Picture of my ‘JUNK’ YES… I’m a junk drawer addict!

Confessions of a Junk Drawer Addict

How do you get rid of stuff you might need, and how do you know if you will need it, until well… you do? I have a love/hate relationship that is reserved for people who are organized; my niece and daughter-in-law are two of these people. I try to remain unbiased and calm, but it is hard sometimes.

My daughter-in-law and a niece can get together and wax poetic about stacking plastic tubs and rolling drawers that fit under beds. They look at magazine pictures, whisper and share secrets about those of us who accumulate clutter, or maybe it is just my imagination? I am after all, a secret hoarder in waiting.

When my daughter-in-law came down south, where I spend my winters, she helped with organizing my cupboards. It was such a relief, and I loved her for it. My closet was also interesting to her. I could see her eyes twitch when she spotted some hangers that were facing backward. Ok, so a lot of things were just wrong, but she kept it to herself, bless her heart.

All of this is well and good, but my focus today turns to junk drawers. It came to pass that I had to bring a professional organizer into my life. I didn’t want to lean on my family for something I should be doing.  Deciding to rent out my condo while I spent 6 months down south seemed like a good idea to me, at the time. The organizer came in and organized me out of my place with ease, and it was virtually painless.

The idea was a good I thought, maybe make some extra money to pay for condo fees and have some leftover to finance my down south home.  It’s not easy living on a pension, and I’m always looking for ways to save money or make some extra along the way. Well, my place didn’t rent, although the rental agent felt free to accommodate herself using the pool facilities; I digress. The time came for me to move back in, and it was somewhat painful, although the organizer came back and did all the big moving.

Turns out I have a lot of ‘stuff’, and I dealt with it as best I knew how. Now, if you are like me, and please let there be other people like me, I have and always will have, a ‘junk drawer’. Thanks to the organizer, they are now gone… poof!

Now I ask you, and please be truthful, how can anyone live without a junk drawer? To live without a junk drawer is to live without hope of ever finding that little something that you so desperately need right now.  When you own a junk drawer that you’ve lovingly contributed to over the years, hope springs eternal.

It can be an elusive but important something that you need right now to finish the task at hand. Yes, I know everything has a place, but what the heck do you do with that little chrome thingy that so obviously belongs somewhere, but where?

You have to know what I’m talking about, it can be a piece of adhesive or a screw or an odd-shaped thing-a-ma-giggy that you need for the whatcha-ma-call-it, and now you need it. You remember seeing it somewhere at some point in time. 

Now, where is it? If you are like me, you chucked it into the junk drawer. While I’m in there, I poke stuff around and see all sorts of interesting things I might need, and I confess, I get a little bit excited.

I even have odd pieces of bling in my junk drawer. I would stop for a moment and picture what I could put some bling on next, then I’d forget what I was looking for.

Any junk drawer worth its salt doesn’t just happen overnight, you know, it takes at least a couple of years to ‘seed’ it. Not just anything goes into it, either, well ok, mostly everything. I draw the line at tools, odd nails, and screws make it in though, seems I am always looking for a nail. (notice I didn’t say screw.. and you’re welcome 🙂

Believe me when I say I mourned the loss of that drawer. I made many pilgrimages to its site only to view the remains of ordinary, everyday dishcloths, bah!

Then a miracle happened last week. I pulled out a miscellaneous box that I had shoved into my closet unopened. It contained a cloth bag, the kind you use for groceries, inside was all my stuff from my junk drawer. omg!

It was like Xmas, and I got so excited it took me all of three seconds to rip out the squatter dishcloths and empty my treasure back into its rightful drawer! I have already opened that drawer many times, the chrome thingy is still there!

Well, I’d like to say this story has a happy ending, but alas, it doesn’t; it eventually came to my attention that someone screwed with my junk drawer stuff.  I was looking for a packet of the flower saver things that I always throw in there, and they are a no-show. I don’t see any stray nails or screws either, hmmm, what the heck?

Maybe… just maybe, if all the stars align and I hold my tongue just so, my second junk drawer will appear. Deep within the bowels of brown boxes still unopened in my spare closet, could be all the missing stuff from my second junk drawer, yep I had two of them. When I commit to something, I do it right.

Two lessons here for all who read this. First and foremost is to save money for your old age. The government doesn’t pay me enough to live the way I choose in my old age.  Second, don’t mess with someone’s junk drawer. It’s my choice to have one, and personally, those that don’t have a junk drawer are missing out on one of life’s little joyful miracles. “Oh look what I found in the junk drawer!”

and yes… this is a picture of my ‘JUNK’ cute eh?

Copyright June 13th 2015