Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Junk Drawer

I was looking through my junk drawer the other day (don’t pretend you don’t have one, I know you do) looking for I-don’t-know-what because invariably while going through there looking for one thing your attention gets drawn to some other little long-forgotten bauble. As I continued to rediscover my treasures, I realized that it would be interesting to know what normal other people have in their junk drawer. And I knew just how to find out.

Junk Drawer | graphic designed by and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics



I neither wanted to ask people about everything they had stowed away nor thought they’d take the time to tell me, so I emailed a bunch of friends and asked them to tell me about just one item they had and, in 3 sentences or less, tell me why they keep it. I got some pretty interesting answers. Here’s a peek into some well-known bloggers’ drawers (come on, you knew I was gonna go there):



disposable chopsticks
As someone who’s Asian Black who loves to cook take-out all the time occasionally, I always get chopsticks from the local Chinese place and keep them. I also have some quality wooden and plastic chopsticks, yet I can’t seem to toss these plastic ones to the curb!
~April @ 100lb Countdown
 

chap stick
My lips are always chapped 365 days of the year, I have a case of chap stick from Trader Joe’s. I wish it were funny, but it really would be funny if my lips just exploded from dryness!
 



This is a piece of our brick facade backsplash
 

My husband and I recently bought my grandparents’ house and for as long as I can remember they always had pieces of this in their junk drawer. Recently we re-did the kitchen and cleaned out the drawer. The pieces stayed. The pieces will always stay.
~Michelle @ Juicebox Confession



Sterling Silver Bookmarks
   
 
 
The item I keep in my junk drawer is a pair of sterling silver bookmarks that I bought in Mexico fifteen years ago. They rip the pages if I use them in a book, but I just can’t bring myself to toss them. They remind me of that pre-kid vacation with my husband, and they make me smile whenever I find them hiding under my other junk.
~Dana @ Kiss My List



Junk, of course
 
 
 
We have about five junk drawers. From the looks of it, we never throw anything out. I blame the children for hoarding their toys in my otherwise beautifully organized drawers. The end.


Super Glue
 
 
 
I  never understood the full benefits of Super Glue till the twins came along. Before we used it for emergency fixes until we could replace the item that was damaged. But with the twins, they re-break things before the glue fully sets. No longer is it a temporary fix, now it’s a ‘till they grow up and move out fix. Super Glue; Mommy’s Little Helper in a Bottle. ;)


Box Tops for Education
 
 
I have volunteered in our children’s schools and have see the critical need for funding. Box Tops for Education is a way that everyone can help donate cash to our schools with a bit of trash off a great product we’re already purchasing. The money brought in makes the difference between a library being closed, technology in the classroom and art programs continued to be offered.


Orange Blossom Moisturizer
 
 
One of the many things that will forever live in my junk drawer is a bottle of Avon brand orange blossom moisturizer. It was a gift from a friend when we were both doing a manicure course together about six years ago. I haven’t actually used it in years and I lost contact with the gift-giver a long time ago, but it reminds me of such a fun period in my life and I can never bear to toss it.


random keys
Who really knows why we keep old keys? Maybe we’ll come across the lock they go to sometime and we wouldn’t want to be without them! Doesn’t everyone keep old keys?

my baby teeth
Whereas I keep many things because I might need them one day, (yeah, right!) I never threw away my baby teeth. They don’t take much space and remind me that my mom cared enough to keep them for me.


origami frog
I keep this origami frog close for any fits of creative lapse, boredom or the overwhelming desire to make a paper amphibian jump into, over, or through various things on my desk. My girls and I make origami frogs when we go out to eat to while away the time waiting for our food. We inevitably end up making one to leave for the server before we leave (we also make foxes and peacocks, but they don’t jump).
~Eli @ Coach Daddy


sharpie
There is always a sharpie permanent marker in my junk drawer. You never know when you are going to need to label something or someone! Never be the first to pass out at my house, my specialty is eyebrows and whiskers!!!


18 cents
Chai | picture taken by and property of www.BakingInATornado.com
Chai means life in Hebrew and the letters in chai add up to 18, so we often give gifts in multiples of 18. Every time I moved to a new home, my grandmother (alava shalom) would give me 18 cents for luck, wishing me a good life in my new home. I’ll always have her 18 cents in a drawer in my home.
~ me

Still curious? I got so many responses to my request for this post that I’ll be writing a second Junk Drawer post, coming soon.

What’s in YOUR junk drawer?

PS: Tomorrow I'll be serving latkes with my special Festive Cranberry Sauce instead of Apple Sauce for a change. Happy Thanksgivukah everyone! 



Festive Cranberry Sauce | www.BakingInATornado.com
Festive Cranberry Sauce

 
 Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 
 
Festive Cranberry Sauce
                                        ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
3 TBSP orange liqueur
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 (12 oz) package fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 tsp orange zest
6 oz package Pecan halves, toasted
 
Directions:
*Put the dried apricots and the orange liqueur in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and cool.
*Put the sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. 
*Add the cranberries and continue to cook until they pop open. It'll take about 5 minutes. 
*Remove from heat. Mix in the apricots mixture. Cool completely. Then add the toasted pecans.
*Keep refrigerated.
*This can be made a few days in advance.


40 comments:

  1. This is GREAT! :-)

    You know after your e-mail I emptied the "gloves & scarves drawer" which also contains a LOT of other stuff, such as surprise gifts, empty batteries, new batteries, chocolate and money I forgot about. I took everything out, lay it out on the floor, took pictures, and by the time I was ready to think about what I was gonna write about for you, it was time to make lunch and I stuffed everything back into the drawer (instead of ORGANIZING it!!)

    As if this wasn't enough, I ended up raiding ANOTHER drawer which took me to the baby teeth. So a lot of rummaging went into those two sentences ;-) Also I am proud to report that threw away a single Winnie the Pooh baby glove. I can do this. Purging!!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Great job purging. At that rate you should be done . . . never.

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  2. Loved it! I feel much more "normal" now. ;) Thanks for another fun post!

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    1. I really enjoyed putting it all together. Thanks for joining in.

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  3. Loved this! What a fun idea!
    The cranberry sauce looks divine!
    Can you believe The Prince demands cranberry from a can when he could have this fabulous recipe?!
    Yours made me cry... such a special and sweet memory to be able to touch. <3

    ReplyDelete
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    1. So glad you joined in.

      I make this Cranberry Sauce AND I have to open a can for the kids. Ugh.

      Delete
  4. This is great - I always love seeing behind the scenes of people's lives.

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    1. I love that the responses are all so different. Some sweet, some funny, some utilitarian. I guess our junk drawers really are a reflection of us.

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  5. It's wonderful to know everyone else has a junk drawer or three :). My favorite item in mine is my ever-growing rubber band ball. 400+rubber bands that would otherwise be lying all over my home. It's my only prize of organization :)

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    1. That's so funny, would have loved to have had a pic of that for this post.

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  6. I love it!! I just found more chapstick and put it with the other's! It is now The Chapstick Drawer, not the Junk Drawer!! Love your yummy cranberry sauce!

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    Replies
    1. I may need to start a chapstick drawer myself. It's so dry and it's only November.

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  7. Ha ha ha!! So many good ones. This was a great idea. Can't wait for post #2!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved putting this post together and the second one is just as much fun, it's coming together nicely.

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  8. Loved peeking in everybody's drawers - thanks for including me! Enjoy all the celebrations with your family, Karen.

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    1. Thanks for participating, Dana. Hope you have a great holiday season too.

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  9. I love this post. I particularly like the origami frog. When in second grade, I made several dozens of them. In my own junk drawer, I guess the most useless item I still have in it is my phone charger from my Siemens A50 basic phone that I got in 2003. I sitll have the phone itself too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I guess if you're going to keep the phone you may as well keep the charger, LOL.

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  10. This is great! There are so many of these that I read and said "hey I have that in my junk drawer too!" Thank you for putting this together!

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    1. Thanks so much for joining in. It was fun watching all the diverse answers coming in.

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  11. Very cool :) Great fun, this idea :D

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  12. Hey I know a lot of these bloggers! This is too funny though. I do have (a few) junk drawers and yet I can't think of anything in particular that is still in there. Usually, I find things that I don't need and can have more piece about throwing it away if we move. LOL. Thanks for sharing this at my hop Countdown in Style! Don't forget to come back to see if you are featured! xo

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I always find things I don't need in my junk drawers. Usually old receipts or coupons. I'm not sure why it's so hard to throw things away until they're 2 years past expiration, but that's usually what it takes for me to throw them out.

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  13. Thanks, Karen...I'm feeling much better about my junk drawers (you only have one?!) filled with swag bag keychains and golf tees now.

    P.S. Love your chai money story. Be expecting a holiday gift of 18 hugs from me one of these days ♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 18 hugs sound like a great plan. Especially during holiday time!

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  14. Is it wrong for someone who isn't Jewish to totally jack that idea and do it myself? I kid you not, I read that and it was like....peace. And SERIOUSLY CHRISTINE FROM MOORE ORGANIZED MAYHEM?! That is the neatest junk drawer I've ever seen. All 3 (yes, 3) of mine are messy. I feel an urge to clean them out now.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. The chai is just as much about the sentiment so yes, I say go for it!

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  15. Our junk drawer is so full. One thing I never throw out is dice. I've never gone looking for them for a game, but we have a whole bunch of them in the junk drawer...

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    Replies
    1. So funny. Sounds like you need to host a Vegas night. I'll bring the desserts.

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  16. I found out just this week that my big sister has been keeping her children's baby teeth in one of her drawers. I'm incredibly grossed out by this fact, but I may feel differently once my little one starts shedding hers. We'll have to wait and see.

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    1. I kept my kids' teeth, but I don't think I marked whose is whose or when they fell out so now I'm wondering what the point is.

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  17. Now, I feel like my drawer has been underutilized. I need to step it up for random storage purposes! Currently, it only has kitchen related items. Yum yum cranberry sauce Karen! Thanks for sharing and linking up with Countdown in Style! Don't forget to come back on Friday to see if you were featured!

    ~~April~~
    100lbCountdown.com

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  18. We can relate over here as our junk drawer has many of these piling up - chopsticks, chap sticks, old keys, old cell phones, etc. I think everyone has a junk drawer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, sounds like you have everyone else's junk drawers over at your house.

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  19. I'm afraid to open my junk drawer, LOL...I think we have tons of utensils that Dino likes to play with...and a few blistex and floss containers.

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    1. I have to say you aren't the only one with the blistex in there, I've got that in my junk drawers all over the house!

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  20. I plead the fifth on what's in my drawer. I like the whole 18 cents for good luck.

    But I will say I make my own whole cranberry sauce as well!

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    Replies
    1. Homemade is amazing. So much better than anything you could buy.

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