Tame a Junk Drawer in 5 Minutes
Tame a Junk Drawer in 5 minutes
An organizing project doesn’t have to be overwhelming or take a lot of time. It’s actually better to break down a large project into small tasks.
By doing so, you will not be overwhelmed when everything is pulled out and chaos ensues. Doing small projects also gives you the opportunity to practice using the new system you set up before moving on to another space. Some small spaces you can organize quickly, for instance, the glove compartment in your car, a front entry table, and your handbag. Today we’ll focus on the one space that gets used all the time – your junk drawer!
Cleaning and reorganizing a junk drawer doesn’t take more than 5 minutes. REALLY! You know the rule: If you haven’t touched an item inside in the last 12 months, get rid of it. Sort like items together and container each group in small containers inside the drawer. After that, it’s no longer considered a “junk” drawer because it has a purpose. You can now say you’ve learned to tame a junk drawer in 5 minutes!
An organizing project doesn't have to be overwhelming or take a lot of time. It's actually better to break down a large project into small tasks. Click To Tweet
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Do you struggle with getting and staying organized?Are you afraid to start an organizing project? Are you overwhelmed or lose motivation in the middle? Then left with even more chaos? You are not alone. That’s the fear of most people who don’t have time to allot to a big organizing project.
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Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
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Great Site, Maintain the beneficial work. Thanks!
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as focusing on tiny organizing tasks. They can be accomplished quickly and have a huge positive impact on your daily interaction with that space…even a small one like a junk drawer.
Agreed. It’s sometimes more about the feeling of being accomplished. Also, those tiny projects can make a big impact if they’ve been bothering you.
It’s always fun to see what has accumulated in a junk drawer. Such a great variety of things! In mine, there are currently one old-style camera film (its still there because it fits perfectly to hold my organizer in place LOL), and some keepsake stones. Why? I don’t know, because I like looking at them periodically.
This is a very rewarding project. Perfect for a holiday Monday, right?
Absolutely perfect for a Monday! That’s so funny about the camera, I love when we have things for fun reasons like that.
Junk drawers can be like a treasure hunt. You’re so right when you say they can be conquered in 5 minutes or less.
Treasure hunts indeed! You never know what you’ll find, but you can find out in 5 minutes!
You’re so right — small projects like junk drawers (as well as glove compartments and purses) make for the most rewarding personal decluttering sessions.
Junk drawers always present such a fun archeological dig into the recent history of your stuff. My main junk drawer is completely practical: batteries, light bulbs, chargers, and tools. It’s almost too utilitarian to be called a junk drawer but that’s how I think of it. But the drawer most people would think is “junk” is my “nifty” drawer, where the real bibs & bobs live. Most of what’s in there is practical, too, like everything for holding stuff together (tape, glue, string) and taking stuff apart (scissors, staple remover). But some of the containers hole the goofy stuff, like fortune-telling dice, an old dreidel, a tiny sewing kit (because I’ll never sew anything except a button) and fun “message” pins to wear on my coat. It’s all tidy and self-contained, though, and that’s the key.
I love that, a nifty drawer! Just like life, it’s fun to have a mix of practical and bibs & bobs!
This organizing prompt is great for when someone’s not sure what else to do, or is having trouble starting organizing. Mini projects can kick-start larger projects, or be one-and-done sessions.
Thank you! I agree, it can be a nice kickstarter when things feel too overwhelming to know exactly where to start.