Cleaning out A Junk Drawer

To Whom It May Concern,

Please stop keeping me up at night. It is 2:08 am, and I am not asleep because of you. No, it’s not because Bella woke me up with a bloody noise, it is because of YOU.

Please do not interrupt me. I must get this out so that I am able to go back to sleep.

While it may appear to you that I love children (because I have four of them), that is only a partial truth. I am truly, madly, deeply in love with MY children. I cannot imagine my life without them. This is why no matter what their mood, or my disposition, I would always rather be with them than without.

Your children, on the other hand, I would rather be without. Did you hear me? I have four children already, I don’t need anymore. It isn’t that I feel your children aren’t lovely, it’s just that if I wanted more children, I’d spawn them, because well. . . .I’m good at it.

I know, you’re thinking, I’m a stay at home mom and I have nothing better to do than watch your kids while I do menial housework. But, I’ve got news for you, I DON”T DO HOUSEWORK. But, you say, it’s probably easier with your kids at my house, because then my children will be occupied, and they won’t bother me as much. NEWSFLASH: My children will always be bothering me, and NOW so will your children!

I hate to break it to you, but your kids are no bag of Jolly Ranchers, and they are always hungry for snacks, that I do not have. Your children do not like Raisins. Your children do not like peanut butter. Your children do not like anything that I have in my house, yet they are constantly nagging me for something to eat. So I end up spending half the day searching for a stale Ritz Cracker that they MIGHT cram into their mouth. And that’s your job, and I don’t want to help you with it, not even on occasion.

I’m sorry. I know all if this is sudden, and sounds a bit harsh, but I just needed to let you know so that you can find other arrangements for your little darlings. Please refrain from bringing them over to my house for me to babysit under the guise of a playdate, or I might be forced to grow a back bone, and slam the door in your face.

Sincerely,

Nicki Woo

P.S. I know that sounds harsh. Don’t be mad. I wouldn’t really slam the door in your face. Probably just close it gingerly after offering you a drink. . . . . and allowing your children to stay and play. Ufffff.

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I’m trying to get all the junk I have in my closets (literally and figuratively) out, and all cleaned up.  I have too many things that I’ve been holding onto, that no longer add value, and are just crowding up my life.  Originally,  I thought I’d clean out our coat closet, but then I looked at it, and thought, baby steps. 

So I woke up this morning, and tackled the job of 1 of our 4 junk drawers in the kitchen. Yes, we have four.  Don’t judge.

Anyway, this is what it looked like at 6:00 am.

And this is what it looks like now.

 Better, much better.  It’s our condiment, coupon, grocery ad drawer. Everytime someone goes into it, they can never find the condiment they are looking for and just make the scattered mess even worse.  So, to solve the problem, I did what I used to do as kid when I had no money but wanted to organize (weird childhood hobby, i know). I grabbed some duct tape, scissors, and the top of a pizza box (the unused portion), cut it up to make dividers and voila – an organized drawer, perfectlyly sized compartments and all for free.

Now it’s junk free, onto the rest of my life.

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8 thoughts on “Cleaning out A Junk Drawer

  1. Hey, great idea with the cardboard and duct tape. I have both on hand. Guess if you wanted to get really fancy with it you could always glue some pretty scrapbook paper to the cardboard and “laminate” it with clear postal tape–not that that would be necessary for a junk drawer. I’m moving on to my sock & underwear drawers. Sorry if that was TMI!
    I totally hear you on the plight of the SAHM and playdate situaiton. Maybe we should modify the acronym to SAHM4MOK (stay at home mom for my own kids). Danielle has playdate etiquette posted on her “Thursday Thirteen” this morning. You should check it out (http://mylifeinjenga.blogpsot.com) and post it on your door just prior to the arrival of a “playdate”. Better yet, direct prospective playdate parents to check it out for themselves. She raises some excellent points–especially bring a drink or snack to share!

  2. Yeah, you really do have enough on your plate with four of your own children. I remember when I was a nanny years ago that every child in the neighborhood came over to play, every day! That was fine up until a point! Yikes it was exhausting! I need to get organized and do some getting rid of clutter also! Have a great day!

    Mama Hen

  3. Soooooo true. I this point you make, “Please refrain from bringing them over to my house for me to babysit under the guise of a playdate, or I might be forced to grow a back bone, and slam the door in your face.” Well, because you know u have nothing else to do except eat bon bons and watch soap opera:-) I have a sister in law that has said to me one more than one occasion, “What do you do all day?” !

    Thanks for stopping by my blog! I’m your new follower!

  4. Well done on the junk drawer organizing. We’re moving from a house that we’ve lived in for 20 years. When I cleaned out our junk drawer I found a bunch of NSYNC cards and stickers that were my daughter’s about 10 YEARS ago, photos of pets that are long gone (I cried), and a myriad of other stuff that reminded me of how often I (don’t) clean my junk drawer!

    Kudos to you. Clean and organized.

  5. I agree with the playdate thing. My daughters friend lives behind us, and I always find myself being the sitter now. And I’m not even a SAHM!

    Following Back!

  6. Hmmmm – wonder how long that is going to last. I too was a nanny long years ago and when I was bored or Alicia was in school and I didn’t have anything to read – guess what I would do? Clean the art closet, the junk drawers, go through toys, etc – it’s a great opportunity to snoop (I didn’t say that did I) Actually the mom liked that I did it – anyway she never told me to stop.

    LOL – Tina “The Book Lady”

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