Operation Clean Drawer

It started with an innocent question....did Tony know what happened to my wooden spatula? It had been missing for a few days.  He hadn't, but thinking the spatula might have fallen behind the drawers, Tony took out the bottom one.  The wooden spatula was NOT there, but a regular spatula, slotted spoon, and rubber scraper we'd been missing were.  This discovery made me decide it was time to do a big drawer cleaning.

(Our kitchen has banks of upper and lower cabinets. Set into the bottom section of cabinets, next to the stove, is a column of drawers. The one on top has the cooking utensils and serving pieces I use the most, the next is devoted to silverware, and the third is a catchall of utensil overflow and miscellaneous kitchen items.  There's a fourth that we used to keep bread in, but it's currently empty.)

I got two box lids from the basement, dumped one drawer into each lid, and found the offending wooden spatula that started the whole project wedged along the back of the top drawer.  Even laid out on the counter top, the mess on the left from the catchall drawer is unruly.  The Rubbermaid drawer organizers were long past their prime, so I tossed them in the trash, along with the crumbs and debris that had accumulated in the back corners of the drawers, then went to the store and bought nice new mesh organizers so everything would be neat and clean.

Once everything was out in the open, I took a good look at what was there.  The vast majority of the items in the top drawer get used on a daily or weekly basis.  The handful that don't got demoted to the lower drawer. Some of the tools from the lower drawer, like the garlic press, meat thermometer, and kitchen scissors get used on a regular basis.  Some items don't get regular use, but are essential at times.  The corn on the cob holders, cherry pitter, candy thermometer, and melon baller would fall into this category.  However, there was a lot that never get used, like an egg slicer, a donut cutter, and a too-small pot strainer.  These went in the donation bag.  I threw a dozen popsicle sticks into the compost pile, along with a couple of pairs of wooden carryout chopsticks.

After the first pass there were still a lot of grey area items that I didn't know what to do with, like a set of lacquered chopsticks, some fondue forks, and a marinade injector.  I decided to put them in a box and take them out if and when the need arises. After a few months, I'll look at what's still in the box and decide if I really need what's still in there.

I'm looking forward to opening up my newly-neat drawers.