Article Summary:
How to organize your junk drawer.
Ninety-nine percent of the people in this world have a junk drawer. So, I'm certainly not going to be the bad guy (or bad women) to tell you not to have one.
However, why not try to organize it a bit so that, instead of a junk drawer, it can be called your HELP drawer.
Here are just a few simple steps to make this transition:
1. Take everything out of the drawer and place it on top of your counter. If your junk drawer is removable, remove it from the track and turn it upside down onto your counter. You may want to lay a sheet of newspaper down first to help protect your countertop.
2. On your counter, begin categorizing each widget (i.e. thumbtacks in one pile, buttons in another, toothpicks in another, and so on.) By the way, when you come across a gadget that you can't identify, put it aside. Check with others in your family to determine if it a) can be identified, and b) if it is truly needed. If not, toss it.
3. Find something around the house that you can slip into your drawer to keep these categorized items separated, such as an ice cube tray, drawer dividers, small boxes, or 3 oz Dixie Cups. Organize these separators into your drawer.
4. Finally, begin replacing the items you are going to keep, ensuring that each categorized item is in its own place.
You're done! Viola! One minute you have a Junk Drawer, and the next minute, you have a Help Drawer!
Maria Gracia, founder of Get Organized Now!, specializes in helping people get better organized to live the kind of stress-free life they've always dreamed of.
During Maria's ten years with Dun and Bradstreet's Nielsen Media Research in New York, Maria worked as a marketing, organizing and management specialist.
Today, Maria and her husband, Joe, live in Watertown, Wisconsin where they own and operate their company, Effective Business Systems. Maria founded the Get Organized Now! division in 1996.
Maria is the author of Finally Organized, Finally Free which has been read by thousands of people all over the world. In addition, she has created a variety of other helpful organizing products that can be found in her Get Organized Now! Store at www.getorganized now.com.
Read all advice by Maria Gracia; Find more Home Organizing experts
More advice on Home Organizing
» Budget Organizing Tips
» Organize Your Junk Drawer
» all Home Organizing articles