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ORGANIZE: TACKLE THAT JUNK DRAWER IN 4 STEPS

Organized Drawer

The official first day of spring is this weekend and you may already have the itch to start cleaning. Last spring, we all may have been a little gung-ho, purging our closets and diving into home improvement projects that we may, or may not, have had the skills or know-how to do. This year, I suggest easing into your spring cleaning with a little smaller task – tackling your junk drawer.  Let’s be honest, we all have (at least) one, and it probably gets cleaned out less than every few years. So, allow me to help you find the motivation to clear out the chaos and bring calm to the place in your house where little items make the biggest mess.

STEP 1: GET OUT A TRASH BAG AND LET GO

If you’re a Frozen fan, you can even sing “Let It Go” while you work if it makes you happy. (And even if you’re not, I probably just got that song stuck in your head…) If you have been holding on to old receipts, holiday cards from accountants, decades old candy, and broken pieces of toys that your kids have long forgotten: it’s time to bid farewell.

Turns out, the tin of mints in our junk drawer expired almost SIX years ago. That means it probably went in there at least two years before expiring. I think it’s safe to say that is GROSS.

STEP 2: REHOME THE NON-“JUNK”

Chances are, there are quite a few items in your junk drawer that have homes elsewhere. Take the time to pull these items out, and walk them to their proper places – toolboxes, battery storage, coin jar, etc. Did you find your extra car keys in there? A great place for those would be on your car, so you don’t ever have to worry about getting locked out. The HideOut XL is a magnetic key box that you can firmly attach and hide under your car frame (or any metal surface) so you can access it in a pinch. If you’d like to hide your house keys around the exterior of your home on a non-metal surface, the HideOut includes an adhesive-backed metal plate for securing to wood, plastic, and other nonmetal surfaces.

STEP 3: LABEL AND GROUP

As for the rest of the melee of keys in there, take the time now to figure out what they all unlock and label them. Permanent marker on IdentiKey Covers or Tags is a great option so they will forever be labeled and you’ll never have to go through this guessing game again.

Adding Gear Ties to your junk drawer can also really step up your organization-game. Use Gear Tie Cordables to wrap up all the stray chargers and cords you’ve accumulated. If you have arguments over whose cord is whose, I suggest assigning a different color to each family member, and voila – no more arguing!

Pro Tip: Keep extra Gear Ties and organizing tools in the drawer so you maintain neatness as more items are inevitably added.

STEP 4: COMPARTMENTALIZE

And lastly, if you don’t have one of those handy little drawer organizers, I suggest biting the bullet and spending a couple bucks to get one. There will always be those odd little items that don’t really have a category, but at least they can have their own little compartment.

I hope this has been helpful and motivating as your spring cleaning commences! Start small this weekend, then work up to that big garage clean out. Do you have favorite spring-cleaning tips or Nite Ize uses to share with our community? Please write them in the comments section below or share them on social media with the tag #NiteIze – you just might win a SurprIZE gift!

For more clever products to help with your spring cleaning initiatives, check out our OrganIZE collection. Happy Cleaning!

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