Toss It Out Tuesday | Kids’ Pencil Drawer

We’re fortunate to have a small desk area off our eat-in kitchen (a popular concept for late ’80s construction); and when we moved here, we intended to use this space for the kids to do their homework. Then, clutter happens. The counter area becomes littered with school papers, charging cords and other random items; and what had started out as our kids’ pencil drawer turned into this hot mess:

And this is relatively not-that-bad. What you can’t quite see in the photo is it’s a very deep drawer, and in the back I found loads of expired pizza coupons, paper clips, and a whole lot of itty bitty dust bunnies.

It’s another edition of Toss It Out Tuesday! As I introduced previously, the concept is simple.

• Have 6 bins, boxes or bags labeled Donate, Move, File, Sell, Recycle and Trash.
• Pick an area of your home to begin with – even a small space, such as a linen closet is a great way to begin!
• Start tossin’.

Toss It Out Tuesday

This week’s decluttering mission was for my kids’ pencil drawer, so I could get a basic inventory of what we have, what needs to be tossed, donated and moved.

When I started pulling out each and every item, I couldn’t believe all that could be packed into one drawer. What you can’t see very well because it’s white, but I find hilarious, is one single Barbie shoe (but we know where that goes now).

I mean, seriously … how many pencils do three children need?

Many times at restaurants, the kids have received a mini box of crayons to color with, and to take home. And if you know this routine, how many times after coming home, did your kids ever use those crayons again? Yep, that’s what I thought. So we’ve collected them.

While my update is a bit light this week (after last week’s larger project!), I did accomplish one decluttering task, and for that I’m thankful. Here’s what I did:

1. Donate: Seven mini boxes of crayons.
2. Move: Crayons, markers and colored pencils were moved to larger separate storage bins, leaving only pencils for the kids’ pencil drawer. If those new bins were a bit more shallow they would fit nicely in the drawer, but alas, they don’t.
3. File: Nada.
4. Sell: Absolutely nothing in that drawer is worth selling.
5. Recycle: Expired coupons and other miscellaneous papers.
6. Trash: Lots of baby fuzz balls, and about 16 pencils that didn’t make the cut. Sadly, including Junior.

Your Turn!

Here’s your last turn in January to share what you tossed during the last week! Leave a comment below, sharing what you tossed (into any of the categories above). Everyone who comments on the Toss It Tuesday posts each week will be entered into a monthly drawing for a fun prize! Did you miss what all the wackiness is about? Read about Toss It Tuesday, and keep the fun going by following along on Facebook!

You might also be interested in:

• Slaying the Debt Dragon book review & giveaway
• Following my Organization Tips & Tricks Pinterest board
• Family-friendly recipes
• Posts on my favorite kitchen tools