I finally took some time this weekend to organize my version of a junk drawer. I filmed the results so you could see what I did!
Now I just have to get in the habit so keeping these containers organized!
I finally found sometime this weekend to begin tackling my "junk drawers." I decided to do some research beyond the AWESOME comments that my other post left to find out just where to start.
I stumbled on Christine Kane's blog post about what your junk drawer can teach you about success. This post made me STOP FEELING GUILTY about my "junk areas." If you're not an organized person all the time (which is definitely me), then work with it. You need a place to just dump things. That's fine as long as it doesn't get out of control (aka clean it out every once in a while).
So with some motivation, I started with the step of removing everything and placing it in like piles (this suggestion came from April Welch and Life Organizers.com). I did this with two questions in my mind that professional organizer and friend Organized Home suggests:
I ended up with:
2. A pile of office supplies
3. A pile of cords/electronic stuff
4. A pile of memorabilia
5. A pile of scrapbooks
6. A pile of decorating stuff
7. A trash and a recycle pile (even though I cleaned it out before I moved, I still found things I just did not want to keep)
8. A random pile of things I needed (lightbulbs, screws, etc.) that did not seem to belong anywhere else
Basically my floor looked like this...
I felt so accomplished. I went ahead and put all my decorating stuff out and around my apartment and decided to put my scrapbooks on a shelf in my living room so anyone can look at them.
So now all I have to do is decide how I am going to store these piles. I am headed out shopping next week (hopefully) so stay tuned!
Oh and if you need motivation try one of Organized Solutions 15 minute organizing tasks (including cleaning out that junk drawer)!
I was talking to my cubical mate at work the other day and she said something that inspired me. “Junk drawers are a great place to start organizing. You can finish it quickly and feel satisfied.” Brilliant! I was inspired to go organize my junk drawers until…drum roll…I realized I did not have any. As a recent college graduate who has been living in an apartment with five other people, drawer space is at a premium. There were no extras to throw junk in. Therefore, I have accumulated junk bins/bags. Cheap, somewhat stylish, randomly pieced together bins and bags to hold things I either did not need all the time or had no idea what to do with. Moving recently and getting my first “grown-up” apartment that is ALL MINE (WOOHOO!!!!). I have decided to start off with organizing my things. The problem is I have no idea how to go about this. This is compounded by some restrictions/wants that I have about organizing my “junk drawers.” These restrictions/wants are as follows: On a positive note, I do have a HUGE closet that is relatively empty. I am trying to stop myself from just throwing everything in there and closing the door :) Okay so what is in the pile: So please, please, please tell me how to get started or send some suggestions!!
• Drawer space is still at a premium in my little 700 sq. foot apartment
• I will be moving in 12 weeks. Whatever I organize needs to be transportable.
• Most of these things need to be easily accessible and easy to find
• None of the things in this pile seem to be related
• Office supplies: pens, pencils, highlighters, staples, glue, scissors (I think), paper clips, graph paper, etc.
• CDs – program cds, picture cds
• Pictures and cards (only ones important to me…I threw out the rest before I moved)
• Cords – charging cords, connect to the computer cords (I have a lot of little electronics)
• Scrapbooks
• Important documents (thus the huge black safety box my mom insisted I buy and I was mad because it cost like $70…hello, poor college student who can eat off of that for like 3 weeks)
• Other really random things
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