Organization For Short Attention Spans: Junk Drawer

Thanks to everyone who read yesterday’s post.  Remember, any little bit you can contribute will help defer some of Dena’s bills and you can keep donating to her fundraiser here.

January seems like a pretty good time to get organized. What else are you going to do while the weather is crappy out and there aren’t any holidays left to distract you (no offense MLK day)? This past weekend, I decided it was high time to deal with the junk drawer in my kitchen. While I accept that junk drawers are a part of life, mine had gotten out of control to the point that I had taken over another drawer in a different room in order to avoid it. Observe:

That was the mid-clean-out picture.  I had already removed a bunch of stuff since I could barely open and shut the damn thing.  Oh, and see that plastic bag with the highlighter in it?  That’s the bag of stuff from the junk drawer from our last apartment.  That we moved out of.  In August.

I took some measurements of the drawer (length, width, and depth) and headed to Homegoods for an organizational solution.  Tip:  Note the measurements in your phone or on a piece of paper, and take your measuring tape with you.  The organizer I found wasn’t marked so I wouldn’t have known if it would work or not without having brought the tape.

I found this expanding bamboo organizer for $12.99 in the kitchen section.  After getting it home, I realized that it fit more snugly turned on its side.  I filled the small gap on the left with an extra book of checks and a random wallet that I keep all of my gift and rewards cards in.  After that, I just sifted through my pile of junk on the counter and grouped like with like, made a recycling pile of old grocery lists and expired coupons, sent some things back to their rightful homes, and trashed stuff like old rubber bands, a broken Christmas ornament, and plastic packaging.  The best part of this project (aside from a drawer that no longer makes my eye twitch) it only took me about 20 minutes to complete.  I’ll take that all day long.

Now, let’s play I Spy with the final product and see what fun things you can find:

Have you guys caught the New Year organizing bug?  It’s better than the flu.  Although, I do love an excuse to stay on the couch watching Bravo. Feel free to link up any of your recent projects in the comments below!

Update:  Award for keenest eyes goes to Jen Wyatt for calling me out on the Holyland pen I didn’t know I had.  Apparently, Conor got it from a Greek plumber he worked with in Southie years ago.  Here’s a shot of the pen’s special feature.  That’s right, it’s a pull-out photo of…the Holyland.  I laughed so hard you guys.