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A Good Housekeeping report gathers recommendations from organizers and other experts for stocking a junk drawer with useful household items. Their picks include a compact tape measure, working pens, a mini flashlight, a battery tester, and simple containers to keep small items sorted.
A Good Housekeeping report has collected recommendations from organizers and other home experts for stocking a junk drawer with items people can readily use, rather than a jumble of forgotten odds and ends. The suggested essentials include a compact tape measure, working pens, a mini flashlight and a battery tester, with inexpensive containers and a small pouch helping keep them accessible.
The recommendations focus on small tools and household supplies that can solve common tasks. Max Wilson, co-founder of Pocket Storage, calls a compact tape measure one of his most-used drawer items. It can help check whether furniture will fit through a doorway, measure a storage box or plan the dimensions of a drawer organizer. The emphasis is on choosing a small measure for quick checks, not moving a full toolbox into the drawer.
Organizers also recommend containing small objects instead of letting them shift around loose. Cruz keeps a slim zippered pencil pouch with a working pen, pencil, permanent marker, tiny scissors and cable ties. Wilson says his pouch holds items such as spare keys, a mini screwdriver and picture hooks. The report also suggests keeping pens that write and a notepad for quick reminders, shopping lists or household messages. Cruz advises testing pens and discarding ones that no longer work.
Other picks address specific household needs. Cruz favors a mini flashlight over a phone light because it leaves both hands free and does not use the phone’s battery. A battery tester can help sort loose batteries into usable and depleted groups. Wilson uses a clean, shallow takeout container as a removable drawer divider for batteries, change and small tools. Jo Hayes, founder of EtiquetteExpert.org, adds birthday sparklers to her drawer because their long, narrow shape can help reach into tight spaces, including a sink drain. That is an individual use, not a general drain-cleaning recommendation.
Small Tools, Less Rummaging
The recommendations matter because a junk drawer is often where people look for quick fixes, but loose, untested or misplaced items can make that search harder. Grouping small supplies in a pouch and assigning separate containers to specific categories can reduce rummaging and show when an item is missing. Keeping only working pens and usable batteries also makes the drawer more dependable.
The advice does not require buying a dedicated organizer or filling the drawer with every suggested item. Wilson says clean food containers and other small boxes can serve as dividers if they fit the drawer and give a particular group of items a home. The practical takeaway is to choose supplies that suit a household’s routine and keep them organized enough to find quickly.
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How the Drawer Stays Useful
The report presents the list as expert recommendations rather than a tested or universal inventory. Its contributors describe items they keep or find useful in their own homes. Those needs vary: a household that rarely uses hand tools may not need picture hooks or a mini screwdriver in the drawer, while a family that often measures furniture or storage may value a compact tape measure.
Maintenance is part of the approach. Cruz says pens should be tested and dead or dying batteries separated rather than left mixed with coins, keys and paperclips. Her battery system is to keep usable batteries together elsewhere, with terminals covered, and put depleted ones in a separate container for eventual recycling. The report does not set out one standard drawer layout; it recommends matching containers and contents to the drawer and the tasks people actually face.
“A junk drawer becomes frustrating when you have to rummage through it, so grouping similar items inside a pouch makes it much easier to find what you need.”
— Max Wilson, co-founder of Pocket Storage
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No Universal Drawer Checklist
The report does not establish that every household needs all seven suggestions or that the list has been evaluated through comparative testing. It offers expert preferences and examples, not a single required setup. The source material also does not give a publication date or specify a standard for how often to review the drawer. Readers should treat the proposed contents as options and adapt them to their space and routines.
The sparklers example is a personal account from Hayes. The report says she has used one to pull hair and debris from a sink drain, but it does not provide guidance on drain safety or recommend sparklers as a substitute for appropriate cleaning tools.
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A Practical Drawer Reset
The advice points toward a straightforward next step: remove items from the drawer, sort them into groups, and decide which are useful for everyday household tasks. Add a pouch or shallow containers that fit, test pens, and keep batteries sorted. A compact tape measure, flashlight or other tool is worth adding only if it fills a real need.
After that, the drawer’s usefulness depends on returning items to their assigned places and removing supplies that no longer work. The report offers no follow-up study or announced next development; its recommendations are intended as a practical guide rather than a new product launch or formal organizing standard.
battery tester for household batteries
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Key Questions
What are the main items recommended for a junk drawer?
The report’s suggestions include a compact tape measure, a pouch for small items, working pens and a notepad, a mini flashlight, a battery tester, a clean takeout container for dividing the drawer, and birthday sparklers. The list is based on expert recommendations, not a requirement for every home.
Do I need to buy a drawer organizer?
No. Wilson says clean, appropriately sized food containers, small boxes, sturdy lids or other packaging can work as dividers. The report’s guidance is to give specific groups of items a place and choose containers that fit the drawer.
How should loose batteries be stored?
Cruz recommends testing loose batteries, storing usable ones together elsewhere in the home with their terminals covered, and placing dying batteries in a separate container for eventual recycling. Follow local battery-recycling guidance.
Why keep a flashlight if a phone has one?
Cruz says a mini flashlight can leave both hands free and avoid using the phone’s battery. She describes using it during outages and when looking behind furniture or inside dark cabinets.
Source: rss
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