Perhaps you have a designated drawer for junk, or you just happen to accumulate all your random clutter in one of your drawers. Either way, junk drawers are easy, convenient and give us a go-to storage option for miscellaneous items. The perfect place for something is often the infamous junk drawer.
People either love them or hate them. Regardless of how you feel about them, it’s good to organize these drawers from time to time, so they don’t end up a total mess of overflowing items. Below are some helpful storage hacks for organizing your junk drawer so that you don’t end up overwhelmed.
Dump Everything Out
Before organizing your junk drawer, you should first evaluate everything you’ve accumulated over time by dumping all the contents out. Use an open surface like a desk, floor or table big enough for the items. Start separating items into categories; some things you’ll keep and others you’ll throw away. You should consider giving away or selling unwanted items.
Remember, once you’ve determined what you’ll throw away, you can start organizing the items by their category, such as tools, crafts, etc. which will make it easier to separate later on. Remember to wipe the bottom of the drawer while it’s empty, as it most likely will have accumulated a lot of dust and dirt.
Take Out Items that Don’t Belong in the Drawer
To properly organize, you can’t just throw away the garbage, wipe down the drawer and put all the junk back in the drawer. This is your opportunity to put things back where they belong instead of just shoving them back in the most accessible and easy drawer.
It’s easy for items to land in the junk drawer when you have one, especially if you don’t feel like actually putting it where it belongs. Take the time to put things back in their designated areas like pens, office supplies, receipts and the like.
Use Drawer Organizers
If you value aesthetics and have made a vow to keep things neat and tidy from now on, you may want to invest in some storage bins of different sizes to fit into your junk drawer. You can even find stackable bin options if you’re going to store a lot of items.
These bins can be decorative to match your style and are great for keeping things in place in the drawer. This way, you can easily find the items you are looking for whenever you open your junk drawer. It will also look super cute and appealing: a win-win!
Categorize by Item Type
Keep in mind if you want to get the most out of your storage space, you need to store items by their type. Don’t just have random things scattered around, as this will make the drawer messy and confusing. Use labels to make it easy to remember or colour-coded bins.
If you want to go the extra mile, you might consider purchasing a label maker. This way, you can make custom labels and change them out whenever you choose.
Use Ziploc Bags
You may want to use small Ziploc bags to keep electronics, tools, or items with multiple parts and wires organized and together. Parts and tiny pieces can quickly go astray in a junk drawer. Paperclips, zip ties, chains and other small items are notorious for this. Get some Ziploc or plastic bags from the dollar store so that tiny parts and things don’t float around the drawer, making even more of an unwanted mess.
Consider Loose Change
When cleaning out your junk drawer, you may find a lot of loose change that you didn’t even know you had! Don’t let it go to waste. Gather all your loose change and either put it in a piggy bank or an actual bank. You may want to keep some coins handy in a coin purse or your car; you never know when you might need some change. Either way, consider what you want to do with all loose change and designate a spot for it.
Keep the Garbage Bin Handy
While cleaning out and organizing your junk drawer, remember to keep your garbage and recycling bin handy throughout the process. You’ll find a lot of old receipts, menus and brochures that will need to be recycled as well as a lot of old or unwanted items that you’ll want to toss aside. Remember to dispose of your items appropriately and in an environment-conscious manner.
Keep it Organized
Now that you’ve tackled the mess and gotten the organization taken care of, you’ll want to maintain a semblance of tidiness. Some general guidelines are: make sure and put items back where they belong (no matter how tired you are); and throw away junk or trash immediately instead of holding onto it unnecessarily.
When tackling your junk drawer, remember to be realistic about what you want to keep or need and focus on putting things back where they belong. Perhaps with continued organization and mindfulness, you won’t need a junk drawer at all.
For more tips for keeping your junk drawer — and any storage space — organized all the time, call Jiffy Self-Storage at 416-745-4339 or contact us here.
