Junk drawers

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

In every place I ever lived except this one, we had a "JUNK drawer".  Paper clips, dried-up ball point pens, screw drivers, rubber bands, a light switch, an old pocket knife, a couple of safety pins, a tape measure, a few pennies, a dead flash light, some small batteries, a ball of string.... you name it.

 

Now I have a 36 x 60 x 12 foot high "work shop" out back with two large garage bays, a bathroom  (toilet, sink, shower, and electric water heater), an alcove with a door between the bays, and a shop sink and some wall cabinets. There is an 18 foot work bench that is mostly JUNK drawers and  four JUNK cabinets.  There are also forty or fifty feet of shelves and  three 4x8 foot pegboards, plus an "office" with more shelves and stacked of things in boxes.   This building is being emptied of JUNK a day at a time.

 

I've only lived here 8 1/2 years and already have a half century worth of JUNK.

 

I miss my JUNK drawer.

[J-BAR #18287]

Take it as a symbol of success!

[Rip Snorter]

The day after you have thrown some "junk" away,  you'll have to buy another one.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I’ve tried to clean out my junk drawer several times, I can’t throw any of it away!! I may need that weird looking square headed thingamajig!

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

Just yesterday, I found a use for some foam rubber squares that I had stashed in a drawer probably 10+ years ago!

 

I also repaired a broken shade canopy with some long bolts that were stashed in a cabinet for about 3 years!

 

So that is positive proof that "someday I might need this"!

[Zeb Gray, #36839]

Try being the fourth generation on a farm since 1900.  

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

2 hours ago, Rip Snorter said:

The day after you have thrown some "junk" away,  you'll have to buy another one.

Oh, that will NEVER happen!

 

YEAH....right!

 

That's why I have a dozen or more hammers, caulking guns,  tape measures, spirit levels, and a couple of hundred pounds of nails, screws, bolts, and other assorted JUNK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pat Riot]

The best and most useful gift my wife and I received at our wedding was a 2 1/2 gallon pail chuck full of stuff that most people keep in a junk drawer. There were corks, rubber plugs, pens, pencils, tape, glue, assorted screws, twisty ties, twine, a cheap knife, and a bunch of other things. All that stuff came in handy at some point, including the bucket. 
That is the only gift I remember from our wedding. 
This last move I got rid of a lot of stuff including all the stuff in my junk drawers and binsI also got rid of several plastic jugs fill of assorted hardware. 
Since moving here I could have used some of that stuff and wish I would have just kept it. 
Now I am starting a new junk drawer and hardware jug. 

[Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646]

When in Doubt, throw it OUT...then you can buy a new one and a spare next week.

 

Imis

[largo casey #19191]

When I worked on Boats I collected things that ended out in the back lot.When somebody would come in looking for an odd part they would send them to me to see what I had.Good part of the time I would have it.Now its all here at home.

                                                                                                                                                           Largo

[watab kid]

dont get me started - when we moved in here 32 uears ago we agreed there would be one [1] junk drawer in the kitchen island - now there are four - she still claims there is only one , the others are organized junk drawer stuff but they are labeled batteries and such , but its all haphazard junk , i did fix a liece of her jewalry from what was in the third drawer from the left today but i cant recall what label she applied to that one , 

 

i have a lot of fasteners and stuff in peanut butter jars in the garage on shelves - id throw them out but ive fixed so many things every year from those that i cant let them go yet , my kids will have to get two dumpsters to clean out that garage , and another for the house , i just finished my inlaws house last fall , im glad ill be dead when that job needs doing 

[Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663]

My wife tells me I have a lot of "Junk."

 

It's not Junk, it's Stuff.  

 

I have drawers with Stuff in them. 

[Texas Joker]

On 5/30/2023 at 11:33 PM, watab kid said:

dont get me started - when we moved in here 32 uears ago we agreed there would be one [1] junk drawer in the kitchen island - now there are four - she still claims there is only one , the others are organized junk drawer stuff but they are labeled batteries and such , but its all haphazard junk , i did fix a liece of her jewalry from what was in the third drawer from the left today but i cant recall what label she applied to that one , 

 

i have a lot of fasteners and stuff in peanut butter jars in the garage on shelves - id throw them out but ive fixed so many things every year from those that i cant let them go yet , my kids will have to get two dumpsters to clean out that garage , and another for the house , i just finished my inlaws house last fall , im glad ill be dead when that job needs doing 

Screw the lid to the bottom of the shelf instead of sitting the jar on the shelf. Doubles your storage space

[watab kid]

12 hours ago, Texas Joker said:

Screw the lid to the bottom of the shelf instead of sitting the jar on the shelf. Doubles your storage space

 

 

thats the problem i dont need to double the space - today i went thru at least eight of them to find what i was looking for , but i found it ...fixed it .....im wondering if i made a mistake letting my wife know i was handy , could fix things [sometimes] and was willing and able to do it , 

 

she has volunteered me too many times in the last 40 years , god bless her - most of the times i could but a few i offered someone else i knew could get what she thought was important done , im getting old - id rather fix the grandkids bike these days than help with the lions club project , im not saying i dont enjoy a task occasionally , i do - i prefer if the parts i need are in the peanut butter jars in the garage tho , 

 

was working on her motor home today , i still need some parts but im sure i have them - somewhere out there - there is tomorrow - so far

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I bought three of something, I don't remember what, but something I will likely never need again.  The guy in the store asked why I needed three.  I told him I might need one sometime in the future and if I never did need it it would drive my kids nuts when I die.

 

"Hey Angie, what do you think that crazy old fart wanted with these?"  

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

JUNK drawer  =  primary parts bin 

 

  CB 

[Eyesa Horg]

I've thrown away "junk" after 20+years only to need it a month later. Better to just keep it and hope ya can find it when eventually needed. 

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

My problem is "memory."  My memory is KAPUT.  When I look inna junk drawer, I wonder "What was that for" but I keep it because I just might "need" it.  For something??

[MizPete]

There's a potato masher in mine so I haven't been able to open it in decades.

[Alpo]

If you have not pulled the string, it should be safe.

 

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

[Eyesa Horg]

Yep ^^^^

[Rye Miles #13621]

3 hours ago, MizPete said:

There's a potato masher in mine so I haven't been able to open it in decades.

Have you tried getting into the drawer from underneath? Like maybe  cut out part of the the bottom of the drawer?? 

[MizPete]

Not yet.

[Rye Miles #13621]

7 hours ago, MizPete said:

Not yet.

Good luck! The bottom piece of most drawers are a thin material. It may be easier than you think. 

[Eyesa Horg]

Sometimes ya can remove the other drawers and reach up around the side enough to move stuff around and get the masher out of the way.