Day 3: Junk Drawer {31 Days of Easy Decluttering}

Hilda Rodgers
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Welcome back to 31 Days of Easy Decluttering! Throughout this series I’m sharing easy decluttering projects that you can complete in 10-15 minutes.  If you do them, then by the end of the month you’ll be enjoying a less cluttered home!

If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, there are links to them all here.

Today’s Easy Decluttering Project

Sock drawers and toiletries were a great warm-up.  Now we’re getting to the good stuff.

Today we’re decluttering junk drawers.  Or as I like to call them:  multi-purpose drawers.  Others call them everything drawers.  I mean why are you keeping “junk” in a drawer?

Everyone’s got at least one of these drawers.  It’s filled with all kinds of stuff like tools, chargers, stationery, stamps, pens, pencils, coupons, elastics, paper clips, take-out menus, batteries.  You know what I’m talking about.

Having a drawer like this is a good thing if you keep it organized and purged.  It gives you quick access to lots of little things.

But when you have a drawer that’s filled with a variety of stuff, it tends to collect other stuff… and it can quickly become cluttered.  Then you can’t find anything in it and end up running all over the house searching for something you need.

I love organizing junk drawers because the difference is so incredible!  You’ll get some amazing before and after pictures today I’m sure.

These drawers don’t need to be a cluttered mess!  So let’s declutter junk drawers today!

Easy Decluttering Steps

Throughout the series, you’ll follow these steps to complete each daily task.  {Don’t forget to take before and after pictures to share too!}

31 Days of Easy Decluttering - Steps 1. Determine the purpose of the space. 2. Empty everything out of the space. 3. Throw out garbage. 4. Put "relocate" items in a box. 5. Purge using daily tips (keeping purpose in mind) 6. Put everything you're keeping back (optional: organize as you are putting things back) From overwhelmed to organized.

Note: The main purpose of this series is to declutter so don’t get overwhelmed doing too much cleaning.  Once your house is less cluttered it will be easier to clean so you can always come back and do it later!

Also, if you have the time, you can organize the space while you’re doing this step, but don’t get overwhelmed with too much organizing this month.  We’re focused on decluttering!

Decluttering Tips for Your Junk Drawer

Follow the steps listed above, and use these tips as you purge (step #5) your junk drawer:

  • Throw away anything that is garbage (broken items, doo-dads that you can’t remember what they’re for, etc.)
  • Recycle papers you no longer need (old receipts, expired coupons/menus, etc.)
  • Relocate anything that doesn’t belong in this drawer {Make sure you’ve defined the purpose of this drawer (step #1) so you can decide what belongs and what doesn’t!}
  • Just doing those 3 things will likely already get rid of a lot of things from this drawer!
  • Get rid of chargers for electronics you no longer have
  • Dispose all expired batteries
  • Reduce the quantity of some items to an amount that will realistically be used or needed (e.g. do you really need 48 elastic bands or 76 paper clips in this drawer?)
  • If you choose to keep tools in this drawer, only keep the bare minimum, so you can quickly grab them for a small project (e.g. store a multi-bit screwdriver here rather than several screwdrivers)
  • Keep in mind the location of this drawer when deciding what to keep in it.  Typically junk drawers take up prime real estate in our kitchens, so they should contain items we need quick access to on a regular basis.

What you choose to store in your everything drawer is entirely up to you!  But defining what you want to keep there and what you don’t will help keep your drawer from becoming a cluttered mess in the future!

Pictures and Links to Inspire You

The easiest way to keep your multi-purpose drawer from becoming cluttered again is to divide the different categories within the drawer.  That helps remind you what you’ve determined the purpose of the drawer to be and what items should and shouldn’t be stored in it.

You can buy all kinds of drawer organizers.  Like these clear acrylic ones.  

Two open desk drawers with stationary and office supplies organized with plastic drawer inserts.
Just a Girl and her Blog

You can also repurpose cutlery organizers like this bamboo one.

Open kitchen drawer with tools, stationary, tape, markers and other odds and ends organized with a bamboo utensil tray and small plastic bin.
Two Twenty One

You can also use plastic desk drawer organizers to keep the contents of your drawers separated.

Kitchen drawer with tools, markers, glue and other odds and ends.
A Bowl Full of Lemons

*Please pin from the original source if you choose to pin this picture.  If you want to pin this post please use the button at the top.  

If You’re On A Roll…

Check out these 2 previous posts for more junk drawer organizing ideas:

Organizing Ideas for the Weekend – Junk Drawers

31 Days of Organizing Tips: Day 12 (Kitchen)

Good luck with today’s decluttering project!  I’d love to hear how you did, so please leave a comment and use the hashtag #31DaysEasyDecluttering when you share your pictures.

What’s the craziest thing you found in your junk drawer?  Any purging tips I missed for multi-purpose drawers?

If you need help decluttering, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.

Happy organizing decluttering!


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