THE JUNK DRAWER by Al Batt
Where did the flyswatter hang in the kitchen of the house you grew up in? Which closet kept the used Christmas wrapping paper? Where did the stacks of old National Geographic magazines collect dust? Every home has roots, warmth, anchors, laughter, tears, a place to hang a flyswatter and a junk drawer. I'm sure archaeologists have discovered junk drawers in caves.
The junk drawer. It's a yard sale in a drawer. The junk drawer is a place where things slink off to hide from us. A place for things that have moved well off the beaten path. It's like an attic. We tend to forget what's in the attic. It's always a surprise--pleasant or unpleasant--when we once again see what inhabits the attic.
The junk drawer is like a museum without a curator--a museum without a custodian.
As a boy, I knew that while some houses had a number of junk drawers, every house had at least one junk drawer. The junk drawer was like an old friend. It had a personality. It had its good points and its bad points. It had its strengths and its weaknesses.
You could take a photo of the contents of your family's junk drawer, give it to Sherlock Holmes and the famous sleuth would be able to tell just about everything worth knowing about you and yours. The junk drawer was a nook. It was a cranny. It was perfectly suited to do what it did.
The junk drawer kept things that we probably didn't need to keep. A junk drawer is like a mind. We can remember the room number of our 7th grade study hall, but forget our PIN for the ATM or our cell phone number. The junk drawer harbors things of no use or value. We need to rummage through our brain occasionally, just as we rummage through a junk drawer.
What did you keep in your junk drawer? Probably a lot of the same stuff we kept in ours. First there was always tape--duct, masking, Scotch and Band-Aids. Ernest Hemingway wrote, "Life breaks everyone, but the tough become strong in the broken places." The junk drawer tape helped make broken places strong.
What were all of those keys for? No one knows that many doors.
Rubber bands, twist ties, petrified gum, ink pens that dried up years ago, Tic-Tacs that had welded together into a super-sized breath freshener, dead flashlight batteries, an earring that had lost its mate, feral screwdrivers, escaped screws and nails, expired coupons, bent paper clips, a sticky coin or two, unidentifiable bits of plastic, a Scotch tape dispenser that refused to dispense, candles, a hammer without a handle, a bottle cap or two, clothespins, broken crayons, a piece of chalk, a dried orange peel, buttons, a couple of safety pins, garden seeds in a package that says they should be planted by 1988, an unsigned birthday card from back when Eisenhower was the president and lots of loose string. Flotsam and jetsam.
They are things that once brought us happiness that found their way into a drawer that we didn't know we'd left open. Things that were once useful and wanted wait to be useful and wanted once again. They end up in the junk drawer because they don't really fit anywhere else.
Bits of our lives that have been tossed aside. Lost treasures and broken items. Things just a little too good to throw away. Each tells a story. Each was something we needed. Something that we had to have. Something that we're not so sure we still need. Some of the stuff ended up in its present location because the drawer was closer than the waste basket.
A junk drawer is a junk pile that stays within limits due to the size of the drawer. It's life in small doses. Adlai Stevenson said that many things are revealed to the humble that are hidden from the great. A junk drawer is a humble place.
Our current junk drawer has been opened thousands of times. It has been shaved and soaped, but it still squeaks. It's a drawer full of hopes, dreams and memories. It may be a drawer filled with junk rather than money, but it's a drawer that remains optimistic. It's proof that the quality of life is more important than the standard of living.
"We really need to clean that junk drawer this weekend."
Why do we call it a junk drawer? It's not junk.
The junk drawer. It has everything I'll never need.
 | Hi Paula,
Oh yes! What a great post! Yes, I've had numerous junk drawers in my lifetime. There's the one in the kitchen; the one in the computer room; and one in the bedroom. Once I had a house that allowed me a "Junk Room"! Actually, the computer room allows it to be a junk room as well. Well, it's actually more of a "stop over" place. A room where things reside until we figure out where they should really go. Of course, the closet in the computer room is the "Junk Closet" and periodically we go through it and chuck out what is really not used or needed. Bill is a great one for reorganizing closets and drawers. He will make that statement, "We have to clean out the drawers." or "We have to clean out the (you name it) closet." Of course, what he really means is HE'S going to clean them out - which is fine with me. Rarely does he throw anything out that's important.
Oh wait! That's not entirely true. One time I was cleaning out drawers in the computer room. I made three piles: One that needed to be filed, one that was to go back in the drawers and a third pile that needed to be shredded. Bill came in to "help" and of course, since shredding is manly work, he proceeded with the shredding. Periodically he would say, "Why are you shredding this?" and it would be something important. Finally, after hearing this question a half a dozen times, I took a look at what was up next to be shredded. You guessed it, he was shredding the "To be filed" pile. I have no idea how many important documents he's shredded before the mistake was discovered, but they now reside in a landfill somewhere.
Take good care & thanks for the fun blog entry!
Hugs - Marcia |
 | Hello Marcia
Oh it is nice to hear that you also have a junk room(s). Your computer room sounds just like mine...everthing gets put through here..then Alex says..."I couldnt work in that mess" hahaha oh great..he made it That is typical of what happens. Then I do a clear out but does it stay clear for long....no way. Does Bill ever lose things and go straight to your computer room to find them as though by magic they would be there. Alex does this hahaha
He has not done what Alex did..thank goodness. We usually clear out all the shredding stuff together.
However you havent seen our attic. I cant get up as the ladders are too heavy for me so Alex enjoys going up there...then when I do go up...there is no room to walk. It is like Aladdins cave hahaha ...just there is no treasure lol He did have a clear out of all boxes we had. WE keep boxes for a year for items in case they have to be sent back. Then they are thrown out. I have a friend who is afraid her ceiling will collapse as she has so much stuff packed up there...she has other rooms in the house but they closets in them are full ...the attic is her overspill.
I think we are all like that. Its great what you find that you have forgotten about.
Pleased you enjoyed the entry....I must come see your video
Hugs
Paula |
 | I have one of those .LOL And no I won't clean it because the day I do ,is the next day I'll need something that was in the " junk drawer ".As long as I am alive ,I 'll have my good ole drawer. LOL Loved this. |
| Gina I think we all have one of these. I have done a clear out in the past and then I start looking for whatever it was.. It doesnt pay me to throw things out. Not only that...to have a junk drawer is fun...I discover something new every time I have a look lol
Paula |
 | Very good, it sounds rather like the average human brain on standby ! |
 | Oh gosh, I'm normal then. I had a junk room too.
I have found that junk will mysteriously multiply and accumulate in direct proportion to the amount of space in which you have to accomodate it. |
 | That is a great post Paula, that is funny how we are all so much the same no matter where we are!!! I have 1 junk drawer and when it starts to get full - I start tossing everything out only to have it fill up in no time - the process starts all over!! |
 | ko6bb wrote on Jan 31, edited on Jan 31 Paula et al,
Let's see, a junk drawer in the kitchen, a junk cupboard in the second bathroom, a couple small "junk" drawers for tape and paper clips next to the computer in the radio room.
Then, I have that "absolute necessity" of every HAM Radio operator, the "Junk Box". Whether large or small, the Ham's junk box is always interesting to dig through (for another Ham anyway). This is where you toss that old radio that died and you plan to repair "someday", the handy talkie that fell in the river, dead microphones, numerous used connectors cut off of old cables, bits and pieces of wire, old radio tubes and so forth. In my case, the junk box is actually many boxes and plastic parts bins scattered around the radio/computer room, occupying every shelf etc.
To prove how valuable the "Junk box" is to a Ham, about a year ago I had a BIG clean-out of the radio room, giving away a bunch of "junque". I had no problem giving any of it away to fellow hams. Problem is, I was CERTAIN that I kept some "variable capacitors" (a fairly rare part that used to be in plentiful supply) for future projects. This fall I wanted to build a special project (tunable pre-amp) for the beacon radio and went looking for one (variable capacitor). Not a single one could be found, I had to order a new one at a very premium price!!!
So, I guess we all have our favorite items that can only be found in that Junk drawer (or box).
Phil (KO6BB) |
| Phil,
I thoroughly enjoyed your mail. You reminded me of my husband. He is not a radio Ham but he is a DIY. He has boxes of this, boxes of that, jars of this jars of that, string for this and string for that. The same idea as yourself. Now he keeps so many different type nails as over the years we have used a lot. It is not the first time he couldnt find them so we have to go to one of the DIY stores and buy more...then a short time after he will find the ones he has stored somewhere. Its fine to have a junk drawer or cupboard as it is with Alex but you need to find things when you need them. Alex often forgets where he puts things. They are in such a safe place that he cannot find them himself. hahahaha
Our attic is full as I think I mentioned already but my friend her attic is even worse than ours, Aladins cave is a good name for the attic.
Recently I found books which I bought when I was at school for film stars, they are too numerous to mention. I have them here now in the computer room...yes this is another junk room too at times as I wanted to scan them and put them on my website but never have the time to do so. I shall get round to it one day.
Thanks for taking the time to give us all a giggle ...but your words are so true.
Paula |
| Thank you Paula,
At the risk of wearing out my welcome I will tell you about one other "Ham tradition" that fits in with the "junk drawer" thread. This is the proverbial "Ham-Fest". No, this isn't a party where Bar-B-Cued pork is served, but rather a "flea-market", Ham radio style.
For days or weeks before the event, all hams who decide to participate, dig through their junk boxes, garages, sheds etc and collect all the overflow and useful (?) jun-que that they no longer want or need. This is usually strongly encouraged by their "XYL" (wife), especially if expensive radio equipment has recently been purchased.
Early on the day of the event (perhaps 4:00 AM if the drive is a couple hours long) they will load up their truck, van or whatever and start out. Now, you must understand, most of the en-route participants will be easily recognizable by the plethora of antennas on their vehicles and the HTs (Handy Talkies) on their belts.
Chatter on the radios is important to make sure that everyone is aware of all the "treasures" that you're taking.
Even if you aren't taking anything to sell, but just "looking", it is very important to arrive at the crack of dawn as the best treasures will be sold while the seller is still unloading his vehicle!
At these events it isn't at all unusual to see a new 12 year old ham and a white haired geezer both digging through the same old worn out, disreputable looking cardboard carton to see what lies at the bottom.
At the end of the day, even if you only went to "look", chances are you will go back with a carload of "good stuff", that you will proceed to put in your personal junk box (garage, shed etc), This stuff will sit, unopened and unused, forgotten until the next ham-fest comes along and you're looking for stuff to sell. I know hams that have loaded up their vehicle with stuff to take and wonder "Where did that radio come from" (true story ;-)
A favorite trick of ham-festers is to take that "boatanchor" (BIG heavy radio) that they couldn't sell, and sneak it into the trunk of their buddies car before going home. . .
Phil (KO6BB) |
 | gilinaz wrote on Feb 1, edited on Feb 1 Phil...yeah, my roommate, in college (1950's) used to build radios. When I went to visit him, once, he had boxes full of resistors, capacitors, and even potentiometers. He was always doing schematics for the radios. He told me you had to know a bit of math on these (smile).
Gil |
| My Uncle Jack was a "HAM" and so are many of my friends. Hi hi hi. I've seen their "What may be usefull one day boxes" |
| Maybe that's why we have "junk drawers"....for "what may be useful...one day" (smile).
Gil |
| Phil I enjoyed reading that as I had never heard of a Ham-Fest.
The behaviour of the people sounds like what happens at a car boot sale when there are a lot of dealers. The dont give the person time to set everything out on a table they are into the back of cars. They tried to ban people like that as they caused damage. Obviously yours is completely different. I know Alex loves lookind at old tools...I mean tools you had years ago they are vintage by now LOL
Wow your crack of dawn is the middle of the night to me ! 4am! that is early. I think 8 or 9 is early as we have to travel so add an extra hour onto that. Do the sellers stay there overnight? Here some of the sellers started to bring their caravans or motorhomes with them so they could be set up in time for the first of the crowds. I know what you mean if you are much later, then you wont get anything which is a bargan. I am sure it is an experience for those young people who are starting out...they will see equipment they have never seen before....and must be fascinated.
The part which did surprise me about your mail was that the box would often lie unopened....that was a pointless buy...Yes? lol
It is not a bargain unless you are going to use it.
I can see that you ham festers are worth watching ! hahaha Do you all know one another or a lot of you know one another from talking on the radio? Its a great way to make friends.
Thanks again for your mail. I never knew anything about that side of things. My Dad's cousin I think built his radio..would that be right. He too over a large cupboard and it sat in there. His wife always knew where to look when she couldnt find him anywhere else
Take care
Paula |
| Paula..well,we have things in drawers and things outside of drawers. I think Helen has a bit more than me...plus, mine isn't scattered around so much.
Gil |
| |
Very good, it sounds rather like the average human brain on standby ! 
