It’s time for an honest inventory of my junkyard. Admit it, you have one too.
Contents of my kitchen junk drawer include: A round wallet mirror, two mice (is that the plural?) For a laptop, which does not work, but possibly just because the AA batteries are flat. Seven AA batteries, unclear whether new or used. An old iPhone, probably a 3 or 4, several iPhone cases, for unknown models.
Also: $ 9 Australian coins, some printed photos from 2020. A headlamp I bought online and can’t get the right size battery for, two unopened off N95 masks. An empty Mother’s Day card that I bought myself, for myself, and left to give to myself.
What would Marie Kondo say?
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In her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, she says: “I recommend that you get rid of anything that does not fall into one of three categories: currently in use, required for a limited period of time, or must be held indefinitely. “
Well, clearly, “must be kept indefinite” is the correct name for broken hair bands, keys that fit unknown keyholes, and a miniature felt-lazy animal with indefinite purpose.
I fear Kondo will despair. None of this nonsense makes joy. And yet I can not bring myself to get rid of it.
I sought solace in professional advice.
It is not accumulated, says the clinical psychologist from Porirua and Wellington, Annie Talbot.
She says she likes to think of the junk drawer as a “defender drawer, a waiting place in between or a bridge to somewhere”. This is provided we “use it wisely and deal with it”, she says.
“What we often do, however, is to use it carelessly: stuff it full of all the rubbish, feel ashamed of its presence and then only when it is so full, it pops out like an unexpected jack-in-the-box – we re-arrange it, driven by guilt and shame and with high relentless standards ”.
Kylie Klein Nixon / Stuff
Each junk drawer appears to contain a tape measure. Is yours?
This is a never-ending cycle.
But we can break it by using it “intentionally, with curiosity and with openness” about what it does for us.
“Then lure in, make friends with him and make time for that junk salad rather than let it sneak up on you,” she says.
“I tell my clients we do not have to be all or nothing. Nor our home or the way we manage our lives. ”
It’s okay to park things that are too difficult or that we just are not ready to deal with, she says.
Three
Kanoa Lloyd helps families organize their homes in the local series Sort Your Life Out NZ.
This is not a completely laissez-faire approach.
“I also think our junk drawers can be a good barometer of how we are doing,” Talbot adds, “It gives us good data if we spot it with curiosity instead of shame or avoidance and can guide us if we allow it. .
“When we feel engaged, intentional and as if we have space and flexibility in our lives, our rubbish bins also tend to be intentional.
“However, when our world feels full of noise and demands, we see people who are either trying to control their worlds plus plus plus to help manage that stress – that’s when we see perfectionism and all the musts have to come out to play (… ) or we see the other side which is avoidance, and an unwillingness to process new things or let things go – whatever it is, we finally feel stuck.
Acceptance is the way forward, she concludes.
“Be kind to yourself and your junkyard, but remember to connect with it.”
I follow Talbot’s advice. I look curiously at my junk drawer. Oh yeah, 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 was not terrible. The miniature screwdrivers are useful. The batteries represent hope, perhaps even new life.
And yes, some of this stuff I think I can stand to throw away.
Supply
Hannah Stickland, organizer of Simplify My Home, says the way to win at junk drawers is by doing a regular dump.
Hannah Stickland, a professional organizer with Simplify My Home, has practical tips for managing the junkyard – which is her recommendation instead of getting rid of everything together.
“Absolutely have one, they are fantastic,” she says. “I think they are crucial to anything that does not have a separate house in the house.”
She says a three- or six-month-old outing is the secret – a time to return items that do have another home to that place.
“Our motto is ‘A place for everything and everything in its place.’ But let’s be honest: Not everyone works like this, or lives like this. ”
She also recommends load dividers, “so you can find things.”
“Otherwise you just rummage through the mess to try to find what you are looking for. So if you have some system with pens there, electrical there, cards and stuff. . . some form of organization that is happening. ”
Stickland, himself a reformed messy person, says the benefit of bringing at least a little order into your home is twofold: One, to be able to find good, and two, “spacious space, clear mind.”
“Being disorganized and having a disorganized home does cause a lot of people stress and anxiety.”
The mother of three herself has two junk drawers: one in the top drawer next to her bed and one in the kitchen.
Readers, what are your tips for keeping your trash can manageable? Email us at [email protected] to share your wisdom, or tell us in the comments below.