of random stuff. Until a few weeks ago there was actually a huge SAW laying across it all, but then I realized that was not only dangerous, but it was also preventing the drawer from closing smoothly, so I put it on a shelf underneath.

Do these messy drawers mean I'm a total slob? Maybe. I'll admit that the rest of my condo has suffered immensely since the fall of '09 when I found out that my book was going to be published... which meant that I of course had to write it. Everything else fell by the wayside, with "household upkeep" becoming the most neglected. One day soon I hope to FINALLY clean my kitchen table/writing desk at the very least, and then do a big "before and after" post.

But for now things are stayin' messy. Somehow I always seem to still be able to find everything I need. One day it would be great to go through these drawers, chuck whatever we never use and put the remaining contents into little organizational doohickeys (great excuse for a trip to The Container Store!), but I think that day is probably still months, if not years away. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I wanna know if you, too, are the proud owner of an untamed junk drawer!