Got Junk?

In a recent prompt for my treasured St. Leonard writing group, I asked, “What’s in your junk drawer?” The ensuing discussion left us all doubled over in laughter about the random contents of our lives.

The exercise left me with a lingering reflection of junk drawers. Currently, my junk drawer has a gazillion pens, probably a few of them don’t even work. Reflective of my grandmother phase in life, there’re random Legos and miniature Paw Patrol pups coexisting with the nail clippers, five pairs of scissors, and way too many cheap mechanical pencils that house equally cheap lead. Try helping  a 1st grader with math homework with a pencil with no umph. (This reminds me to stock up on the sturdy, old-school #2 yellow pencils.) Smelly fruit scented markers are layered beneath post it notes decorated with hand drawn hearts and rainbows. This drawer is where I keep scotch tape, although last time I needed tape the roll was empty. If I need a rubber band or paper clip or elastic hair tie for pig tails,  my junk drawer is a sure bet. Have an urgent need for dental floss or a nail file? I know where you’d find them.

My junk drawer doesn’t hold a candle to the junk drawer of my upbringing. I can still feel the resistance of the drawer next to the fridge in our kitchen. I mean, for as long as I can remember, it was crammed. One of the culprits were the multitude of playing cards pushed to the back of the drawer. I remember as a kid trying to combine cards to make a workable full deck. Most times, the quest for a game of solitaire was futile. Yet, the cards provided cover for the old metal combination locks that had no combination. My mom really didn’t cook, so it made sense that recipe cards ended up in the junk drawer. Unsharpened pencils and loose batteries were entwined with tennis shoe laces gone rogue. How many of you have a round tin of black shoe polish in your junk drawer? There were small sewing kits, Christmas cards from years past, and random envelopes with scribbled phone numbers once thought important.

Junk drawers should not be underrated. Snippets of life are sometimes swept into the junk drawer, but that doesn’t mean they have no value. I know I’ve deposited a multitude of almost treasures into my junk drawer just because the tangible remnant of a moment was too important to be discarded. Think of a junk drawer as a temporary place of honor. That custom matchbox wedding favor that ended up in your purse from such a fun reception is a reminder of such a great day. So, where does it go? And what about the left over birthday candles from a cake you made for someone you really love? Too many candles to be tossed, but not enough for next time. Such a crossroad just might justify the placement of these few candles into the safety of the junk drawer; a resting place for the things that have immediate but finite importance.

I realize many of you may not have a junk drawer. I recently had a conversation with a woman who told me she just doesn’t do junk. I’m in awe of those who have a running track record of dealing with stuff in real time. Maybe in my next life, I’ll be more like them. But for now, as I sit here in my kitchen, there is a bit of comfort in knowing all the scraps of my life are an arm’s reach away.