The Junk Drawer

Firstly, it's a misnomer (defined by Google as "a wrong or inaccurate name or designation.")  Things in junk drawers are not junk – that’s why they are kept for future use.  Junk, being useless, gets thrown in the garbage.

Secondly, the essential beauty and functionality of a junk drawer is freedom from organization.  Amazon.com offers a multitude of junk-drawer organizers.  I see four problems with those:

1. If organized, it's out of character and not a true junk drawer. 

2. Things want to be quickly thrown into junk drawers without thoughtful consideration as to which compartment is most suitable.

3. Reduced capacity.

4. Waste of money.

The best place for a junk drawer is the kitchen, which is the center of life as we know it.  Second-best is the shop in the garage or basement.  For convenience, I recommend maintaining a JD in both places.  The ultimate junk drawer for hardware was a shallow box on my dad's shop bench in the basement on Northcrest Drive.  As the center of attention, it rarely failed to produce just what a teenage man needed.  Dad and I relied on that priceless collection; (luckily out-of-sight, out-of-mind for my mother.) So that's where I was forever sold on the true, productive concept.

No use listing what may be stored in a junk drawer – mainly miscellaneous, little things that may come in handy someday; (I could add a pic of mine for example, but it would not be a pretty sight.)  Use your imagination, feel free, and kindly advise family members to resist the temptation to organize or discard items in junk drawers.  It happened in my shop once, and life was never the same after that. 

When your spouse says, “Look in the junk drawer,” as Kay did the other day, you know exactly where to go with confidence.  Enjoy the comforting feeling from having every needful thing, right where it belongs.

Box hockey game I made in Northcrest shop (The Improvement Era 3/65)