Rethinking the Junk Drawer
A complete guide to revitalizing the most cluttered spot in the house.
Junk Drawer Diversity
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The junk drawer. That wonderful, maddening, jumbled, miraculous little spot where we gather together all those items that don’t quite belong anywhere else. For most of us the objects in our junk drawers are a combination of everyday necessities and curiosities we can’t seem to let go of.
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Whether it’s a monument to organizational acumen or a catastrophe in a kitchen cupboard, chances are you couldn’t live without one. We conducted a research survey of Scotch™ Brand users to get a better picture of the state of the modern junk drawer.
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Do you have enough junk drawers?
There’s nothing wrong with being prepared. We found that 70% of people can’t make do with just one junk drawer at home, and at least 10% have more than four.
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How long could you survive without your junk drawer?
Junk drawers are about convenience—keeping your most used items within reach. Over 90% of people surveyed said they use their junk drawer at least a few times a week.
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Where do you keep your junk drawer?
The kitchen is often the most public part of a house or apartment, and more than 80% of people keep their junk drawer there. It also probably doesn’t hurt that it’s typically where the most drawers are.
Best Practices
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When it gets too disorganized, a junk drawer can be overwhelming, and 80% of people say their junk drawers are a mess. Here are some simple tips for cutting down on the clutter.
Sorting is the key to maintaining an orderly junk drawer. Start by dividing objects into categories. Keeping like items together makes it easier to put them back in the right place after use.
No junk drawer is going to stay organized for long without a way to compartmentalize objects. Repurposed Mason jar lids, shoe box lids, check book boxes are great examples of reused items to keep objects separated. -
Think about how often you use each object. Keep items that get regular use like scissors, pens and tape close to the front and unobstructed. Items that you don’t use frequently, like spare light bulbs or cords, can be tucked further back.
Now that you’ve figured out what belongs, and where it goes, keep your drawer clean. Don’t think of your junk drawer as a storage space, think of it as a tool that needs to be organized in order to be useful.
What are the most common items found in junk drawers?
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Writing Materials
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Scissors
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Clear Tape
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Post-it® Notes or scratch paper
Junk Aesthetics
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87% of people we surveyed keep their junk in an actual drawer as opposed to a box, a shelf or another space. And while a drawer may seem like the most logical place to house a junk drawer—it’s in the name, after all—there’s no reason why you have to hide everything away. There are all kinds of ways to get things out of the drawer
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and into the open, whether it’s to increase accessibility to items you use all the time, to make more room in your existing junk drawer or even to display some items that you think deserve the attention. Here are a bunch of our favorite ideas for attractively showcasing and creatively organizing objects you would otherwise keep out of sight.
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*Survey was conducted in March 2016 for the Scotch® Brand by an independent vendor through an online research panel consisting of 140 Scotch® Brand users across the United States who received free product for participating.
