Junk Wars

I am not sure if everyone has this problem - little items of stationery, missing toy parts, Lego bits, candles and rocks (yes rocks!) - that seem to just keep finding their way to the kitchen bench. It's a daily problem for me with 3 children.

I went to look for something but got overwhelmed by the sheer number of junk that had overtaken my bench and the 3 boxes I store thing into. So I declared war!

I took everything out and put it on the bench. More overwhelming, but necessary, to see everything.

One pile to discard and another pile for donation.

Then I started sorting things according to which room they needed to be returned to - garage/car, bathroom, my room, foyer, and a pile for each child. I was able to cut down the number of trips to return the items by doing a few along the way.

Then I tackled each box by labeling each - Stationery, Bits and Pieces and Paper - and put things away according to their kind. Nice and tidy back in the cupboard.

Next I tackled the 'Nuts, Bolts and Screws' box to help me find missing shelf tabs. Everything on the bench.

Sort into - allen keys, screws, brackets, shelf holders, nut and bolts, wheels, childproof gate pieces, fuse wire - this time I used some mini storage containers and snap lock bags. This was a much quicker job.

All sorted and packed away. Made me feel great to get these boxes sorted....and I never did remember what I went looking for in the first place!

How do you go when you tackle a box or drawer full of 'junk'? Do you have a sorting system?