Drawer of Last Resort - What's in Yours?

They’re known as Junk Drawers in our house. My problem is that I’ve just moved from a house with a dozen drawers to a kitchen with three drawers! ?. I’ve had to buy a plastic crate tower to rehome the junk, which consists of pretty much everything that’s been mentioned here.

Soroptimum thank you, what a pity I didn’t post two days ago when I defrosted the freezer!

Well there’s one in the kitchen with the usual, picture pins, torches, masking tape, a mirror for some reason, vine eyes, scissors.
But then there is a real end of the line drawer in the utility room, bags of fixings which nobody knows what they’re for, pliers, a hammer, lots of odd screws, plastic ties, boxes of tacks and drawing pins, more scissors, tape measures, a steel ruler, packets of seeds, and that’s just from memory.

Lexis it is ,as others say, for scraping ice from your freezer. I have one the same.

No, I do not have a bit drawer or bag.

I gave it up years ago, when I discovered that nothing made its way there. It was all just left on one of two repositories : the highest peg in the house ( my Grannie's term for the floor) or the kitchen table.

Since then, I just take ten minutes once a week or so, to put things in their right places. When DH then asks "Have we any such-and-such? " Meaning "Do you know where it is?" I resist the temptation my father would have given in to of merely answering, "Yes" and say, "It is on the second shelf at the top of the cellar stairs, or in your tool-box, or in my sewing table drawer" or whatever the appropriate answer is.

Once or twice, I admit, I have replied, "It will be where you left it last" meaning on the kitchen table.

Lexisgranny

We have such a drawer and yesterday found this object lurking in the bottom. Neither of us can throw any light on what it is. Any help would be much appreciated- today is bin day! (Although it looks blue in the photograph, it is white, if that makes any difference).

Could it be an applicator? For Veet? Glue? Polyfilla?

Or a plastic spoon of inconvenient shape supplied with a tub of ice-cream?

Trouble is, if you throw it out, you will immediately, the day after bin day, discover a pressing need for it!

At least my DH would think so.

It's called 'The drawer' and has a tub for change for parking machines, a pot for hairbobbles, a small tin for drawing pins, 2 screw drivers, a pink flashing torch, a maglight, a mouth mirror, a mouth probe, a radiator key, a highlighter pen, a lump of bluetac, a prittstick, a lipsalve, a magnifying glass, a Rubic's cude, a pencil sharpener a ball of string a tape measure, glasses wipes, handcream, rubber bands, a hand splint, 2 tiny screwdrivers, a forehead thermometer, safetypins, forceps, dice, 2 plastic cups for shaking dice, a hairbrush, a crochet hook and a miniscule spirit level.

I've shut it again now.

Agree wholeheartedly with GrandtanteJE65

By the way, we also have at least three of 'those' drawers.

We don't have a "drawer of last resort," we have a desk!!!
We inherited said desk, it originally belonged to DH's grandmother. It came with the little drawers inside full of tiny things that she had kept that might come in useful one day.
We have added to it considerably. It now holds (among other things) a school bell, various pots of plant food, tea lights, umbrella, ball of string, torch, tape measure and spare light bulbs, sellotape and assorted batteries.

Mmm. I don’t really have drawers of my own which contain miscellaneous stuff! But, when my granddaughter was born a friend suggested having a special drawer for her visits. I duly chose a drawer with interesting things for her to play with. There are now THREE drawers…

Thank you everyone for your help, the now identified Object has gone back in the drawer together with long matches (for lighting candles on birthday cakes), 3 metal tape measures, a tin labelled curtain hooks, 2 torches, one battery (which should be in the electrical box)……………I give up, this could take all day!

My kitchen units were replaced a few years back, there is now only two drawers and I use them for cutlery/utensils and tea towels (council house, so no choice of units). Had to find a home for the contents of my old junk drawer, bought one of those jewellery holders that hook over doors. It has various sizes of see through pockets, is full of the usual sort of thing - rubber bands, drawing pins, string, box of matches, batteries, pack of cards, etc. I was ruthless when clearing out the old drawer, but somehow all the pockets in the new holder are full!

My drawer of doom contains most of what has already been mentioned plus more. I already have it fitted out with two cut to fit cutlery trays, but the junk is still is layers, and most annoyingly, something always rises up and causes the drawer to stick - could be a 6 inch ruler, pair of pliers, a metal skewer, claw hammer, hob scraper, or something else. I hate the whole mess.

I am building myself up to dumping the lot in two or three carriers bags or boxes and putting these into the garage for sorting at a later date, then immediately converting the drawer into much needed storage for more appropriate items. Before it fills back up again..............

Oh no I am not going in that drawer! That is totally his (OH) responsibility. It's a large drawer, a bottom one in the kitchen and the door/front(?) is hanging on by some very dodgy screws. I think if I try to open it, everything will end up on my feet. We are changing the kitchen later this year so he will have to tackle it then. I guess the contents will just get distributed around all the other drawers he has stuffed with tools and bits around the house.

lexisgranny my first thought was that it was one of those spoon/scoops that you get in the lid of a tub of ice-cream, Ever the optimist!

I no longer have a bits drawer, having moved house. Now have to keep trotting out to the shed for screwdrivers and gardening string, to the bathroom for plasters and bedroom for tweezers. It was much easier when everything was in a drawer!

We also have a cutlery divider in the 'junk' drawer. Mostly organized, but sometimes there is overflow from one slot to another. Why do we have so many elastics and permanent markers?

I also have a section in my utensils drawer for odd little utensils...cherry pitter, citrus peeler, clips for closing bags of food, etc. That section seems to keep growing as well.

I've just listened to this on Radio 4 Extra. If you are a fan of Ian Carmichael you'll enjoy it. At the beginning he has time to kill and starts rummaging through his desk drawers. The list is hilarious.

The whole podcast had me laughing out loud and snorting, even though it's over 40 years old.

Whoops, forgot link:

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b007jthd?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

I wish I only had a 1 drawer of tat. I have a bathroom unit with 9 baskets. They were tidy at first but now each basket is overflowing with stuff, either given as gifts or bought. I’ve lost count of the number of hard skin removing items I’ve got and I have loads of hair bands and hair products that I no longer use (now have cropped hair) and that’s just 2 baskets out of the 9. I need to be brutal and have a clear out - but what if I one day need something I’ve chucked!!

I've just been gazing into my kitchen mess drawer. In my head Tina Turner started singing:

"Do I love you? My oh my
If I lost you, would I cry?"

Answer's "NO" ... time for a chuck out.

We have both a Drawer of Doom and a Cupboard of Crap....
String, clips, rubber bands, lesser used gadgets, bamboo chopsticks and skewers, tape of various kinds, labels, preserving bits and pieces, recipe cuttings (although these days i try to take photos on my ipad). Old tea towels.
I could go on.

The one thing not in my 'go to' drawer is the radiator key I've been searching for for days!

The drawer of doom. It’s daunting but what you want is usually in there .

If only there were just one!

When we moved into a house in 1982, there was a drawer in the kitchen containing all kinds of stuff including 2 nit combs - yuk, yuk, yuk