Clear your space to clear your mind
Hannah Stickland, professional organiser with Simplify My Home, has practical tips for managing the junk drawer – which is her recommendation as opposed to getting rid of it all together.
‘‘Absolutely have one, they’re fantastic,’’ she says. ‘‘I think they’re crucial for everything that doesn’t have a separate home within the house.’’
She says a three- or six-monthly cull is the secret – a time to return things that do have another home to that spot.
‘‘Our motto is ‘A place for everything and everything in its place.’ But let’s be honest: Not everyone works like that, or lives like that.’’
She also recommends drawer dividers, ‘‘so you can find things’’.
‘‘Otherwise you’re just rummaging through the junk to try to find what you’re looking for. So if you have some system with pens there, electrical there, cards and things . . . some form of organisation that’s happening.’’
Stickland, a reformed messy person, says the benefit of bringing at least some order to your home is twofold: One, being able to find stuff, and two, ‘‘clear space, clear mind’’.
‘‘Being unorganised and having an unorganised home does cause a lot of people stress and anxiety.’’
The mother-of-three has two junk drawers: one in the top drawer beside her bed, and another in the kitchen.
‘‘Then check in, befriend it and make time for that junk drawer rather than let it sneak up on you,’’ she says.
‘‘I tell my clients we don’t have to be all or nothing. Neither does our house or the way we manage our lives.’’
It’s OK to park stuff that’s too hard or that we’re just not ready to deal with, she says.
This is not a total laissez-faire approach. ‘‘I also think our junk drawers can be a great barometer of how we’re doing,’’ Talbot adds, ‘‘It gives us great data if we notice it with curiosity instead of shame or avoidance and can guide us if we let it.
‘‘If we’re feeling engaged, intentional and like we have space and flexibility in our lives, our junk drawers tend to be intentional too.
‘‘However, when our world feels full of noise and demands, we see folks either trying to control their worlds as well as to help manage that stress – which is when we see perfectionism and all the shoulds come out to play or we see the other side, which is avoidance and an unwillingness to process new things or let things go. Either way, eventually, we feel stuck.’’
Acceptance is the way forward, she concludes. ‘‘Be kind to yourself and your junk drawer but remember to connect to it.’’
I take Talbot’s advice. I look at my junk drawer with curiosity. Ah, yes, I want to keep those photos despite the space they take up. It’s family, memories, proof that I once made a wedding cake for a friend that wasn’t terrible. The miniature screwdrivers are useful. The batteries represent hope, maybe even new life.
And yes, some of this stuff I guess I could stand to throw away.