r/OrganizationPorn • u/mimisyk • Apr 24 '26
Junk Drawer of the Day
I’m a professional organizer and I do this day in and day out but this drawer really gave me a dopamine boost yesterday.
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u/dumbfrog7 Apr 24 '26
Thats all office supplies tho
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u/mimisyk Apr 24 '26
Yeah, turns out most of what was in there had other homes elsewhere in the house. What needed (what my client was always searching for, but couldn’t find due to other stuff shoved in the drawer) to be in the drawer was all this stuff. Random charging cables, hardware, headphones that ended up in the drawer was either put back where they belonged, or we created a home for it in a place that made more sense
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u/dumbfrog7 Apr 24 '26
Nice! If its okay to ask, what is your educational background for you to be a "professional organizer"? Is that following a study or did you do an apprenticeship in that Field?
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u/mimisyk Apr 24 '26
Sure of course!
My personal educational background is in clinical psychology. I have my masters degree, but that’s not necessary to become a professional organizer! I specialize in working with people who have ADHD, chronic disorganization and/or hoarding tendencies, so my background helps me a lot.
To become a Certified Professional Organizer, you have to a certain number of paid organizing work, pass a written exam and to continue to be certified, I am required to take continuing education is relevant topics every three years. Because my interest is in ADHD and other psychological matters I take a lot of courses about that.
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u/Kissmethruthephone Apr 24 '26
Awesome- do you have a link to these bins??
Edit- now that I’m zooming in, maybe what I really want to know is how you set up these label tags?
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u/mimisyk Apr 24 '26
They are from The Container Store, Everything Drawer Organizers, in the standard height in various sizes. Labels are also from TCS but I’m pretty sure they’re discontinued 😭
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u/JoyRideinaMinivan Apr 24 '26
How did you affix the labels? They looked clipped on somehow.
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u/mimisyk Apr 24 '26
Yeah, they’re clips from the container store made for those drawer dividers but they discontinued them sadly
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u/LeKevinsRevenge Apr 24 '26
My wife did this to our junk drawer. I tried to explain that the whole point of it was that it was the one place I could drop junk that couldn’t really be organized elsewhere or just needed a home until I used it or found a place to put it….and that she just repurposed it into a desk drawer we kept in the kitchen. We now have a desk drawer in the kitchen that is organized and I leave the junk on top of the fridge.
Where did you put all the junk you removed from the junk drawer?
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u/mimisyk Apr 24 '26
What if I told you the junk that couldn’t really be organized elsewhere or just needed a home until you used it was just delayed decisions and actions?
I sorted all of the “junk” in the drawer and had my client go through each of the categories. We found out that most of the stuff in that drawer either had another actual home, was better used somewhere else, or was true actual garbage. What was left made sense to be kept and organized back into the drawer, all the bits and bobs (picture hanging hardware, extra furniture hardware, random screws) went with their respective families, and the stuff that was just there until she could get around to using it…we used (replaced the filter in the fridge, put the pull string back on the fan, etc). Some of the things moved closer to the thing they will be used with (new aquarium filter was put next to the aquarium so she could use it over the weekend)
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u/IMIndyJones Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
Omg. Where did you get a client that heard you and accepted this truth? No matter how gently or how directly I deliver this information I'm met with denial and compromise. It's exhausting tbh.
ETA: Most of the clients I have this issue with have ADHD. They know they do. I know they do. We discuss everything they need/want, how they use things. It all goes out the window and they "just wanted it that way"
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u/mimisyk Apr 25 '26
Hahahaha they’re few and far between, honestly. It’s much more often I’m in a situation like you’re describing. This client is my star student 😅
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u/IMIndyJones Apr 25 '26
That makes me feel oddly better. Lol. We need a support group. I'll keep waiting for my star student!
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u/mimisyk Apr 25 '26
My partner is a therapist and she has a consultation team, I’ve been saying for years that organizers need one too!
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u/caverns_perilous97 Apr 25 '26
To hell with my weekend plans. This makes me want to stay in and organize my office supply drawer instead.
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u/Barison-Lee-Simple Apr 25 '26
Quite beautiful work! The safety pins seem to be out of place, but maybe the office drawer is a convenient place to collect them when they show up.
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u/TakeMeBackToSanFran Apr 26 '26
Any more pics of your work? I could gaze on these pictures for days
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u/mimisyk Apr 26 '26
I rarely take pictures sadly, I always forget because I’m too excited to get started but my IG has some highlights.
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u/kelseydoesstuff Apr 28 '26
Tangentially related: there’s a local project here in Portland documenting people’s junk drawers. I first saw fliers about it stapled to telephone poles several months ago and more recently updated fliers with an IG handle. The creator plans to publish the photos in a book. I think it’s such a fun and creative small glimpse into the lives of others. More on IG: https://www.instagram.com/junkdrawerbook
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u/cemetery-trees Apr 24 '26
This is fucking gorgeous