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10 Items You SHOULD Have in Your Junk Drawer

Let’s face it, we all have one. A junk drawer. Maybe some of you refer to it as “a drawer of useful things” or “a drawer of items that do not have a spot to call home,” or what we say, “THE DRAWER”.

Whatever you refer to it as, for this post’s sake, it’s a junk drawer.

Most of us have it in the kitchen, sometimes another one in the bedroom, or maybe in a hutch in the dining room. Wherever it is I have come to realize that there are at LEAST 10 items that you should always have readily available.

I think now when my parents are visiting us, they don’t even ask me anymore if I have a…they just look in THE DRAWER, because 99% of the time what they are looking for is in there.

So here it is…

 

 

what you should keep in your junk drawer

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1. Flashlight* – This one is pretty obvious. Power goes out? Boom – Flashlight right there. Hear something outside? Boom – Flashlight. I could go on, but I won’t.

2. Battery Charger/Rechargeable Batteries* – We love the Amazon basics battery charger as well as the Amazon basic rechargeable batteries. With toys in the house that just suck the juice out of a battery so quickly these are a must. Plus when we run low of backups I just tell my Echo Dot to reorder more! 

3. Matches/Lighter – Same scenario as above with the power going out, light a candle. Or the just incase of those moments you need a lighter for…grill?

4. Hammer – How many times have you just wanted to hang a new piece of art or bump in a loose spindle on a chair…but the hammer is all the way in the garage? If you’re like me…ALL the time….

5. Flathead and Phillips head screwdriver*..bonus if its a changeable tip! Scenarios: changing batteries in kids toys, fixing a loose handle on the cabinet.

6. Pen/pencil/Sharpie – Always great to have handy.

7. Pad of paper – Grocery list, phone numbers, reminder notes, lunch box notes.

8. Tape/Gorilla Glue – You never know when something will break, or you need to hang one of those reminder notes from above.

9. Spare Keys – Lost your key? Don’t lose your spares!

10. WD-40 pen*- These things are at the best. So many times I have shut a door thinking I should really put some WD- 40 on that but always forget to go to the garage and grab it until I shut that door again. Having the no-mess pen readily available is such a convenience.

11. An extra just because….Scissors/boxcutter – You stumble across a coupon in the paper, cut open the package that just got delivered to your front steps or cut off the annoying tag in your shirt that has been bothering you all day.

Optionals:

1. Take out menus – this is where we stored them until recently, they are not placed in a home binder in another cabinet.

2. Tacks/chalk – perfect if you have a bulletin board or chalkboard in the vicinity.

What are your must haves in your junk drawer?

Don’t forget the simple organizers as well. They come in so useful when organizing a drawer and keeping it that way! *

Courtney

Wednesday 17th of June 2020

Don't forget the chip clips!

Brenda Rupp

Thursday 7th of January 2016

Batteries for your remotes!!

Kristy

Monday 9th of February 2015

My junk drawer has most of this stuff. But mine is embarrassingly organized, especially when you consider how unorganized the rest of my house is!

Natasha

Monday 9th of February 2015

Sounds about right, now that I think about it I'm going to call it a utility drawer.

HOMEGIRL

Monday 9th of February 2015

Utility Drawer! Of course!

Karen

Saturday 7th of February 2015

We have command hooks/refills also, and nails, cup hooks, shelf brackets... we NEED lots of drawers as they double for toolbox as well. Right now I am in a kitchenette with limited storage. Oh pipe tape (for plumbing), a few bread ties, ponytail elastics (use like NICE rubber bands and last longer), and some change in a wee container for postage due letters/packages.

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