Thursday, November 20, 2008

Everybody Has One so Let’s Talk About It

I bet you have one. Maybe it’s in your kitchen. Mine are located there. But I bet you don’t have three of them. How about four?

I’m talking about the “junk drawer” or in my case, drawers. We have a twenty two drawers in our kitchen and over the years four of them morphed into infamous junk drawers.

Since we have been having chilly weather this week, I became kind of frisky and decided to clean out all of those drawers. Oh, the junk I found. I found pens that died of ink thirst a long time ago. I found matchbooks from places I have never heard of. Then there were the soda straws still in their paper wrapper. Don’t ask. I found instructions about how to care for plants I don’t even remember owning. There were cardboard coasters from assorted bars and restaurants. There was the little packet of incense that had long ago turned into incense dust and little sticks. Of course there were keys that I have no idea what they could open or when. Included in the junk was a half box of red, white and blue birthday cake candles. Since I haven’t baked a cake for who knows how long and don’t remember ever using candles that color, I am accusing those rascals of sneaking into my house. Most of all there were coupons and recipes that I have never used and never will. Junk! Junk! Junk!

The most unusual thing I discovered was a tiny turtle made out of sea shells and to top off his looks, he was wearing a tiny little pair of wire rim glasses. I couldn’t toss him in the trash can with all the other junk and I couldn’t recycle him, so he survived and is sitting on the windowsill in my kitchen. He looks rather dashing.

I am now proud to say I have four drawers that have gone through a complete cleaning and not a piece of junk remains here except the little shell turtle. See what happens when the weather gets cold and the frisky feelings return, some of us clean our drawers.

17 Comments:

Blogger Fixer said...

I’m talking about the “junk drawer” ...

Check this out. We live in the house I grew up in. I inherited it after mom passed and we moved in 12 years ago. My first job was redoing the kitchen for Mrs. F.

Mom had her junk drawer (top drawer in the cabinet her microwave sat on) and when I built new cabinets, we designated the same drawer as our 'junk drawer' in honor of mom.

It's still fulla crap, some of it moms that we couldn't bring ourselves to throw away and we've added our own. It barely closes but it gives a feeling of home.

November 20, 2008 2:16 AM  
Blogger fallenmonk said...

Madam does not permit "junk drawers" in my kitchen. As soon as I start creating one it gets organized and then I have the grumbling searches for the stuff I know I put in there.
I do however have several good junk drawer in my office and in my workshop. Madam has gone to the trouble of labeling "junk" for me.

November 20, 2008 5:10 AM  
Blogger Sherry Pasquarello said...

i'm afraid to really look into mine!

November 20, 2008 5:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How nice to get those drawers cleaned out. We're going to be moving soon and I'm looking forward to the purging that will take place.

Even so, I'm sure our next home will have its very own junk drawer.

November 20, 2008 6:31 AM  
Blogger roger said...

the stuff reproduces in the dark, like clothes hangers and teaspoons. your drawers will be full again soon enough.

November 20, 2008 7:15 AM  
Blogger mommanator said...

I've only recently moved and don't really ahve a junk drawer, but if hubby has anything to do with it that will be history all too soon!

November 20, 2008 7:40 AM  
Blogger mommanator said...

I've only recently moved and don't really ahve a junk drawer, but if hubby has anything to do with it that will be history all too soon!

November 20, 2008 7:40 AM  
Blogger mommanator said...

I've only recently moved and don't really ahve a junk drawer, but if hubby has anything to do with it that will be history all too soon!

November 20, 2008 7:40 AM  
Blogger Randal Graves said...

Bah. Who needs a junk drawer when one has a junk basement!

November 20, 2008 7:48 AM  
Blogger Forty Paws said...

Yup. We have several of those drawers. We clean them out every 10 years or so....

Luf, Us

November 20, 2008 8:02 AM  
Blogger Jazz said...

My whole life is a junk drawer. I don't wanna go there...

November 20, 2008 8:07 AM  
Blogger dguzman said...

My mom has like three junk drawers, and she only has ten drawers in her kitchen! I don't have any junk drawers in my three-drawer kitchen. Yet.

BUT OHMYGOD--I have a turtle just like yours! My friend Niki got him in the Outer Banks, and he sits on my desk at work! Wow.

November 20, 2008 10:34 AM  
Blogger dguzman said...

Oh, and my turtle's name is Fernando.

November 20, 2008 10:34 AM  
Blogger two crows said...

I moved here about 1 yr & 9 months ago and already have a pretty full junk drawer in the kitchen.

that's not to mention the entire walk-in-closet/dressing-room that is the 1st place I look when searching for anything [yes, it's got most of my clothes in there -- also book shelves, leather, yarns, beads, feathers, glues, tapes (duct, masking, packing, etc.)], scissors, power and hand tools, hurricane supplies, and so on and so forth.

AND, this being florida, I've got the shed outside. you don't even want to know-----

November 20, 2008 11:28 AM  
Blogger Sator Arepo said...

We have a junk closet. Or perhaps two. When it gets opened, the cat wants to explore it. Mrs Arepo has dubbed it "The Magical Land of Boxes".

I have no freaking idea what's in there.

November 20, 2008 12:08 PM  
Blogger Mauigirl said...

We used to have a junk ROOM. It was a closed-off alcove next to the dining room. We cleaned it out, opened it up and put in a French door out onto the deck. What a difference! But boy, the junk we had to throw out!

I still have several junk drawers though. Sigh. I guess I should go through them some day.

November 20, 2008 12:34 PM  
Blogger Cujo359 said...

Same here, Mauigirl - junk room. It would be a walk-in closet, I suppose, if you could walk around in it. Someday, when I have the time and ambition ...

November 20, 2008 9:10 PM  

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