I like to think my kitchen drawers are in pretty good shape right now. I moved into this house less than three years ago, so I haven’t had all that much time to junk them up. And I’m older and wiser and more mature than I was in my younger days when my kitchen drawers were full of junk.
Or am I?
I’m in the mood to not just be frugal with money, but also with my living space. My kitchen drawers should be workhorses. If I don’t use it on a regular basis, it doesn’t belong. Time for an inspection.
Most of my kitchen drawers are what I think of as “business” drawers. They are all about getting things done. This is my silverware drawer. The only extras allowed in here are handy items used almost daily like a can opener, kitchen scissors, measuring spoons, or my favorite bread knife.
Well, I don’t know how that corkscrew got in there because I don’t use that daily, but still. I feel pretty good about this drawer!
This one is directly below the silverware drawer. (It’s a cabinet section of four drawers.) It holds more businessy items like a grater, knives, my milk/cheese thermometer, and other handy things I use pretty often. I’m not doing too bad there, though it’s a little cluttered.
This next drawer is what I think of as the mixer drawer. It’s a little deeper, so the mixer fits. And unfortunately, now that I look at it, the mixer is the only thing in there that really gets a lot of use–and in fact, now I have a stand mixer, so the hand mixer won’t be seeing the light of day so often. This drawer needs work.
The bottom drawer is even deeper, and I keep a lot of various handy items in there that I use all the time. The drawer is so full of handy items, I get frustrated trying to find things in it sometimes. Now I know that I need to clean out the “mixer drawer” and divide some of the handy items out of the bottom drawer into the mixer drawer so the things I really need and use are easier to find. My bottom drawer is all business, but it’s too full.
I have another business drawer by the stove. I think I’m doing pretty good here!
The main problem with this drawer is that, like the bottom drawer, it’s too full and is sometimes frustrating because things get stuck and the drawer won’t shut, so I’m always having to fiddle to get it shut with all that handy stuff inside. I need to clean out the junk from other drawers and spread the useful stuff out for easier use.
This drawer looks pretty good at first glance. It’s where I keep the oven mitts (which need to be retired and replaced, they are so worn out), and I use them every day.
Only what’s all this stuff in the back of the drawer?
How does stuff like that get in kitchen drawers? I’m ashamed of this drawer. I do have a drawer I think of as my kitchen “junk drawer” but this one isn’t it!
This is my junk drawer. The most useful thing in this drawer are matches I use to light candles. Otherwise, it’s clogged up with all sorts of unnecessary stuff like a kitten bottle. (I haven’t bottle fed a kitten in a year, so this kitten bottle hardly needs a priority spot in the kitchen.) And what’s this clear glass thingy and where did it come from?
And what is this, a drill bit???
I think that’s a little over the top, even for a kitchen junk drawer.
And that’s just one of the many reasons it’s good that kitchen drawers were made to….
….shut.
P.S. I’m going to get to work on my kitchen drawers. You? Tell me about your drawers!
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roseh says:
Oh Suzanne! I only have three kitchen draws..Top one houses flatware and useful (?) items, second draw houses towels, dish cloths and tea towels (Actually neat and tidy!) oh, and string of course! The bottom draw is FULL of all those things that you need in the kitchen once or twice a year – when I can find them. I tried a clear out about six months ago and got rid of something I ‘needed’ the very next week – so I’m leaving them cluttered in future ;o)
On September 24, 2010 at 3:48 am
GrannyTrace says:
OH MY!! How did you get pictures of my junk drawer?lol..I really need a day to clean out all my drawers. I too have only been in my house for 2 and a half yrs..
Granny Trace
On September 24, 2010 at 5:45 am
Cathy Jones (catray44) says:
No, no, those are my drawers….. except someone cleaned up the toaster crumbs…. hmmm.
On September 24, 2010 at 6:27 am
Joyce says:
Loved the pictures, makes me feel a bit better. As well as being a bit scorched a couple of my oven mitts are starting to leak their innards. How do people who cook manage to keep their kitchens so neat. Besides who can get by without the jar lifters, lemon squeezer, milk thermometer etc,etc etc. Thinking about how full the drawers are of good stuff (some of it jolly junk) makes my day. Joyce
On September 24, 2010 at 7:12 am
CindyP says:
Makes me feel wonderful…I’m not the only one!! I do clean outs it seems all the time, but they’re always full! My utensils I use by the stove are in old green canning jars and my baking utensils I use all the time are in an old plant pot…I don’t have enough drawers…or I definitely have too much stuff!
On September 24, 2010 at 7:18 am
Miss Judy says:
I took a critical peek in my kitchen drawers.I have eight.The neatest one is the wrap drawer… Wax, plastic, and parchment and that’s it ( where’s the foil?).Oh, there is a printout of a Farm Bell recipe for peach pie filling…I knew it was in the kitchen somewhere…and a packet of Calm, a natural relaxing magnesium drink mix( where did that come from?) Why are there old ink pens that don’t work stuck in there? DH must be getting senile because I know that’s something I would never do! I really need to declutter! Well, never mind, I need to find some foil to cover those brownies before I go to work.
On September 24, 2010 at 7:39 am
NorthCountryGirl says:
Drawers?? What drawers?? Is that what they are?? I mean, they start out so nice and neat and innocent. That is, until someone gets into them and roots around and BOOM! Instant junk bin. I can sort and clean out and organize till I’m blue in the face, but invariably within days we are back to square one! The only drawer that survives organization is the silverware drawer. That’s because the drawer is filled with a wooden tray that pretty much makes sure everything goes where it’s supposed to go. The rest…well, let’s just say…GOOD LUCK finding what you’re looking for.
On September 24, 2010 at 7:50 am
Pete says:
Had to laugh!! Just yesterday I looked in the drawer that holds all the plastic containers and was wondering where they all are because the drawer is almost empty…
On September 24, 2010 at 9:48 am
Jennifer says:
I have 2 kitchen drawers….you can tell my husband didnt think about that when he built his house…one is the silverware/utensil drawer and the other is the “junk” drawer…
I just brought up an old dresser that was in the basement, refinished it and painted it antique white to put in the dining room as a buffet table. Want to put the cut/faceted glass drawer pulls/knobs on it. It has 4 drawers… one will be for the real silver, one for my grandmother’s tablecloths, one will be for misc things that dont get used often, individual pie plates, cookie cutters, cookie press, etc… hopefully it will free up some space in the kitchen…
On September 24, 2010 at 11:39 am
Nancy says:
After having a junk drawer for umpteen years I finally got rid of it…well, in the kitchen anyway! The hutch in the dining room, which was my Moms, has a wide, not too deep drawer that stores everything from steak knives to maps, batteries to dice! There are six drawers in the kitchen. The one closest to the stove holds pot holders and a long lighter (oops, and some tealights!). The one next to it is where all the flatware is kept. Next to the sink is a stack of four drawers. Three narrow and one deep which was originally a bread drawer. The top drawer holds dish cloths and dish towels and a few expensive specialty gadgets I hide from my husband abusive hands! The second drawer holds hand towels. The third, deep drawer holds all the metal utensils…spatulas, ladles, hand mixer and such. The bottom one is all the plastic and rubber… spatulas, measuring spoons and cups. All in all I don’t think they’re too bad. Just don’t ask to see my closets!!
On September 24, 2010 at 11:40 am
Pam says:
Why is it that every time I clean out drawers and cabinets SOMEONE goes behind me and messes them up? I put everything in nice and neat and all it takes is one time of DH or one of the kids cleaning (that’s what they call it) the kitchen and nothing is the way I left it. I think we all have junk drawers (pl.). I have several!
On September 24, 2010 at 11:47 am
rileysmom says:
My drawers?….well, white ones today…..oh, KITCHEN drawers! Well, I’m a bit of a neat freak so they’re in decent shape. I keep a large utensil drawer and a large silverware drawer (yep, love those little trays!). The utensil drawer is lined with that rubberized kind of padding, so things kinda stay in place.
There is a stack od 4 drawers next to the fridge with oven mitts (luckily new since they old ones looked like Suzanne’s!), dish towels and cloths in the 2nd drawer, twisties and rubber bands in te 3rd and the foil, parchment, zippie bags and plastic wrap in the deeper bottom drawer. Let’s not talk about the pantry yet….
On September 24, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Sherie says:
I’m NOT the only one! Thank goodness!!!! I just want MY kitchen drawers to be MY kitchen drawers. . . not mine and hubby’s “I’m just going to put this here so I’ll be able to get to it quickly” drawers. How quick do you need a license plate screw, a worn out light switch, a piece of tape that has folded over on itself? I can dream, can’t I?
On September 24, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Sheryl - Runningtrails says:
I love the look into your kitchen drawers!
I got frustrated with mine last year and installed a lot of cup hooks under the top cabinets. I hung a lot of daily use things there, like scissors, peeler, whisk, measuring cups and spoons and some things that just take up too much space in a drawer, like strainers. This really saved me a lot of drawer space and frustration.
I have a desk on the upstairs landing that is a “junk” desk. Every drawer is full of junk and I have it in mind to clean it all out and use it for paint and art supplies, but where would I put all the “junk”? I’m considering cardboard boxes in the garage, at least until I clean out the garage. Then I’ll have to find a new spot to put it all and it keeps growing!!
On September 24, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Darlene says:
I have a lot of stuff drawers. The silverware drawer stays pretty neat. The utility drawer with all the knives, ladles, openers, etc and wooden spoons is pretty neat too but could use a washing out. My real junk drawer has phone books, batteries, pens and pencils, and coupons for pizza, etc. This one gets a lot of use. I go thru and throw away the expired coupons once in awhile. Then in my Hoosier cabinet I have another drawer with tools like my own hammer and screw drivers, push pins, nails and so forth. It’s sort of a junk y one too. But hey I know where everything is.
On September 24, 2010 at 5:54 pm
bonita says:
I agree. Those divided trays help keep the silverware drawer net and organized, but I have another organizational secret—I ‘store’ the silverware in the dishwasher!
On September 25, 2010 at 1:17 pm
jlath1405 says:
I had a mixer like that growing up, and for the life of me can not remember what it is called. What brand is yours? I would really love to get another one.
On January 3, 2012 at 2:27 am