Everyone has a junk drawer. Usually found in the kitchen, this drawer is full of items that keep the house and its appliances running smoothly. With all the batteries, scotch tape and “extra” screws from furniture kits, you may feel as though your junk drawer is sufficient; however, here are four items you may want to have so your junk drawer is ready for what life may throw at you.
1. Different Types of Tape
Duct tape and scotch tape are not the only types a household will need on hand. Though they often do the trick, there are many instances where they are lacking. Tapes like UHMW tape, for instance, stick to nearly un-stickable surfaces and reduce friction and thereby unwanted sounds. Useful in everything from production and car fixes, more domestic purposes include silencing a drawer that groans and squeaks when opened or temporarily sealing a leaky showerhead, UHMW tape is a must-have. If your household or garden has any hardware that rubs together or that more common tapes don’t stay adhered to, get some UHMW tape.
2. Eyeglass Repair Kit
Although 164 million American adults wear glasses, many people do not think to buy eyeglass repair kits before they need them — resulting in half-blind trips to the store or desperate online deliveries (and those types of services often won’t deliver for just an eyeglass kit). Even for households without any glasses wearers, an eyeglass repair kit is a necessity because of its delicate screwdriver and equally tiny screws. These items are useful when opening a toy to replace the batteries or when prying the back off a computer to clean out any damaging dust.
3. Rubber Bands
Rubber bands usually don’t have to be bought on their own. They hold lengthy vegetables in bunches and new cables together. They enter your home without you thinking about them, and because they are not the main focus of the purchase, they often get discarded. Rubber bands, however, are exceptionally convenient to have on hand. Useful in organizing, rubber bands are also available for steadying screwdrivers from slipping off their target and harming another surface and for keeping a slippery cutting board from moving under the pressure of your julienne slices.
4. Soft Tape Measurer
Your toolbox may have one of those nifty retractable tape measurers, but those, like stiff rulers, have their limits. Many instances that require measuring really call for a slack device. A soft tape measurer can help in these cases. Consider storing one in your junk drawer for when ordering outfits online from new or foreign brands to check their sizing against your own, for measuring a child for a Halloween costume, or for keeping track of body goals, inch by inch.
Junk drawers are one of the most common unofficial features of a house. While what is in them varies from home to home, some items are required to make it an arsenal from which to tackle whatever need arises. With only a few additions, your junk drawer can be a more complete aid to you in the fight against the everyday chaos.
