apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I don't believe in junk drawers. If it doesn't have a home, then it's junk and it doesn't belong in my home. All the bits and bobs that are stereotypically found in a junk drawer, like tools, hardwear bits, spare batteries, etc. are stored in Ikea Kasset boxes in the upper cabinets of my motorhome, all separated by categories. I can find spare bulbs in the 'electrical' box, a needle and thread in the 'sewing box', Allen keys in the 'hardware' box, etc. Tools go in the tool chest, batteries go in the fridge. I used a similar principle when I lived a house-bound life. I'm the most organized slob I know. :)

I am with TravelingRae. Everything in its place or else it goes in the garbage. There is no junk drawer in our home.

The pictured junk drawer looks pretty dangerous, what with the fish hooks.

Our drawer has certain small items such as calculator, band aids, ruler, tape measure, cell phone chargers, matches, flashlights, and extra keys. Each item or group of items has its own little container to sit in. This prevents the items from sliding around and getting miexed up. It would probably be called a junk drawer, but there isn't any junk in it.

Whoa, i can't imagine not having a junk drawer, i know i know "mise en place", but i need that catch all place for my odd balls to live. I love rediscovering my little treasures. Organization is great but i like to let loose a bit too.

I'm with Conadee. I have a junk drawer and use it. Periodically, I clean it out and things that go other places (likes tools) are put back in their home and then the junk drawer is ready once again to "junque up."

Is it a "junk drawer" if you know exactly what you have in there... and it just looks kind of disheveled? It's a bunch of stuff that doesn't really belong together. There is a box of band-aides in there just in case you put your hand in there and get stabbed by the awl, or the the screw driver...

i use things like egg cartons and ice-cube trays in the drawers to store thumbtacks, paper clips, spare keys, and rubber bands. gotta have a junk drawer!

We have a drawer that could be called a junk drawer. It's organized with little plastic containers that work great. It holds the batteries, the owners manuals, the extra tacks, things like that. I guess you could call it in the odds and ends drawer.

My new home is the first place I've lived without a junk drawer. I miss having one. But I will say stuff gets dealt with a lot sooner now.

As I have a grand total of two (TWO!) drawers in my entire kitchen, the untrained eye might think both of them were junk drawers. Rather, they have a lot of disparate stuff in them that I might need somewhere in that vicinity. I don't always WANT to go to the tool box for a screwdriver or to the office for a rubber band, so there are a few tools and office supplies in there, for example. Instead of a junk drawer, I have a decorative lidded box or two stashed around the house with a variety of doodads (purell, batteries, lip balm, nail file, remote controls) that I might need or want regularly, and those also serve as catch-alls when I'm tidying up. Every so often the boxes get sorted.

ooo, Jezebella, i like this. my place is small but i seem to either be heading to a cupboard or closet to get some little thing, leaving it out for better access next time, and then getting overwhelmed by the junkiness. a few well placed and attractive boxes are a superb idea.

I have always lived with a junk drawer, as a child and as an adult. What I love about the junk drawer is that there are certain things I KNOW are always going to be there (like emergency candles). I am orderly and have a place for almost everything but it's nice having that one corner of chaos.

No junk drawer anymore. Tool box, and a small Rubbermaid type storage box for things like thumb tacks and cup hooks, et cetera.

I wouldn't organize my junk drawer at all. I would instead periodically look in it and clean it out of all the stuff that is put in there that really does have a home somewhere else of I decide is trash. This keeps it uncluttered to a certain extent and the drawer will serve its purpose.

I'm with sfteri. I know what's in it so I don't care if it's a bit jumbled. But then, I call it a tool drawer, not a junk drawer.

I actually wrote a post about this here:

http://bacacreative.blogspot.com/2008/12/organize-your-life-in-just-ten-minutes.html

You may find it helpful!

I separate items by size (more or less) in wooden cutlery bins, though I too would ask: "if you know what's in it, is it a junk drawer?"
It's a "detritus of life" drawer: cup hooks, curtain rings I don't need at the moment, but might if I switch drapes, take away menus, a bike repair kit, batteries, ceiling hooks waiting for some plants. A lot of this, I would put in small containers on a shelf somewhere if I had more closets, but I don't. I have a kitchen full of drawers. I has to bear a lot of weight.