How To Declutter and Organise Your Home: Start with the Junk Drawer

Why, you ask, should I specifically want to declutter and organise my junk drawer?

Well, there are a couple of reasons.

1. The first is that, when you're looking at a large organising job, and you're feeling overwhelmed, it's a good idea to stop focusing on the big picture, and instead focus on the smallest step possible.

Once you've focused on the smallest step possible, you can build up to the big habits that will change your life.

(Yes, I have taken a leaf out of Atomic Habits, but who can blame me? That's a good book!)

2. The second is that everyone has a junk drawer. The black hole of doom that you never want to go near. It weighs on the shoulders and mind of almost everyone I've ever met. 'I'll sort that out one day'. They say to themselves. Every single time they open the drawer.

This is what I mean by it weighs on your mind: it's literally your thought every time you open the drawer. Imagine if you sorted it out and no longer had to think. Instead, you could just open the drawer, grab what you want, and go. Wouldn't that feel like a little slice of freedom?

The third reason is that the junk drawer acts as a microcosm for the rest of the house. Once you've learned the appropriate steps for clearing it out, you can apply those lessons to any other organising job.

4. Clearing out your junk drawer can offer quick wins and simple steps that make it easier to focus on one task, rather than the enormity of a whole room, or a whole house.

When a task has quick wins, it can keep you engaged and motivated to continue. In my book, on the last page, my specific instruction is that you reward yourself immediately. That's not just because 'You've done such a great job, yay!' (Though you have). It's because, psychologically speaking, it makes you more likely to repeat the behaviour.

So, if you want to declutter and organise your home, then begin with the junk drawer.

Steps to help you declutter and organise your junk drawer:

This is the quick guide to cleaning your junk drawer. If you'd like the full version of this list complete with full explanations and inspiration, then please download my short book! You can join my newsletter and I'll send over the PDF for free, or you can buy it for 79p (the least Amazon would let me charge) from Amazon. All purchases and reviews are really appreciated! And by all means, let me know if it helped you below.

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1. Write your why: why do you want to get organised?

2. Empty the drawer: find a large space and tip that drawer out into it

3. Categorise: make a pile for each category of item you have in the drawer

4. Decide what you actually want to keep in the drawer: pro tip - anything that works for you in that space!

5. Gather: find anything else in the house that you feel really belongs in the drawer

6. Declutter: remove anything that can be binned or given away

7. Organise: use drawer dividers to create space for the categories you made

8. Tidy up

9. Reward yourself: does what it says on the tin - find ways to reward yourself for a job well done.

I hope this helps you to start that organising project! Good luck, and please let me know how it goes below!

Thanks for reading,

Nx