The junk drawer… I love it and hate it all at the same time.  It’s perfect for when people are coming over and you need to find a quick place to stash all the stuff that has accumulated on your counter, am I right?!  Can I hear an AMEN!

 

In our home, we have the pleasure of having 2 junk drawers and no matter how many times I tried to tame the mess… it just kept looking like this…

Junk Drawer before

I can just hear the gasps, and imagine the wide eyed looks of horror!

As you can see, these drawers became the catch all for pretty much everything. Maybe, just maybe, you have a junk drawer or two that looks pretty much the same. (Ahem, ahem… yes, YOU!)

Well, I can confidently say that even these drawers had hope for a better day!

Here’s the AFTER picture:

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I’m going to walk you through 3 simple steps to taming the junk in your trunk… I mean drawers!

1.Purchase a Drawer Organizer

bamboo organizer

We picked up this Seville Classics expandable drawer organizer from our local Costco. My hubby spotted it and grabbed two of them. (Cue round of applause!) We love how you can customize it to fit your drawer and the adjustable trays are a bonus. You can also find drawer organizers at your local hardware store or online at Amazon.

2. Empty Your Drawers – Sort, Purge & Relocate

 

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Begin by completely emptying your junk drawer.  Lay everything out on your kitchen counter and sort like items together.  Throw out all of the garbage (old receipts, broken toys, pens that don’t work…)  and give that drawer a good wipe down. Next, create a pile of items that need to be returned to their rightful home.  Now, you should be left with items that actually belong in your junk drawer!

3. Group Similar Items Together & Get Organized! 

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As soon as you’ve sorted similar items together, make sure each compartment is dedicated, and STAYS dedicated to these things.  I can immediately spot where car keys, pens, labels, loose change and USB keys belong and make sure to put them back in their place after I’ve used them.  Everyone in the house is able to do their part and put things back in the right spot when you have such a simple system in place.

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My hubby and I timed how quickly we could transform this little space in our home, and from start to finish it took us 20 minutes to tame the mess.

So, what are you waiting for? Tackle that junk drawer and show it who’s boss!