If it hasn't been used in six months, get rid of it. Those would be great words to live by. Just think of all the closet space that would be available if everyone followed that one simple phrase. It would make life much simpler plus make room for some new clothes.
Usually when an item is thrown out, or given away, two days later it's needed for something. With that in mind, I'm going to add to the phrase; If it hasn't been used in six months, get rid of it, UNLESS if fits in the junk drawer.
I would guess it's a pretty safe bet to say that anyone who has drawers in their house, at least one of them is the designated junk drawer. The junk drawer lets us hang on to items we just can't part with.
Every so often I clean our junk drawer. I empty its entire contents on the floor and sift through treasures to see if they are really worth keeping. I even organized it, placing similar items into plastic bags, to make the junk more readily accessible. That worked for a while until I discovered it was much easier to just open the drawer and drop new items in it, then slide the drawer shut.
My junk drawer is full of fascinating, someday they will be useful, items. In the back of the drawer I found rain ponchos, the kind that are folded up neatly and stuffed in a small plastic carrying case, about the size of a checkbook. Those will come in handy if I'm ever caught in a downpour, especially when they will still be in the drawer. Have you ever tried to re-fold a rain poncho? They never fit back into their handy carrying case so it's best to leave them in the drawer where they will remain neatly folded.
Another thing that will suffice as a junk drawer is a decorative bowl, or box. Place one of those on a counter or table and it will instantly fill with objects out of thin air. I placed a small bowl on my desk, for the purpose of always having a pen or pencil at the ready. It now contains a spatula, pliers, and a large serving spoon along with numerous ink pens, half of which no longer work. I don't know how the tools and kitchen items got in there, the bowl is just a vortex and consumes anything that gets too close.
My desk seems to be a junk drawer of its own making. It carries many items not needed for desk work. A tape measure, a bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol and numerous pieces of jewelry. The desk also has 10 cubby holes which serve the purpose of being mini junk drawers. They are dangerous indeed and one contains a small decorative bowl. Its function was to hold large paper clips, as I peer into its shallow depths I see key chains, a shell casing and a plastic eyeball.
Today would be a really good day to clean out all my junk drawers, bowls and boxes. But then again, the weather forecast is calling for highs in the 60's. Since it's November here in the great Mid West, those days will be few and far between from here on out. Rather than pilfer through the junk, I shall go outside and enjoy the sunshine, maybe do a little yard work. Besides, somewhere in this house is a stuffed animal missing an eye and it would be a shame to throw it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment