Organize More

We all have them, the drawer that we toss things into but never actually take anything out of. Junk drawers are like black holes in our lives. How many times have you bought scotch tape that you know you already have but just can’t find. How many rubber bands, safety pins and paper clips have disappeared in there. How about spare keys, the dog’s brush, picture hooks, nails and screws, flash drives, your favorite Chinese food take-out menu, AA batteries, drill bits, dice, matches… so many things.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my junk drawer and believe that we all need them. They are the temporary places where a lot of things go before we have a permanent place for them (at least, that’s what they should be). They are also permanent places for a few miscellaneous items that we occasionally need.

Unfortunately, the permanent place never materializes for most of the “stuff” and our drawers get packed. We forget what’s in them. We start to hate to open them so we avoid them. We start the process all over again with another drawer and another black hole.

The cycle is easy enough to stop, with a regularly schedule “dump” and clean up of the beloved junk drawer. It’s a small project (20 minutes a month) that will add a lot of satisfaction to your day.

1) The Equipment – buy, find or reuse a cheap plastic drawer organizer or use an old silverware organizer. This will hold the junk in your newly organized drawer. Make sure to get the largest size that will fit in your drawer giving you plenty of space to work with.  You can click on the Amazon.com ad link above to start searching for the perfect organizers.

2) The Dump – start by dumping the messy drawer on a table. Put some paper or a table cloth down before turning the drawer over, or you’ll risk scratching the table’s surface.

3) The Trash – toss everything that is obviously trash. We end up, unconsciously, putting a lot of trash in our drawers. Look for old receipts, old corks, a million old twist ties, broken objects, magnets, junk mail, etc. Pull up a trash can and immediately throw that “stuff” out.

4) Sort – group items by use or type. For example, you can group scotch tape, masking tape and glue together; hooks, nails and screws together; and take-out menus together.

5) Put Away – anything that belongs somewhere else should be immediately put back in its place. Put paper clips in your home office. Put the screwdriver in your toolbox. Put the aspirin in the medicine cabinet.

6) Restock the Junk Drawer – Look at what is left that needs to go back into the drawer. Label the sections of your drawer organizer appropriately so that you (and other members of your household) know where to return things that are taken from the drawer. Put the remaining items neatly back into the drawer in their newly labeled compartment.

Once this is done, a quick monthly clean up will keep everything in order. You may even start to see a savings by not buying things you already have. I’m willing to bet you’ve found at least three rolls of tape in that drawer!

If you have a small yard or patio area and are running out of storage space for your garden tools, lawn mower, plant pots, bags of soil, seeds, pool equipment, Crocs, etc.,  then you probably need to look at compact storage options.  Think out outdoor storage boxes that can double as a bench... you get storage space and seating space at the same time.

Outdoor storage benches, as they are called, come in many sizes and materials. Some are attractive pieces of furniture. Others are functional storage boxes that you can sit on.

Here are things to consider if you are planning to buy an outdoor storage bench:

1. Size of Space