The new year is here, and I inevitably start thinking about organizing my home. It is like some switch turns on in my head. Everything that seemed fine before the new year suddenly stands out and demands attention. It can be very overwhelming!
In the past when the need to organize struck, I have tried to organize my house in one weekend. It was a fiasco! I ended up with piles of things everywhere and exasperated beyond belief. The takeaway from that experience was to start slowly and work in one area at a time. It allows you to start organizing without being overwhelmed and gives you a sense of accomplishment without demolishing your entire house in the process.
To begin my 2022 organizing journey, I started with my junk drawer.
As always, full disclosure. Meet the junk drawer!
The first thing I did was separate everything into like piles. Keeping what I wanted to return to the drawer and allocating the rest to other areas.
To give the drawer order, I needed storage items. I did not want to spend a lot of money, so I went to Good Will. Before going, I measured the drawer and determined what I would need. When thrifting, I try thinking outside the box (haha no pun intended). An example would be the group of small boxes I found. They were not my decor style, but they were made out of wood, uniform in size and had the durability I was looking for. With a little paint I knew they would be perfect!
I also needed a container for the tools. This metal box fit the bill and it cost all of three dollars.
Small wire baskets are always a good choice. Even if I was not going to use them in the drawer, I would have picked them up anyway. They can be used anywhere and for most anything!
The chalkboard square wiped off easily. If it hadn’t, I would have painted it or turned it around.
The bottom even had a soft covering to prevent scratching. Bonus!
Does anyone else have an absurd amount of Allen wrenches. They come with many different items that need assembly and they can add up. We had fifteen, I kept three just in case…
I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Athenian Black on the boxes.
A great use for left over pizza boxes.
The chalk paint looked great, but I wanted something to jazz it up.
I made labels for each box with the name of the item and picture of what is inside.
I used Mod Podge to adhere the labels to the boxes.
I painted on a thin layer and laid the label on top.
Then added another layer over the label to seal it.
They add just the punch of color it needed!
I love the way it came out!
If you can’t find me, I will be in the kitchen looking in my former junk drawer.
Look for more organizing tips in the coming weeks!