How to Organize Your Junk Drawer—And Why So Many Get It Wrong

My biggest problem with the term the junk drawer it’s a word garbage. If something really has no purpose, why do we keep it in an important place in the kitchen, mud room, or office? Now don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying that everything in your junk closet needs to be high quality or particularly valuable. What it does The need to do, however, serves a purpose.

When organizing any area in your home—from your refrigerator to your closet—everything deserves its own storage. If you don’t wear those black pumps, donate them. If you keep buying that bag of spinach but never finish it, it might be time to reevaluate. The items in your junk drawer should follow the same rule.

Once you stop thinking of it as a catch-all and start thinking of it as a utility closet with a purpose, it becomes much easier to stay organized. Below is my step-by-step plan for organizing the junk drawer so it stays that way.

How to Organize Your Junk Drawer (Quick Steps)

If you want a quick version, here is the simple system I use:

1. Take it completely out of the closet
2. Declutter broken or unused items
3. Move items to another location
4. Create categories for what’s left
5. Add drawer organizers or dividers
6. Return items thoughtfully—and prepare them for use

Now let’s break down each step.

Why Junk Drawers Are Getting Out of Control

The biggest problem with the junk drawer is the catch-all mentality. We are conditioned to throw things we don’t know what to do with in one drawer and deal with them later. That’s how you keep the drawers from exploding and you can’t find the battery you know you have, or the book of matches you need when the power goes out.

Like every other space in your home, your junk closet should have its intended purpose. When everything has a place, the drawer becomes useful instead of chaotic. Changing your mindset from a “junk closet” to an organized closet is the first step to organizing.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Organizing the Junk Drawer

Step 1: Completely Empty the Junk Cabinet

Yes, everything. I know the thought of it can fool most of us, but the first step to organizing your junk drawer is getting rid of everything. It’s the only way to see exactly what you’re working with. Once the drawer is empty, wipe it out to start with a clean slate.

Step 2: Extract and Remove Broken Objects

Next, sort the things you took out of the closet. Some things will be obvious—like taking out the trash or recycling old receipts. But don’t stop there. Write with each pen to make sure it works. Test batteries. Turn on the flashlights. Check the tape rolls. You might be surprised how many items in the junk drawer are broken or unusable. Think about what things you really need in your home and what can be thrown away or donated.

Step 3: Move Objects to Another Location

After removing the junk, look at what’s left and decide if it really belongs in this closet.

For example:

• Does your screwdriver need to stay in the kitchen, or should it go in the garage or toolbox?
• Is that ruler better suited for the kids’ homework?
• Should extra charging cables sit in the office drawer instead?

Moving things helps prevent your junk drawer from becoming a place to store things elsewhere.

Step 4: Create Categories for the Leftovers

Once you’ve decluttered and moved, you’ll be left with belongings in the closet. Now it’s time to create the categories.

For example:

• Scissors
• Tape
• Batteries
• Pens and pencils
• Rubber bands
• Small tools
• Chargers

Grouping items by category makes it much easier to find what you need—and to keep the system organized over time.

Step 5: Add Drawer Organizers or Dividers

Once you’ve identified your categories, measure your closet so you can add organizers that fit. Some type of bins or drawer dividers are essential for organizing the junk drawer. Because these drawers often have multiple tiers, organizers prevent everything from sliding together into one big pile.

Measure the width, depth, and height of the closet, and find organizers that fit your space and categories. Adjustable dividers, small bins, or regular trays all work well. Think of it like playing a little Tetris until everything fits perfectly.

Step 6: Put Everything Back (and Get It Ready to Use)

Now comes the satisfying part—getting it all back. Place each section in the organizer or in its own designated section. But before closing the drawer, take one more step.

This step will vary from your junk drawer, but consider sharpening pencils, wrapping the end of the tape over to make it easier to hold, refilling lighters, or matching batteries by size. These small finishing touches make a big difference. Now everything in your junk drawer is ready to use in no time.

What Really Should Go In An Empty Closet?

A well-organized junk drawer holds small, frequently used household items that have no other obvious home.

Some common items include:

• Batteries
• Scissors
• Tape
• Rubber bands
• Pens and pencils
• A flashlight
• Similar or lighting
• Phone chargers
• Small tools like a screwdriver

The important thing is that everything has a purpose and belongs to a category within the wardrobe.

Common Junk Drawer Organization Mistakes

If your junk drawer doesn’t seem to stay organized, one of these habits might be the reason.

Treating it as something tangible.
The junk drawer should not be where random things will disappear.

Keeping things broken.
Dead batteries, dried pens, and tangled cables quickly create clutter.

It does not use cabinet dividers.
Without organizers, everything goes into a heap of chaos.

Mixing too many categories.
Limiting the closet to a few simple categories helps keep it functional.

Never organize a closet.
A quick reset every few months keeps clutter from building up again.

How to Keep Your Junk Closet Organized

Once your drawer is organized, a little maintenance will go a long way in keeping it that way. A quick five-minute reset once a month can help prevent clutter from building up—use that time to toss out broken items, check pens, or remove anything that finds its way into a closet for no real purpose. Try to put things back into the selected categories after you use them so that the categories stay intact, and remember what you added back to it. If something doesn’t serve a clear purpose, it probably doesn’t need to stay there.

A junk drawer doesn’t need to be perfect, but with a simple system in place, it can stay functional, tidy, and easy to use.

Organize Your Junk Closet With These Heavy Duty Products

Once your drawer is cluttered and categorized, the right organizers make all the difference. Drawer dividers, small bins, and standard trays keep things organized and back into bulk.

The right tools help ensure that everything in your closet has a home—and stays there.