Ask Lemmy

I have accessory drawers, but they have organizers in them and I never put sharp things just randomly strewn i n a drawer. I have some baskets with random stuff in them for like extra cotton balls, the other of a 2 pack of soap, and stuff like that which could be considered "junk drawers", but none of it is junk really. And I do have in my basement workbench a drawer that has random leftover parts from projects like screen spline, insulation spools, etc. That could definitely be called a junk drawer, but non of that is dangerous to reach in and grab, nor will any of the items damage each other when fumbling through them.

At my parents' place, EVERY drawer is like that!

One drawer? We have house full of these, cupboards and a garage XD

I see enough squish things tools to designate it the squishing drawer.

We have essentially the same drawer but with no scale and more ladies, measuring spoons, etc.

I'd probably put that scale somewhere else since it's a precision device, and it can't be too healthy for it to live like that.

I’d say that every house has a junk drawer, but I wouldn’t call this a junk drawer. It mostly looks like random kitchen tools. I guess you’re both right, in a way.

Maybe what you need is a wall-mounted rack to hold some of your other stuff without taking up valuable counter space. For example, I’ve heard people swear by magnetic knife holders. You can probably find magnetic tool holders at a hardware store for less than you’d find knife holders at a store that specializes in kitchen stuff.

Or maybe just get some hooks. Perhaps some little shelves. Whatever. The point is, make the stuff you use most often more accessible, and use the freed-up space in other drawers to clean out this drawer. Then turn it into a proper junk drawer, with shit like loose rubber bands, half~dried superglue, an awkwardly shaped pen from a real estate salesperson, and a tape measure that’s branded with the logo of an NFL team for some reason.

I don't have this drawer. I have several drawers organised by use. Baking, cooking, eating, etc. All are barely organised.

Proud junk drawer owner checking in.

We don't have one.

If something isn't important enough to have a specific place, it isn't important enough to own.

that drawer is a small scale representation of my home.

I am proud to say that I don't have this drawer. I grew up in a house with this drawer and always hated it. Nothing new is added to the kitchen without considering the actual need and anything that goes unused for any length of time is getting reevaluated.

Could you un max out other areas? Eliminate duplicates elsewhere so things in this drawer could be moved to the newly made space?

Yes everyone has this drawer

I wouldn't put the scale in there but yes, miscellaneous drawer.

Think about it like Socrates, man. Of course there’s gonna be a category for things that don’t fit in any other categories.

Technically, mine isn't a drawer, it's a shoebox tucked under the coffee table, but yes.

Consider a spring loaded drawer divider. Keeping everything from sloshing around can make a surprising amount of space.

My drawer in the image used to be a nightmare. Everything used to move around and it would jam when opening sometimes. Adding dividers got it organized enough to leave a third of it free, which is now the rightmost section that's filled with tea.

It's been over a year and I still feel a small sense of joy when I open it sometimes. There's still messes of junk in the back left and right, but they stay put.

I also don't have that drawer, but I have a box next to the toolbox labeled "useful crap that aren't tools"

Don't known, but that big green thing with the clamping white blades...do not put your dick in that.

She's right. Always.

Every family has a junk drawer. Just accept it and move on in your life.

If you already have a maxed out sharps drawer, then you probably don't actually need any of the knives in this drawer. Like how often do you actually use the pizza cutter? I just cut pizza with a chef knife. Or the egg cutter? How often is that used? Sometimes the answer is to go through all your drawers and see what can be tossed to make space for the things you actually do use.

This is very common. If you really must "solve" it, the solution world be a shadow box layout. You empty it, lay stuff down where you want it, then take a picture or trace the shapes onto paper. Then model and 3d print an insert to give everything a dedicated cutout or cut it from foam or mill it from wood. This is what folks do in workshops. I've never seen it for a kitchen large utensil drawer, but that's what to do if you must.

There are probably houses out there somewhere that do not have one of these, but I have never encountered one. They appear with the same frequency as 10 million dollar lottery tickets.

Yeah, I've got that drawer

We don't have one like that. Though most of our kitchen is well organized in drawers.

I’ve got four of those.

Edit: wait, that’s a useful disorganized kitchen drawer. I’ve got two. I should do something about my four junk drawers, and today’s the day, goddammit!

I have 2 of these drawers. 1 in the kitchen and 1 in the garage.

Bench / pastry scraper next to the end grain cutting board on counter (that's how I clean it most often). Microplane and pizza cutter (Italian chef knife) get hung. Funnel covers a teacup protecting it's rare use from excess dust / atomized oils in the kitchen. Garlic press is a waste of money when you have knife skills. -Citrus juicer likewise (cut 1/3 slabs around the core using the geometry to make squeezing efficient).