13 Surprises from My Junk Drawer

Last week I listed a bunch of projects that I had worked on or was planning on working on. It was not a complete list. A couple days after completing the post, I found a "junk drawer organizer" that I had purchased months ago with the knowledge that I wouldn't be able to do anything with it until I had some time. I had some time.

I knew what was in the junk drawer. I did. I put the stuff in there myself. And yet, I was surprised by some of the crap I found. So, for today's Thursday 13, I am listing some of the surprises and some of the weird that I found while doing a bit of clearing and organizing.

1. I have an index card problem. I did not realize how bad it was until emptying the drawer. I knew I had some index cards, but I didn't realize how many. And they were everywhere. (Don't let the picture fool you. That was after I had found them all and stacked them together. They were not this neat in the drawer.)

2. I also have a post-it note problem. I had six full pads of post-it notes. 

3. And, I have a scotch tape problem. I had three full rolls plus an empty roll. Why I had an empty roll, I have no idea. It's now in the trash. (And that doesn't count the two or three tape dispensers I have in my wrapping paper nook.)

4. Mechanical pencils. I do not need this many mechanical pencils. I do not know why I bought all of them. (They are going to come to school with me next school year. I figure a week, two tops, and that will be a problem of the past.)

5. Instructions for a digital clock that I no longer have. I remember the clock. I had to have bought it in the '90s. I tossed it (after it died) years ago. Why I still have the instructions... (Those also got tossed.)

6. An old cell phone case... for my old iPhone 4... (I have an iPhone 15 today.)

7. Speaking of phones, I also found my old phone books. I haven't needed a phone book since getting a cell phone and keeping my contact list up to date.

8. A Halloween sound effects box and a Halloween flashlight. Neither work (although, that's a battery issue, I'm sure). I don't remember the last time I saw either, but it was before Covid. 

9. I have an eraser I keep in my school bag. I use it a lot. I used it up. I knew I had another, but I could not find it. So, sometime during the school year, I bought a new one. Guess what I found in the junk drawer? Yup, I knew I had another one of those erasers. Now I have four. (They come in packs of three.)

10. Three packages of crazy glue. I don't need three packages of crazy glue. And they're all sealed, so I have never used any of them. 

11. Old sunglasses...

12. Of course, there were the assorted tacks (why I need 100 tacks...), paper clips, rubber bands, etc. in every corner. And, of course, some fell on the floor while I was going through it all, so of course I stepped on a tack...

13. Random buttons. I have a button tub where I keep random buttons. So, why did I have at least a dozen in the junk drawer?

Yeah, so the drawer is organized. For the moment. You know what I did not find? Pens. I have been in Dollar Tree about once a week for months, and I have been holding back on buying pens. "You have pens at home." Nope. I now have permission to go and buy more pens. I think that's my biggest surprise.