37 days 

I no longer have a junk drawer.

This is a bold statement coming someone who used to have two junk drawers in her kitchen. One was more like a toolbox annex of the garage. Whenever I would bring in a hammer or screwdriver from the garage, I would toss it into the drawer instead of walking it back to the garage. Other people have told me they do the same thing, so I know I am not alone. The second junk drawer was a total catch-all. Sometimes the drawer was so full it would barely open. Multiple pairs of earbuds choked each other in a tangle. Stray photos sported crinkles from being pushed further back in the drawer as hands raked through the pile looking for a pair of nail clippers before settling on a nail file. 

It took a kitchen renovation for me to ditch the junk drawer. Every cabinet shelf and drawer had to be emptied out so the painter could repaint our cabinets. When I was out of boxes, I resorted to bags. The junk drawer was the last to go into a shopping bag. As we put the kitchen back together, I left the junk drawer bag sitting on a chair in the dining room. For a few days, I would pull out an item if I needed it. Afterwards, I forced myself to put the item in a more appropriate place instead of back in the junk drawer. Nail files went in the bag with my nail polishes. Golf balls went into my golf bag. What could not be categorized, or had not been touched in years went into the trash can. Why did it take so long for this cleansing to happen?

Like this drawer, we all have a little junk in us. We keep it because it takes too much effort and thought to get rid of it until we are forced to do so. The Lenten season is a perfect time to clean out our internal junk drawers. What new space will you create?

Still a work in progress,

Jerilyn