Organizing Junk Drawers

Organizing guru Pam Hix has tips for turning cluttered drawers into useful storage space.

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A junk drawer gone wild is a frightening place to hunt for an item. Use these tips to turn that junk drawer into a useful, organized space.

Organization expert Pam Hix joins TIPical Mary Ellen host Mary Ellen Pinkham to share ideas for turning overstuffed junk drawers into useful storage spaces.

One way to better use drawer space is to divide it into compartments.

Use ice-cube trays to hold the little items that normally slide around in the bottom of the drawer (figure A).

Figure A

By using an open-weave cutlery tray and grouping similar items together, you can transform that junk drawer into an office-supply drawer, a tool and utility drawer, or at least a more organized junk drawer (figure B).

Figure B

If you have an old dresser that you are throwing out, save the drawers. Just buy four caster wheels and screw them onto the four bottom corners of the drawer (figure C). Now you can roll the drawer under a bed to store out-of-season clothes or blankets.

Figure C

Use a cardboard bottle divider from a liquor or wine case to create small compartments in a drawer (figure D).

Totally empty junk drawers and throw out all of the unused items. This will give you more space than you ever imagined.

Line your drawers with wallpaper or self-adhesive paper so that when you clean them there won't be anything stuck in the cracks and corners.

Using drawing pins (available at craft stores), attach elastic along either side of the drawer. This way you can store small bottles, film canisters or baby food jars in drawers without having to worry about them spilling, breaking or just rolling around.

Empty pill bottles or film canisters work great for holding thumbtacks, paper clips and other tiny items.

Extension cords, an item commonly found in a junk drawer, can be conveniently stored, without tangling, by simply winding the cord loosely and slipping it into a cardboard tube from an empty roll of paper towels.

Resources

Guests
- Pam Hix
  Organization Consultant, Everything's Together Organizing Services
  13012 June Terrace
  Minnetonka, MN 55305-2740
  Phone: 952-939-8080
  E-mail: pjhix@aol.com