Mine's in the kitchen, and it's the repository for all things miscellaneous, varied, random, homeless. Opening the drawer reveals a motley mosaic of entangled forms. Some inhabitants are obviously useful, functional, the quickly located goal of frequent or regular searches, things one wants to keep ready to hand. Others, equally useful, but rarely needed, end up relegated to the back of the drawer and require a fair amount to rummaging to find their way to the surface. A third group, saved for no apparent practical reason, having but limited purpose, yet it seems a wasteful shame to actually throw them away. They're the kind of thing that sells by the dozen, when you only ever need two or three at a time, and the next time comes again only after several years.
- Scissors with yellow handles
- Blue-handled adjustable pliers
- Needle-nosed pliers
- Philips-head screwdriver
- Slender orange plastic-handled razor cutter, with safety catch
- Rubber bands: big blue ones, removed from fresh vegetables before cooking (15), small red ones (21), and a HUGE tan one
- A small tub of Crazy Glue, more than half used
- Six sheets of red twist ties, still clinging together, unseparated
- Scotch brand invisible 3/4 inch tape in a dispenser
- Blue masking tape, 1-1/2 inch wide roll
- Red electrical tape, 1/2 inch wide roll
- Master padlock with one key
- Four random keys, definitely NOT front door or car keys
- Marks-a-lot brand permanent marker, bold tip, black
- Five push pins in rainbow colors
- A dozen nails in a variety of sizes and colors
- Three long slender bolts, and a score of small bolts and screws
- Three white drawer pulls, removed from kitchen drawers, replaced over five years ago
- One walkie-talkie, partner lost years ago
- Twenty-five foot retractable metal measuring tape
- Three meter retractable metal measuring tape
- Two small flashlights, neither working, with dead AA batteries
- Energizer AA batteries (3), Duracell C batteries (2)
- Scripto brand butane BBQ lighter, with long wand handle
- Bic butane lighter
- S-hooks (3), cup hooks (4), cotter pins with rings (2)
- One small box wooden strike-anywhere matches, scattered
- Matchbooks (2)
- Suction-cup hook (2)
- Magnets (2)
- O-ring, small (1), large (1)
- Shelf brackets, metal (3 in plastic bag), plastic (2)
- Wall mirror brackets, plastic (3)
- One tube of lip balm
Brought me back to my house growing up. I'd ask my mom for something and she would respond, "Go look in the junk drawer."
ReplyDeleteAs of today, I feel like everything is a junk drawer at the moment! Think I'll use this vacation time to put in a couple of hours of neatening up and sorting so that I can create for myself a new bona fide junk drawer. Thanks!
We have several junk drawers in the house, and I try to NOT use them! I find all of the expired coupons, dulled scissors, near-empty rolls of tape, and half-used candles rather unsettling. When I lived alone, I had a place for everything, and did a good job of maintaining order. Pretty boring, and not exactly mysterious or thought-provoking, as going through a REAL junk drawer might be ... Maybe I am missing something in life? ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat was all in one drawer? mmmm... When i last moved, i got rid of the junk drawer concept and went to a plain sight system of old restaurant trays, mostly from chic bistros that are long out of business (well one of them is still in business in Santa Monica). These sit on a set of restaurant pantry shelving in my kitchen, making it easier to access and use the "junk."
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