Everybody needs one small area where all not easily categorized, miscellaneous items can congregate. Yes, even the most organized professional organizer has a junk drawer. Even with the best of intentions you may start off by neatly separating the match boxes from the rubber bands but after a week you are most likely to lose the overview of your junk drawer because it has become a catch all place for just about everything. You can master this stubborn drawer with a few simple moves.

Lay it all out

Remove the entire content and lay it out on a flat surface. If your drawer collected miscellaneous crumbs, dirt and dust be sure to cover your surface with paper. Do not be discouraged. You first need to pick out actual trash: crinkled papers, random buttons, keys you do not know which door they are supposed to open – you get the idea. You will notice that right off the bat the contents of your drawer have become much more manageable.

Sort items where they belong

Next, sort out items that actually have a dedicated place. Put the hammer with the other tools, the paper clips and pens in the office. You will be glad you did, because you won’t waste time when you are actually looking for them.

Group what is left

Now group the remaining item, all matches, magnets, pins, rubber bands, post-it pads and anything else you have in there. A great way to organize is to place these items in drawer dividers. They are inexpensive and come in different size compartments, find the one that is right for you. If you have many little items, get the one with many small compartments, but if you need to store pens and larger things, a drawer divider with a few larger compartments will do. Place all our newly grouped items into the divider’s compartments. You can even get sticky labels to label each compartment so other users know where to place their difficult to place items.

Now you can take pleasure in a clean, neatly organized junk drawer. Repeat your drawer purge often to ensure that true junk does not accumulate over a long period of time making your drawer unusable and frightening. Not only does your drawer look great, but you also will spend less time looking for that box cutter when you cannot wait to open the exciting box you just received in the mail.