Drawer of Last Resort - What's in Yours?

Oh no I am not going in that drawer! That is totally his (OH) responsibility. It's a large drawer, a bottom one in the kitchen and the door/front(?) is hanging on by some very dodgy screws. I think if I try to open it, everything will end up on my feet. We are changing the kitchen later this year so he will have to tackle it then. I guess the contents will just get distributed around all the other drawers he has stuffed with tools and bits around the house.

My drawer of doom contains most of what has already been mentioned plus more. I already have it fitted out with two cut to fit cutlery trays, but the junk is still is layers, and most annoyingly, something always rises up and causes the drawer to stick - could be a 6 inch ruler, pair of pliers, a metal skewer, claw hammer, hob scraper, or something else. I hate the whole mess.

I am building myself up to dumping the lot in two or three carriers bags or boxes and putting these into the garage for sorting at a later date, then immediately converting the drawer into much needed storage for more appropriate items. Before it fills back up again..............

My kitchen units were replaced a few years back, there is now only two drawers and I use them for cutlery/utensils and tea towels (council house, so no choice of units). Had to find a home for the contents of my old junk drawer, bought one of those jewellery holders that hook over doors. It has various sizes of see through pockets, is full of the usual sort of thing - rubber bands, drawing pins, string, box of matches, batteries, pack of cards, etc. I was ruthless when clearing out the old drawer, but somehow all the pockets in the new holder are full!

Thank you everyone for your help, the now identified Object has gone back in the drawer together with long matches (for lighting candles on birthday cakes), 3 metal tape measures, a tin labelled curtain hooks, 2 torches, one battery (which should be in the electrical box)……………I give up, this could take all day!

Mmm. I don’t really have drawers of my own which contain miscellaneous stuff! But, when my granddaughter was born a friend suggested having a special drawer for her visits. I duly chose a drawer with interesting things for her to play with. There are now THREE drawers…

We don't have a "drawer of last resort," we have a desk!!!
We inherited said desk, it originally belonged to DH's grandmother. It came with the little drawers inside full of tiny things that she had kept that might come in useful one day.
We have added to it considerably. It now holds (among other things) a school bell, various pots of plant food, tea lights, umbrella, ball of string, torch, tape measure and spare light bulbs, sellotape and assorted batteries.

Agree wholeheartedly with GrandtanteJE65

By the way, we also have at least three of 'those' drawers.

It's called 'The drawer' and has a tub for change for parking machines, a pot for hairbobbles, a small tin for drawing pins, 2 screw drivers, a pink flashing torch, a maglight, a mouth mirror, a mouth probe, a radiator key, a highlighter pen, a lump of bluetac, a prittstick, a lipsalve, a magnifying glass, a Rubic's cude, a pencil sharpener a ball of string a tape measure, glasses wipes, handcream, rubber bands, a hand splint, 2 tiny screwdrivers, a forehead thermometer, safetypins, forceps, dice, 2 plastic cups for shaking dice, a hairbrush, a crochet hook and a miniscule spirit level.

I've shut it again now.

Lexisgranny

We have such a drawer and yesterday found this object lurking in the bottom. Neither of us can throw any light on what it is. Any help would be much appreciated- today is bin day! (Although it looks blue in the photograph, it is white, if that makes any difference).

Could it be an applicator? For Veet? Glue? Polyfilla?

Or a plastic spoon of inconvenient shape supplied with a tub of ice-cream?

Trouble is, if you throw it out, you will immediately, the day after bin day, discover a pressing need for it!

At least my DH would think so.

No, I do not have a bit drawer or bag.

I gave it up years ago, when I discovered that nothing made its way there. It was all just left on one of two repositories : the highest peg in the house ( my Grannie's term for the floor) or the kitchen table.

Since then, I just take ten minutes once a week or so, to put things in their right places. When DH then asks "Have we any such-and-such? " Meaning "Do you know where it is?" I resist the temptation my father would have given in to of merely answering, "Yes" and say, "It is on the second shelf at the top of the cellar stairs, or in your tool-box, or in my sewing table drawer" or whatever the appropriate answer is.

Once or twice, I admit, I have replied, "It will be where you left it last" meaning on the kitchen table.

Lexis it is ,as others say, for scraping ice from your freezer. I have one the same.

Well there’s one in the kitchen with the usual, picture pins, torches, masking tape, a mirror for some reason, vine eyes, scissors.
But then there is a real end of the line drawer in the utility room, bags of fixings which nobody knows what they’re for, pliers, a hammer, lots of odd screws, plastic ties, boxes of tacks and drawing pins, more scissors, tape measures, a steel ruler, packets of seeds, and that’s just from memory.

Soroptimum thank you, what a pity I didn’t post two days ago when I defrosted the freezer!

They’re known as Junk Drawers in our house. My problem is that I’ve just moved from a house with a dozen drawers to a kitchen with three drawers! ?. I’ve had to buy a plastic crate tower to rehome the junk, which consists of pretty much everything that’s been mentioned here.

Freezer not greeter! Honestly……. ?

Pens, rulers, Pritt sticks, calculator and a tape measure. We are pretty tidy so most things have a home and we try to put them back in it. Saves an awful lot of time.

Lexisgranny I think it is to do with defrosting the greeter, you slot it in at the bottom and the defrosting ice drips out. I only know as we’ve lost ours!
As for what’s in the ‘drawer of miscellany’. I’ve put similar items into plastic bags e.g. birthday candles; old toothbrushes (handy for cleaning); rubber bands; different types of glue; ribbons; straws; bits of blutack; and so on….

2 torches without batteries; 3 half used packs of incense sticks; 3 mini fold up shopping bags; a compact backpack; 3 buffs & 4 unused cloth masks; 3 empty spectacle cases, just in case; a clothes brush; head torch; cleansing wipes from ANA airlines; power bank; hairbrush; box of mixed picture hooks; instructions for an egg chair; 2x 1st class stamps; tube of ancient Uhu; tube of No Nails; an eraser; various ribbons; next door neighbour’s keys; pack of screwdrivers from a cracker; cheque book which I never use; 2 tape measures; paper clips and a pack of Love in a Mist seeds.
It’s a big drawer. Guess what I plan to do this afternoon ?

If it has a blade in it or where you could insert one it could be for cleaning the glass hob.
We have a drawer just the same, dried-up glue sticks, felt-tip pens and blue tac GC have used in the past. Curtain hooks for every type of runner that has ever existed. The old bus and library passes never used. Sellotape, masking tape and rulers. The list goes on.
I utilised GC shoe boxes when they were small and fitted them in to make compartments, I keep to the compartments DH rummages like a dog looking for a bone.

My problem is that I have several of 'those' drawers ;) Dog knows what's in them!

I should feel guilty, or perhaps smug, but all the items mentioned have a place in our house. I always tried to avoid a "miscellaneous" file when I worked, too. Nothing is "miscellaneous" - even if it's the only thing in that category, it can still be labelled with a more explanatory name.

A couple of years ago we painted the dining room and moved the sideboard out to get behind it. To make it easier to move we took all the drawers out and I sorted through them whilst DH did the painting. Rubber bands, batteries, sellotape, glue, candles, etc, were all sorted into boxes, jars and compartments.

I am always on top of my kitchen drawers. I reckon there are about 30 drawers and shelves in the kitchen and every few months I take one shelf or drawer a day and spend the month going through them, throwing stuff out and wiping them to get rid of the inexplicable crumbs that gather there.

My mother had a drawer for bits and bobs which she called the "toot" drawer (to rhyme with foot). In every house she lived in it was always the drawer furthest on the left, usually near the kitchen door.

Reminds me of a poem learnt at primary school!

'Penknife, pencil, seven bits of string, nails and marbles, a photo of the King, two little screw ends from a motor lamp and a tiny bit of coal....'

Glass jar of rubber bands. Tin pencil box with assorted batteries. New pack of iron -on web, Tupperware box (no lid) containing sink plugs, rubber bands, key ring, S hooks, squirty spectacle cleaner, mobile phone chargers, small torch, foreign coins. Plastic ruler. Handbag mirror in celluloid case I got in a charity shop years ago. Small papier mache box containing a long-dead butterfly that had never woken up. Pullout tape measure. Giant paper clips. Pencil eraser. Other small papier mache box empty. Empty plastic coin purse with zip. Plastic protractor. New pack of batteries.

I had to go and have a look.
Address book, various pens( most not working), several receipts, dog Pooh bags( clean), one glove, staples, dog brush, lint roller, two pegs a split bag of elastic bands, 5 wax crayons, sellotape, paracetamol, 5 buttons, Command strips , a small gold bell, 3 wrapped boiled sweets, a note written by DGS , a coaster and a pair of old glasses.
Have I sorted it out ?
No, just shoved it all back in !

ExDancer and Ashcombe - both much better answers than anything we came up with. We have got a glass hob, and though one freezer doesn’t need defrosting, the other one does. I will dig out the handbooks and see whether it was included with either, quite honestly it doesn’t look substantial enough to be the kind of thing that you would buy in Lakeland ( other good stores are available!). Thanks for your help.