Monday 13 February 2012

Organising - Kitchen Not A "Junk" Drawer

We used to have bona fide junk drawer in our last kitchen, complete with drawer front hanging off, £20 in loose change, 30 useless pens, odd bits of fluff and chargers and goodness knows what else really important stuff... that all (apart from the moola of course) got chucked in the bin in the great kitchen overhaul. Unfortunately I don't have a "before" style pic but I'm sure you can imagine it!

When we first redid the kitchen, the "junk" drawer looked like this:


Its been working well but there are a few things we've added/subtracted since then:


On the bottom left I'm now storing my few Nintendo DS games and iPod buds in little sauce containers we got with a dessert and in the basket above we've added some new technology - a new camera complete with all its stuff and a portable hard drive - so they now live in the junk drawer too. The Dymo machine has been moved to be with Hubs stationery in the newly-built unit in the dining room (his "office") - more on that another day. In the box in the bottom right of the top pic are USB mobile chargers which don't really belong in the kitchen - I've moved them to the study as that's where the laptop lives so makes more sense to have them there closer to hand.

Another view:


I got the baskets from a local £ shop - cheap and cheerful but actually perfect for the job! They slot into the space so there's no movement, and everything has a place, so it gets put back in its place - its just easier that way!

Giving you a guided tour clock-wise from top left:


1. Basket for Spare eCloths - I've really pared down the cleaning products since getting the new kitchen and we now use vinegar spray with kitchen roll for stubborn marks and eCloths in various guises with/without water for general cleaning and polishing - we even have one for stainless steel for the ovens! We have a hanging rack for eCloths and Dishtowels in use, so this basket is just for spares when the ones in use need to be washed.
2. Basket for Chargers - mobile phones, Nintendo DS and a mini rechargeable hoover.
3. Basket for Misc Bits - scissors, bottle openers, penknife and torch.
4. Tub for Batteries.
5. Tub for Spare Lighters (for tealights and candles - don't smoke).
6. Tub for DS Games.
7. Tub for iPod earbuds.
8. Basket for Electronics - camera dock, hard drive, Nintendo DS and data/power cables.
9. Little pot with keys for piggy banks (in the middle).

I LOVE my "junk" drawer - just wish I could come up with a more appropriate name... "used to be a junk drawer but much more organised now drawer" isn't going to catch on I don't think!!

If you happen upon my organised drawer post, I'd love to see your own pics or drawer organisation, or drawer chaos, whichever floats your boat!!                               





3 comments:

  1. looks great! you've discovered the key ingredient to maintaining a drawer by using small containers and dividers.

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    1. ps- maybe you could refer to it as the 'household supply' drawer, rather than the 'junk drawer'??

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    2. Heidi, thank you for your stopping by and leaving me comments - you're right about the name, I'm doing my lovely organised drawer a disservice by calling it a junk drawer!

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