Junk Drawer Conquered

How to complete Junk Drawer Conquered

The junk drawer becomes a graveyard of dead batteries, takeout menus, and keys to nothing. Emptying it gives back a working drawer and surfaces useful things you forgot you owned.

1. Dump the entire drawer onto a table so you see everything at once.
2. Throw out dead pens, expired coupons, and anything you can't identify.
3. Sort the keepers into categories: tools, stationery, batteries, cables.
4. Drop in a divider or a few small boxes so each category has its own slot.
5. Test pens and batteries before they go back so junk doesn't quietly return.

Tips

• Bag and label stray keys, or toss the ones you genuinely can't place.
• Leave one small misc zone, because trying to ban it entirely never lasts.

What counts as done

The drawer slides shut easily and you can grab a working pen or the tape in one reach.