Let’s face it. We all have it. That drawer, cabinet, corner, pillowcase…where we stick all of the junk we have no idea what to do with. Most of us have a junk drawer…or two. It fills to the point of exploding, after which we break down and clean it out. We decide that all the coupons we couldn’t live with out have expired during the Reagan Administration. The to do list that couldn’t be thrown out has been done twice…and must be done again. And of course, the bill that must go out tomorrow is now 6 years past due!

It’s time to redesign the kitchen. New cabinets, new appliances and you’re finally getting rid of that junk drawer. Wrong! That is the one thing you can’t do! The junk will still be there, and you will need to find it a discreet little home. Think about that when you design your new cabinets. It is not the presence of the junk that is the problem. It only becomes junk when you don’t have a dedicated spot to put it in.

Consider having drawers with predetermined uses that are sized for that use. You could have a small deep drawer for the candles. A medium, shallow drawer to put the bills. Another larger drawer for the incoming mail that hasn’t been sorted. Maybe a separate spot for the batteries, the pens, the pencils you got the idea. The most important point is that you look at what gets put into the junk drawer, separate it into categories, and design a spot that is perfectly designed to store it. Now it’s not junk it’s just the battery drawer.

You will not find very many kitchens which have too much counter space. Actually, the more counter space you have, the more that ends up being placed on it. Look at the stuff that is on your counters now. How many of these things can be installed under the upper cabinets? How many can be stored in a big corner space which may have limited access? If you address all of the stuff you have on the counters in your new design, it won’t be clutter in your new kitchen. Oh, you’ll still have clutter. As sure as tomorrow’s mail will have unwanted circulars…you’ll have much more clutter.

Anticipate it. Do not design your storage so that it is all used immediately. Insure that you have room for expansion. That way it will be even longer before you run out of places to store things.

And finally, keep the junk drawer. Have the one spot that you can temporarily dump stuff that is in your way. But if you design your next kitchen right, it will be used far less often.

Your local cabinet maker will have countless examples of how to design your kitchen. Most will have software programs so that you can see what it will look like before you buy your first cabinet handle. Take advantage of their knowledge and there resources. And if all else fails…you can just dump their samples in your junk drawer.

BarrWood Cabinets http://www.KitchenCabinetsDecaturGa.com has a wide variety of stock, semi-custom, and custom kitchen cabinets for you to choose from. Take advantage of our free kitchen cabinet design class, and make your next project quick and easy. To find out more, please call us today at 770-737-4696.