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End the Chaos

How to Organize Drawers in 6 Steps

Overflowing Drawer in the Bedroom
Almost every room has drawers that need regular organizing. What if they could stay tidy permanently? Photo: Getty Images/Natallia Ramanouskaya

June 6, 2023, 2:53 pm | Read time: 4 minutes

A proverb says that order is half of life. But what if it were the whole life? Let’s at least focus on the drawers of various cabinets. With our simple tips, organizing drawers becomes effortlessly easy. myHOMEBOOK author and interior designer Odett Schumann explains how to proceed.

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Drawers are found in every home, whether in the office or bathroom, wardrobe or kitchen cabinet. Yet, these compartments are rarely free of clutter. Even if a living space is neatly organized, this often doesn’t apply to the drawers. Chaos tends to settle in here all too easily. On a micro level, drawers are ideal organizers, but they also hold great potential to quickly descend into hopeless chaos due to the abundance of small items. Once opened, the concentrated disorder spills out. The following six steps provide effective solutions to organize a drawer permanently.

1. Completely Empty the Drawer

The first step is often the hardest. Not so when organizing drawers. While it takes a necessary dose of motivation to tackle the chaos in the cabinet, the beginning is surprisingly easy: Simply dump the full drawer onto a table or the floor. You’ll likely uncover some unexpected contents. Alongside a lot of clutter, you might also find a long-lost treasure or two. It’s advisable to empty the drawer completely, not just partially, to get the best possible overview as a starting point for sorting.

2. Thoroughly Sort the Contents

Now that the entire contents are outside the drawer, it’s time to sort them thoroughly and conscientiously, or even declutter entirely. You’ll quickly realize that some items have no place in our daily lives. As a rule of thumb: Anything you haven’t used in over a year, or ever, likely holds no relevance anymore. So, get rid of it! Some items are better off in another location and no longer need to be part of this drawer.

Messy drawer
Drawers often harbor items that no longer belong there. A thorough cleaning quickly and effectively resolves this!

For those who find decluttering difficult, it’s best to follow the advice of the world-renowned Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo. Each item should be held once, and you should ask yourself: What does this item do for me? Does it still make me happy? Small items, like buttons or screws, often just linger in the drawer. Anything broken and irreparable must go anyway.

3. Wipe Out the Drawer

Once a drawer is completely empty, it’s the perfect opportunity to wipe it out thoroughly. Such a chance doesn’t come around often, so grab a damp cloth and get started! While you’re at it, you can also wipe down the front and side surfaces of the drawer. Now, the optimal foundation is set to organize a drawer effectively.

Also interesting: 5 Tips to Quickly and Efficiently Tidy Up Your Home

4. Categorize by Theme

To maintain a good overview in your drawer, it’s helpful to use organizational systems and dividers. But before implementing these, you should categorize the entire contents thematically.

In a desk drawer, it’s advisable to bundle all pens or even types of pens like ballpoints, pencils, and markers separately. Small items that can easily scatter but are frequently needed, such as paper clips, are best kept in a small box or container.

All small and large notepads should be stacked by size. With such a structure, everything is easier to find at a glance, and you know the current inventory. This saves on shortages and duplicate purchases.

5. Integrate Organizational Systems

Now it’s time for the main task of sorting the drawer: All contents must go back into the compartment. To avoid randomness, organizational systems and dividers are recommended. Kitchen suppliers have already developed sophisticated solutions, which can be costly. However, individual dividers, cutlery trays, and insert boxes prove to be quite effective in everyday life.

Person pulling out a cutlery drawer
Organizational systems and dividers, like a cutlery tray, are extremely effective in everyday life

Elements that can be individually configured in their position are especially ideal. In households with multiple people, it’s also advisable to use labels to prevent the newly established order from falling victim to others’ ignorance. Label makers or color coding are practical options here.

More on the topic

6. Sensibly Fill the Drawer

Kitchen drawer with filled storage containers standing vertically
Optimally utilized: Storage containers standing vertically in the kitchen drawer effectively and visibly store supplies

After integrating organizational systems and dividers, it’s time to refill the drawer. It’s important that items used almost daily are located at the front of the drawer. Items used only every few days or less frequently can be stored at the back.

Additionally, it’s wise to make effective use of the drawer’s volume. In the kitchen cabinet, for example, tall drawers should be equipped with tall storage containers. Rather shapeless items that inherently cause chaos are better stored in a separate container. Clothes can be folded, rolled, and then placed upright in the drawer in the style of Marie Kondo to save space.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of MYHOMEBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@myhomebook.de.

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