Ideas To Organize Junk Drawer: Hall Of Fame

Below I've gathered lots of ideas for how to organize your junk drawer, whether it be in your kitchen (one of the most common locations) or elsewhere in your home.


Almost everyone has a catch all drawer in their home that they just throw various odds and ends in.

There is nothing wrong with such a drawer, as long as you can actually find the things you need in it as opposed to it becoming an abyss where things go in but never come back out.

Really, a junk drawer is not so much for junk as it is for commonly used small items that you use relatively frequently but don't deserve a space dedicated all to themselves.

One of the 15 minute daily decluttering missions that I recommend you do during the week you work on the Kitchen Cabinets & Drawer Organization Challenge is to clean this area out.

Here's the declutter your junk drawer mission article for you to read. I suggest you declutter your drawer completely before you try to do anything suggested below to organize it, since you don't want to organize clutter!

Then, once you're ready to organize I've shown lots of real life examples of organized junk drawers below, shown by readers, who've already done this mission. Hopefully these ideas will inspire you.

When someone uses a cool organizer, either bought from a store or homemade in their after picture I've also tried to discuss it since this can help you have a great idea of how to do it yourself as well!

Once you've done this mission I'd love to see your photos as well. You can share them here and I might just add them to the page.


Top photo courtesy of miss karen

An Organized Junk Drawer Is A Happy Junk Drawer

by Lisa

Lisa shared this picture of her junk drawer after picture on the site's Facebook wall.

I can't tell from the picture if she used a junk drawer organizer (kind of like the one pictured to the right) or used her own individual containers, but either way it looks great. These organizers can help you keep all the little stuff we like to keep in junk drawers separated and found easily when we need it.

Here's another photo from a reader, Jinny, who took on this challenge and then said: "Wish I had a before picture. This makes me so happy."

Kitchen Junk Drawer Organized Using DrawDecor Customizable Drawer Organizer

by Pam

Pam provided this photo of her junk drawer and said, "There was so much stuff in there that I had trouble opening and closing the drawer, but now look at it!"

The blue mat at the bottom of the drawer is a DrawerDecor customizable drawer organizer, which is a great way to organize a drawer where you want to set the space parameters for various objects, instead of being stuck with the preset and determined sizes and slots in regular drawer dividers.

They come in a variety of fun colors, like bright blue, red, green, purple, and orange, as well as a more neutral ivory, to provide a pretty pop of color when you open the drawer.

You can find them here:

Double Tiered Junk Drawer Trays Work For Us

by Jennifer
(Columbus, OH)

I really wish I had a 'before" photo, because it was b-a-d bad. Finding the corkscrew took a few minutes. Pulling out my phone charger dragged half the drawer out with the cord. When I did finally clean out the drawer, I found that a packet of BBQ sauce had leaked, and the back of the drawer was coated in it! See, like I said, it was bad!

I realized that the drawer that had been housing our silverware was bigger than the junk drawer, but the silverware actually required less space.

So I switched them, and although it is a bit tight now for the silverware, it is worth it. The silverware is also now closer to the food prep area, where I actually use the silverware more often.

Finally, you will see that I have a double-tiered system in the junk drawer. I had seen one to buy online, but it was about $50. When i went to the store, I wasn't sure what would work the best, so I bought a few different trays.

At home, I discovered that one actually does fit on top of the others! While it doesn't exactly slide around, and I have to lift it out to access what's underneath, it is worth that small inconvenience to a.) know where all of this stuff is, and b.) be able to reach in and grab it easily! Even my kids can easily access and put back the scissors and tape.

And that elusive corkscrew? It's got a new happy home in the cooking utensil drawer. :)

A Divided Drawer Organizer Made It Look Wow!

by Jessica

Jessica from His Plan, Not Ours shared before and after pictures of her kitchen junk drawer.

She says: "Before, it was just stuffed with everything imaginable. Paperwork, instruction booklets and warranties, phonebooks, address book, batteries, pens, stamps, tape dispensers, coupon books, flashlights, candles (both birthday and otherwise), and more.

So I waited until Owen's nap time and then I dumped everything from the junk drawer out onto my kitchen island. I began sorting, putting similar useful things together and trashing anything we didn't need like expired coupons and empty ink pens.

I found a large zip top bag and used that to keep our appliance instruction manuals and warranties together and stored that in our important documents file box. That cleared out a lot of space in the junk drawer.

I purchased two acrylic organizers from Target for about $8 and used those to organize everything that was left over.

Now all the batteries for Owen's toys are kept together by type, stamps and envelopes are kept in the same place as my address book, and office supplies have a home."

Adding Dividers & Containers Can Make A Difference

by Leigh

Leigh at Joy and Strength shared her before and after pictures of her catch all drawer.

She clearly decluttered and removed things, but in addition she added some simple organizers to the area to make it more functional and containerize it a bit.

It sure makes a big difference doesn't it?

Here's another example from a reader, Karen, who said: "These little plastic bins work wonders."

Organized Using Simple Plastic Containers

by Keli

Keli showed an after picture.

She used simple plastic containers to organize the stuff in this drawer, but it definitely works for her.

This just shows you can use what is on hand already in your home to help you get this stuff more accessible!

Added Modular Containers For Better Organization

by Marsha

Marsha shared this before and after picture on the sister site, Household Management 101's Facebook wall.

She had been using an office desk organizer before, which you can see from the before picture. However, she wasn't happy with it.

Therefore, she switched to modular containers that she could arrange in whatever way she wanted within her drawer (see a similar product to the right), and voila! The end result is really awesome.

Here's another example, from a reader, Mayte.

My Newly Organized Drawer!

by Cindy

Cindy sent in this photo of her newly organized junk draw. Looks great!

Junk Drawer Organization: Before And After Pictures

by Tina

Tina was already featured in the Organize Kitchen Cabinets Challenge Hall of Fame but her junk drawer before and after pictures were so great, so I wanted to feature those too.

Notice she used some of my favorite drawer organizers to "containerize" the drawers and separate the contents to keep them more accessible.

She obviously also decluttered or moved things to more appropriate locations throughout her house.

Are You Inspired To Declutter & Organize Now?

As explained above decluttering your junk drawer is one of the daily 15 minute missions that I typically suggest occur in January while working on organizing your kitchen drawers and cabinets in Week #2 of the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge.

Of course, you can do this mission really at any time, so I hope you've been inspired to do so.

Once you've done it click here to send me your before and after pictures, so I can feature you as well! In addition, join the organizing challenges if you haven't already and make a real impact in your kitchen and the rest of your home this year!



Before and after photos courtesy of a reader, Debra

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