The Junk Drawer Project Show and Tell

An excerpt from the Junk Drawer Project.

We all have at least one, squarish sanctuary within our cabinet space that continues to hold our frivolous keepsakes, our treasured flotsam—or, in others’ eyes—our inherent, incorrigible junk. But what does our stash of odds and ends say about ourselves? Erin Thompson, Knock Knock’s manufacturing coordinator, examines this correlation on her site, The Junk Drawer Project. Her blog documents submitters’ junk drawers, taking a glimpse into each submitter’s life and the story behind his or her beloved objects.

“The inspiration came to me several years ago when I was visiting with my Dad at his home. He was in the middle of organizing and cleaning out the kitchen junk drawer and I thought that it was such a pointless task. I argued that a junk drawer should be unorganized and full of random objects that don’t have a proper home,” Erin said.

Meet Erin, the thoughtful mind behind The Junk Drawer Project.

“For months, we ended up debating whether or not a junk drawer should be organized, but what really got me interested was how many tangent questions the subject raised during those conversations. The Junk Drawer Project is my attempt to answer those questions.”

Since launch in early November, The Junk Drawer Project continues to receive two to three submissions each day, embedded with uber-intriguing junk-drawer objects, like a bottle of wine, nose plugs, Barbie clothes, and the history behind them. From disheveled to decently-arranged interiors, each drawer’s contents differs from the next (much like their owners’ personas).

“Since everyone has a junk drawer, I knew that the project would be something that people could relate to. I started talking to some friends about their junk drawers and I immediately saw different patterns emerge between one’s personality and how their junk drawer looked. From then on, I became more and more interested in learning about what type of things people kept in their junk drawers and why,” Erin said.

We decided to turn the tables and asked Erin if we could take a peek inside her junk drawer. Take a look:

Erin’s junk drawer.

 

1. What are three words that describe your junk drawer?
An infinite abyss.

2. What is your fondest memory surrounding an object in your junk drawer?
The tiny plastic zebra was given to me by my 7-year-old sister nearly two years ago for my birthday. She doesn’t live near me, so it reminds me of all of the fun times we have spent together when I visit and how happy she makes me when I see her. I know how much she loves her plastic animals, so it meant a lot to me when she shared her collection with me.

3. What is the oldest object in your junk drawer and what are you saving it for?
The small yellow box holds an evil eye charm that was given to me by a shop owner at the Grand Bazar in Istanbul while I was studying abroad in 2009. He explained to me that it would bring me good luck. I’ve held onto it to reflect evil and to remind me of the incredible experience I had while studying ancient history throughout Greece and Turkey that summer.  I will never get rid of it.

4. What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything. It’s really true.

 

What do you keep in your junk drawer? Anyone and everyone can support and learn how to submit to The Junk Drawer Project here. You can also “Follow” The Junk Drawer Project on Twitter. Tumblr and Facebook page coming soon.