Written on September 4th, 2026

Every House Has That One Drawer

I don’t care how organized you are.

I don’t care how many baskets you own.

I don’t care how many organizing Tik-Tok videos you have watched.

You have a junk drawer.

You may call it something else.

“Utility drawer.”

“Miscellaneous.”

“Household essentials.”

Nice try.

It’s the junk drawer.

You know exactly which one I mean.

Open it and you will find:

A battery that may or may not work.

And everyone points the finger as to who put them there.

Wasn’t me.

Three rubber bands.

An Allen wrench from a piece of furniture that was thrown away sometime during the Regan administration.

A key that opens something.

Nobody knows what.

A takeout menu from a restaurant that closed five years ago.

A pen that doesn’t work.

A pen that might work.

And something made of plastic that you are afraid to throw away because the moment you do, you will discover that it was absolutely essential.

The batteries are my favorite.

Nobody knows if they are dead.

Nobody is willing to test them.

We simply put them back.

Maybe the remote will need one someday.

Maybe that battery has another ten minutes left in it.

Maybe it is actually a tiny metal paperweight.

Who knows?

We keep everything.

And every once in a while, usually when we are looking for something completely unrelated, we open the drawer and think:

“I really need to organize this.”

Then we close it.

Problem solved.

Honestly, I think we need to stop apologizing for the junk drawer.

It isn’t a sign that we have failed at adulthood.

It is proof that we live in a house where things happen.

Things break.

Things get replaced.

People open packages.

Batteries die.

Mystery keys appear.

Life accumulates.

And sometimes the drawer is just… the drawer.

So if you have one, congratulations.

You are normal. You can stop stressing over ever needing to get rid of it.

And if you tell me you don’t have one?

I will come help you start one……does next Thursday work for you?

I’ll bring the batteries……