How to Organize Your Joy Drawer in 5 Easy Steps
We all know the drawer you go to when you’re trying to track down a miscellaneous item. Sometimes it lives in your kitchen, other times in your office. Wherever it is, it’s piled to the brim with ‘junk.’ It’s time to end the cycle of the junk drawer and turn them into joy drawers! Follow the 5 easy steps below and enjoy opening this drawer for years to come.
Take everything out of the drawer
As we always say, it gets worse before it gets better. You’ll be left with a few questions as to why things have found their way into this drawer, but the important part to remember is, you’re taking care of business and that’s all the matters. Place everything on a larger table surface like your kitchen so you have room to see everything, and take a deep breath.
Clean it out
Before you get to sorting the drawer items, it’s time to show some extra love to a drawer that may have been neglected for a long time. Take some of your favorite cleaning solution and wipe down the sides and bottom of the drawer. There will likely be some dust, crumbs and other miscellaneous particles, so don’t be afraid to put your vacuum to good use.
Purge, sort and categorize
Throw away anything that hasn’t been used in the past year, broken items, and anything that is generally unrecognizable (trust us, there may be a few things that you’re unsure about). When it comes to categorizing, take inventory of what you have and start from there. Some common joy drawer categories: Writing utensils, batteries, scissors, paper, coupons, mail, money and change, health and wellness, etc. It’s important to note that not everything you took out of the drawer will be put back in it. You may find that there is a home better suited for many of the objects you find.
Add containment
Drawer dividers are what take this spot in the house from junk drawer to joy drawer. They are what will also help you to maintain the organization of this space and they will make your life a whole lot easier when it comes time to finding what you need. It can take some trial and error to find ones that suit your style, while also fitting into the drawer. If you’re left with extra space and find that your organizers aren’t staying put, we love using this Museum Gel on the bottom to keep them in place!
Create a system
What will you be using your drawer for? How often will you be using it? Ask yourself what kind of system will benefit you the most and stick to it. When you take out batteries to charge the remote control, make sure you have enough batteries for the next time. When you’re using something from the drawer, make sure to put it back. Having a system will keep this drawer true to its name and truly have it morph into the joy drawer you deserve!