I love a system that maintains itself but over the course of — in most cases — five years, things are bound to need more than a little revisiting. I’ve had a mounting list of drawers on my list — among other small projects that needed to be tended to — but I kept putting them off because as a whole, it just felt like if I did one, I would have to “do” all of them. And, I didn’t feel like I had the time to dedicate to that kind of project. Or at least I didn’t feel like prioritizing it. But, the truth is, at least for me, it’s not always “out of sight, out of mind”. The more cluttered my spaces are (even the small ones and the ones you can’t see), the more cluttered my mind is. It’s easy to forget sometimes that you don’t need a ton of time to start making progress and improvements to start chipping away at some of those small spaces, little by little. But after an overdue evaluation of what was going on in some of my most frequented spots, and taking an honest look at what all had been accumulated that didn’t belong, that’s just what I did. Over the course of a week, in about 50-minute chunks of time, I did find make the time. And as it always does, though it’s easy to forget when you aren’t fresh in the moment, it made all the difference. Today, I’m sharing five drawers I tackled, with their befores and afters, that were all made over with new organization systems implemented in under an hour.
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Drawer 1: Junk Drawer (Grab & Go)
Most of the drawers I tackled were “everything” drawers… aka “junk” drawers. I think I need to start referencing them as “multipurpose” drawers for some sort of psychological benefit, maybe? Maybe that would help from so much, well, junk from accumulating? I love a good junk multipurpose drawer but when it serves as home base for a spectrum of items, it’s easy to continue to add things that may not belong. It’s easy to turn those drawers into a sort of Land of Misfit Toys — can you relate? So, during this project, I had to get honest about what didn’t belong, what actually had designated homes elsewhere, and I tried to categorize as I went.
While I broke down most of my drawers on worked on them on an individual basis, I actually tackled the drawers in my kitchen stationery desk together and treated them as one. Even though there were multiple drawers, they were all serving the same (multi)purpose so I wanted to gather all contents together to group like items and discard at the same time.
The first drawer is a good preview and indicator of the overall state of the drawers I needed to tackle. Yikes… (and remember, this is a judgement free zone! haha 😉 ).
But, after dedicating a Saturday nap time to this series of drawers, here’s what the drawer looks like now!
What Was Used in This Drawer…
The Home Edit 10-Piece Plastic Modular Storage System
*Important Side Note: I don’t start arranging anything until I remove everything from each drawer. And then, after everything had been removed, I used my hand vac to clean out any debris/crumbs/dust that had accumulated in the drawer bottom, corners, and crevices. My mom actually gifted me THIS Shark vac for my birthday and I honestly wasn’t sure how often I’d use it since I love my convertible full sized stick vac so much. Well, I surprised myself by how much love this thing. It’s so convenient and I find myself grabbing for it more that the full sized because it’s so simple to maneuver and re-dock. It has two attachments, has a compact docking station (you can even dock it on your countertop — but also on a shelf (mine is tucked behind a plant), has powerful suction, and is easy to empty. The wand vac is considered a “Rollback” at Walmart right now and at the time of posting, is under $80 HERE.
The only thing I did in preparation of this project before jumping in was order a few sets of my go-to clear modular drawer organizers — the same ones I’ve been using in drawers and spaces all over the house (HERE). Truth — I always order more than I think I need because it’s so easy to make Walmart returns, but I always end up using everything (even beyond the spaces I originally planned).
They’re also stack-able and I love that they work with all the systems in The Home Edit line at Walmart (see all the pieces and collections HERE). I prefer the “bath” edit because it’s an assortment of compartments that comes with the most organizers — 10 in the set. But, you can also find the “office edit” HERE (which contains six pieces — some of the compartments are even divided!), and the “beauty edit” which contains eight pieces and also some divided compartments HERE. Each of these sets are exclusive to Walmart and while they’ve been really popular, they’ve been able to be restocked quickly. Currently, all are available on the site HERE.
Remember when I organized my office? I used these sets throughout those drawers, too. You can see that full post HERE.
Drawer 2: Junk Drawer (Office)
It may sound silly but I think it’s a visual/psychological thing. I had mix and match organizers in these multipurpose drawers prior to my organization revamp. When you’re already seeing so many different kinds of items in a single drawer with so much variety and range of color, having different colored containers doesn’t help in providing any sort of uniformity. Using organizers from the same collection — like THESE clear compartments — helps in a major way. Here’s what I mean…
And here’s the drawer, but 2.0…
What Was Used in This Drawer…
The Home Edit 10-Piece Plastic Modular Storage System
While not necessary, I treated myself to new pens and pencils for the occasion. I went through the random pens from local businesses/who knows where and bagged all the ones in still-working condition for Dave to donate to his coworkers. I also think I had maybe one pencil total, so… consider that “needed” 😉 I don’t typically recommend adding or omitting anything based on aesthetic but pens and pencils give me such joy and life’s too short to use the pen in the wrong point size because it was free, right? And THESE extra fine points are my fav 😉
Drawer 3: Junk Drawer (Utilitarian)
We need candle lighters, but do we need five in one drawer? Probably not. I kept the majority here since I keep a candle in the kitchen lit almost always, but I dispersed the others to my office and bedroom. While my battery organizer is key, I had started storing things on top of it which wasn’t practical…
Instead of relying on finding open spots around the organizer to stash items, I incorporated actual organizers for containment…
What Was Used in This Drawer…
The Home Edit Six-Piece Kitchen Drawer Organization System | Battery Storage Case | Pouch for Spare Batteries (18-piece set) | Label Maker
Much improved, right?? I gave one of the new organizer edit sets — the “kitchen drawer edit” — (another one of The Home Edit sets from Walmart) a try and it’s already become a regular go-to set. It has long, narrow compartments and while it was designed with flatware in mind specifically, I love the multi-function and personalized configuration options you get with a modular silverware set. You can find that six-piece set HERE.
Sources: Battery Storage Case
No matter how many batteries my battery organizer holds — and it holds a lot! — there’s inevitably going to be some extra batteries and obscure batteries that don’t fit. I’ve been using THESE style pouches everywhere and it was the perfect way to contain the excess.
Sources: Mesh Zipper File Pouch (18-piece set) | Label Maker
And yes, I’m still carrying my label maker around, labeling everything I can get my hands on 😉
Drawer 4: Baking Drawer
After I conquered the stationery desk, my next order of business was to face off against my baking drawer. It’s one of a few drawers that has awkward items and get’s over-stuffed and has a hard time opening. It was also home to items that are barely used. So, it was time. Here’s where we started..
And here’s what it looks like today, after a quick (but effective) evolution.
What Was Used in This Drawer…
The Home Edit 10-Piece Plastic Modular Storage System | The Home Edit Six-Piece Kitchen Drawer Organization System
I was even able to add in items that needed a permanent home that were formerly stashed in cabinets! I used a combination of the modular compartments from THIS “bath edit” set and THIS “kitchen drawer” set — see how well they’re designed to work together?
And, by the way, if you haven’t gotten yourself a set of double-sided magnetic measuring spoons, you can find them HERE on clearance. I love that the oblong side is narrow enough to fit in a lot of spice jars and I love that when you’re making a recipe with both wet and dry ingredients, you have two sides to the spoon without having to go to another set! I prefer these over the typical clunky ring-style sets (by far!) but kept a spare as backup 😉
In moving some baking-type items that are almost never used (but used just enough to hold onto), I allocated pieces from the “multipurpose edit” — another exclusive collection at Walmart by The Home Edit, with eight compartments (HERE). The large handle bins are great for shelves and are stackable — the smaller compartments can fit inside the large bins, but can also stand alone in drawers on their own. Like the other pieces in the other collections, all the modular bins work together across collections. I actually use one of THESE large bins for my first aid in my bathroom linen closet, too 😉
Sources: The Home Edit 8-Piece Multipurpose Plastic Modular Storage System
Alongside the multipurpose bin, I had enough room for a narrow bin (HERE). With our ever evolving pantry, I need to get into that space for an evaluation and system tweak and I plan to use THESE to contain and display the constantly growing snack stash.
Speaking of “pantry”, I just ordered and received THESE airtight canisters and they are fab. I’ll be ordering more of these as I tackle more projects!
There’s actually a new narrow bin that just came out, too, that has a slider tray on top. While there are so many ways this can be used, I was able to relocate some of my entertaining items (cheese board accessories, knives, and mini cheese boards) that were cramping my flatware drawer. Now, they’re tucked away in a more appropriate cabinet!
I have the narrow bins throughout a lot of spaces in my house but they are effective in just about any spot in the kitchen. I even have them in the fridge.
Drawer 5: Nightstand Drawer
The last drawer I carved out time for that I was able to transform in 50ish minutes… my nightstand. Full admission — this “before” is actually after I cleared a top layer of Dave’s recent items. He had shoulder surgery a little over a month ago and we switched sides of the bed while he recovers. Well, what was a drawer that needed to be re-managed became a desperate situation after some of his items combined on top of my mess, haha.
I had started treating my nightstand as a junk drawer instead of a drawer of bedside essentials. And, I had no room for growth. After ditching what I didn’t need and reallocating items that didn’t belong, here’s what my organized nightstand drawer looks like today.
What Was Used in This Drawer…
The Home Edit 10-Piece Plastic Modular Storage System | Expandable Bamboo Dividers
This drawer is much wider than the previous narrow drawers earlier in the post. And, I needed space that wasn’t monopolized by compartments. My favorite way to further customize a drawer and divide it into sections is to use THESE expandable bamboo dividers (they come in a set of four in multiple color options). Inserting one of these gives you a custom fit for any drawer organizers you implement. You can even use them on their own to section off portions in a drawer.
I used them similarly in my wide office drawers… (see the full post HERE)
And I used the dividers on their own in my bathroom. (see the full post HERE)
So, my nightstand is set and it feels amazing. Dave’s on the other hand… well… we’re gonna need another 50 minutes for that 😉 He actually just cleared his drawer of unnecessary items and junk last night to make way for me getting it organized.
They may not be a room or closet but getting those scary drawer whipped into shape is powerful! Do you have drawers you’ve been putting off? Overwhelmed because there just seems to be too many? (raises my own hand) Make an inventory list and just pick a place to start. Your “everything” drawers should take less than 50 minutes each, from start to finish, and some of your more niche specific kitchen drawers will likely take significantly less time. What’s on your list?
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Fantastic post!! Kelly, I love that you break down areas and solutions in detail. The dedicated links to the products are also very helpful. I am organized and quickly dispense with any clutter, but needed product ideas as I am ready to get rid of the mish-mash of containers I have and go to one clean looing system. Thank you so much for being detailed!!
Julie, Thank you for taking the time to visit and for your kind note! I know what you mean about having a mish-mash of containers. I was the same and these systems really work well to configure and not waste space to hold all of the things. Have fun organizing!
We must be on the same wavelength because I just reorganized some of the same drawers/areas! And, oh, do I love the Home Edit stuff! Thanks for sharing their newer products. I’ll have to go drool, I mean take a look, at them.
Libbe, Thank you for taking the time to stop by and for your note. Isn’t it amazing how good it feels to reorganize a drawer? I agree that these items make it so easy to do. Hooray to you for your organizing efforts!