Let's be honest - everyone has a junk drawer at home, at the office, or in your car (looking at you, little gappy space in the center console.)
Junk drawer connoisseurs know there are certain must-haves in order to be considered high-quality junk, so let's talk about it.
Reddit user Rascal-Fiats asked:
"What is something every 'junk drawer' must have in order to be considered a proper 'junk drawer'?"
My junk drawer is filled with mail and a handful of sort-of-burned-but-still-very-usable birthday candles. My family lives generationally - the back half of the year has a birthday literally every week!
The junk-drawer candles are household heros.
This Pinnacle Of Truth
to do chores GIF
Giphy
"The thing that prevents you from closing the drawer."
- Setthescene
"Or gets stuck so you can only open the drawer part way."
- bagpipercat
" 'We keep a funnel and a potato masher in this drawer because we think it's fun to sometimes not be able to open this drawer.' "
- knock-off-pale
"In my parents case it’s the sharpening stone we thought disappeared in 1998."
- Camp_Express
Too Important
"A screw that looks too important to throw out but you have no idea where it came from."
- ArminTanz
"Throwing that in the junk drawer is amateur hour. I have a box with a bunch of little drawers filled with those random 'too important' screws."
"Every so often I need a weird sized screw and find the perfect one, and my hoarding is vindicated."
"I also keep every Allen key that ever came with anything I had to build myself for the same reasons."
- DMala
"Mom finally got rid of the screws. Said she got tired of looking at them."
"Couple weeks later, found out it went to one of our kitchen chairs. To this day, I still haven't let her forget."
- Cool-Experience7357
"I had this screw. Finally threw it out."
"A week later found a hole on the microwave that was missing its screw. And it was the exact one I threw away."
- AxeellYoung
The Graveyard
"Assortment of single batteries."
- KyleClarkeFilms
"Dead batteries."
"You must try each one and put back when you realize they are dead."
- spytez
"Extra points if no two are the same brand."
- dpdxguy
"Must include at least one battery type you no longer use, like photo battery or round cells for your high school pocket calculator."
- Blausternchen
Keys And Karma
Keys New Home GIF by Jackée Harry
Giphy
"Keys for unknown locks."
- Back2Bach
"And locks without keys or missing combinations."
- Vtfla
"When we broke up, my ex gave me back a box of my stuff. What she didn't realize is she also threw in the ring of keys for different padlocked boxes in her studio (she frequently had people over and wanted to protect her supplies)."
"I was going to return them, but then I was informed that she had been sleeping with our mutual friend (she told me she "needed time to herself"), so I kept them and then liked the post she made about having to buy bolt cutters and replace like 10 different padlocks."
"Still have the keys. F*ck you, Diana."
- [Reddit]
Instructions Unclear
"Instructions for a product that either doesn’t need instructions (like a fan) or that you don’t even own anymore."
- Alive-Singer-3432
"Along with small plastic spare parts for the product that definitely aren't gathered into any identifying or organized sense."
- RissaMeh
"I have instruction for a chair in my drawer. Just a chair."
"It came premade, didn’t have to build it. No features, just a wooden chair."
"Why did it have instructions?"
- Chared_Assassin
"I still have instructions for Atari 2600 games. I haven't owned an Atari for 30 years or more."
- tearsonurcheek
A Matter Of Need
"Random chargers."
"What's that to? No one knows but we save it just in case we might need it again."
- Black_Tears524
"I guarantee if you throw it away, someone's gonna know in the next 3 days."
- Uppgreyedd
"I 'cleaned' my junk drawer."
"Four hours later I was digging through the garbage can looking for that dirty white apple cord to a first-gen iPad. I forgot a relative gave it to my kid."
"My kid definitely did not forget."
- somewhenimpossible
"When we recently moved, I found a mystery charger that we couldn't identify."
"Every electronic that needed a charger had one so we decided to toss it."
"Fast forward 2 months and my friend asks if I still have the charger for his 3ds that I had borrowed. Oops."
- Maybe_Not_The_Pope
On Chicken Wings And Cheating
"Rubber bands that are sticky or crusty/cracked from being so old."
- Nondenomnoms
"Stray rubber bands."
"I dated a girl who suspected I was cheating on her because she kept finding stray rubber bands around my apartment and thought some other woman must have used them to tie her hair and left it there."
"The problem was, I couldn't explain them either."
"Every time she would bring these things up I would have this sheepish look on my face while telling her I couldn't explain why these things kept ending up in my apartment."
"It wasn't until after we broke up and I ordered chicken one day that I went to open the box and realized the thing was held closed by a rubber band."
"Every time I would order fried chicken I would take the rubber band off and end up leaving it somewhere for her to find."
- yellow_fig_tree
"On one hand, you may have been entering 'too much fried chicken' territory."
"On the other, who ties their hair with rubber bands? Sh*t would HURT."
- ChrdeMcDnnis
This Christmas
Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Dance GIF
Giphy
"That random Christmas decoration that was found way too late to be packed with the rest."
- [Reddit]
"5 years ago...."
- Trinerella
"And you know this year you’ll remember to put it out for Xmas and then it can be packed away when you take everything down again, but you never see it until 3 days after you put everything away."
- bk1285
"I ended up hanging mine on the fridge because I found out it had a magnet. That was at least six years ago, even moved it onto the new fridge."
- gggggfskkk
"You are committed to the “I’ll put it away next year” lie."
- Camp_Express
Plus Or Minus?
"Flat head screwdriver."
- SuperDan523
"And I always need a Phillips head!"
- Proof-Operation-9783
"I call them plus screwdrivers, and minus screwdrivers."
"My father-in-law is a carpenter, and it drives him nuts."
- Fat_Bearded_Tax_Man
"It's always whatever screw driver you don't need at the moment."
- OdeeSS
"Long live the junk drawer screwdriver!"
"When I got married and we moved in together, one of the things I bought the weekend after (when we made our trip to get the stuff we realized we needed but didn't cross our minds before we moved in) was a junk drawer screwdriver."
"I hated leaving my toolbox in the 'main house', but I also didn't want to keep having to go into the separate, non-heated part of the house where I keep my tools."
"I very intentionally went to Sears, when they were having their shutdown sale, to get a clear handled non-combination Craftsman screwdriver. Craftsman for sentimental reasons more than anything else, as that's what my dad and both grandfathers always had."
"Sometimes you need a skinny one, and the combos are always so much fatter, so they're basically useless for things like tightening doorknob screws."
"Also the shaft -plus-handle design is about as simple and strong as a screwdriver can be made these days, but if it were to get damaged or lost or anything, it only cost me five bucks, and I've definitely got my money's worth."
"For some reason I find myself reaching for that driver more than my fancy combo drivers with much more comfortable handles."
- Alphapanc02
Now you know all my dirty junk drawer secrets, and what Reddit has to say about theirs - so it's your turn at the mic.
What junk you got floating around your junk drawer?
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I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
Wait What Wtf GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
Lying Simon Rex GIF by Simon Rex / Dirt NastyGiphy"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
just kidding jk GIFGiphy"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
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Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"
Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
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While the process could take time, some people make our jobs much easier after spotting instant red flags.
Curious to hear about our general radar of people, Redditor xxFluffie asked:
"What is something that makes you immediately dislike someone?"
Some people just think they are absolutely hilarious and never realize they're the only ones laughing.
Next In Line
"They laugh about having screwed someone else over. If you think you're not next, well, you'll learn."
– whiznat
Unfunny
"when you mention you don't like a thing and they immediately do that thing 'as a joke.'"
– wayfinder
Playing Devil's Advocate
"Kneejerk contrarians. People who, no matter what you say you like or believe, just have to dismiss it and say they like or think the opposite."
– BubbhaJebus
People who put others down get slammed here.
Bad Parents
"When they treat their kids sh**ty in public. I don't mean handling tantrums, setting a rule, having to hurry to the train etc. I mean perfectly normal-behaved kids getting in trouble for trailing along peacefully, looking at things, asking questions etc."
"If you don't like tiny humans who learn the world, why have them??"
– raxeira-etterath
Public Humiliation
"Treating people sh**ty in public for laughs. Like being rude to service workers because they think it’s funny. Big red flag."
– Ok_Personality_1080
Simply Uncalled For
"Someone who is a d*ck to other people or animals for no reason."
– xebt1000
Those with ulterior motives rubs people the wrong way.
The Scheme
"If they try to get me to join their MLM scheme."
– spazmcgee1
Hard Sell
"A guy I used to be friends with in high school reached out a couple of years after graduating about a business opportunity he wanted my opinion on because 'you've always been smart', then he set up a Skype call and brought some other dude into the call and they started trying to sell me on what was clearly an MLM scheme. The guy went from friend to 'I'm never talking to you again' in a matter of 10 minutes."
– Mental-Afternoon-164
A Timeline
"Good gawd, this! I've had more than one exposure to this abject bullsh**tery..."
- Back in the late 80's/early 90's I was invited to a meeting of literally the OG "Pyramid" where you're recruited to pay in, and then you go out and recruit others to pay in, and the last in line got f'kall.
- In 1995 I had a coworker try to reel me into Amway, which was a hard no.
- In 2000 it was Pampered Chef, though to be fair they did have useful products.
- In 2009 a coworker tried to get me into some stupid video calling service that was obviously stupid from the description. He even got offended when I called bullsh*t.
– Mystical_Cat
Too much ego is a no-go.
I Can Do Better
"Being a b*tch just to stroke their own ego."
"We get it, you can lift 5lbs more than the 12 year old, you don't have to rub it in their face just because you're slightly better"
– Livia_Pivia
Can't Top This
"Oh, you did <story that's been told>? That's nothing! I did <implausible story>.
"I get the whole empathy through relating common experience, and I'm someone who does that (which drives some people crazy on its own), but there's a big different by empathising through common experience, and one-upmanship."
– Tisarwat
Lacking Conversational Etiquette
"Starting to talk over me when I was already talking."
"Stop it you rude, arrogant jerk."
– R33Gtst
If one or more of these traits sound familiar to you, you're not alone.
We don't have time for braggadocios, pyramid-schemers, and conversation interrupters.
And that's just for starters.
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Pleading to deaf ears...
"My dad told me he had hearing loss and couldn't hear me if I whined because my pitch would get too high."
"Would completely ignore me until I asked him questions in a normal voice."
"Trusted him implicitly until I was 12 and he yelled at my younger brother for whining."- Tyrion_Stark.
Get it while you can.
"That they took everything off the shelves when the supermarket closed."- fgyfddg.
venezuela empty shelves GIF by euronewsGiphySilly superstitions.
"My grandfather used to tell me that if I played with the fire, I'd pee the bed."
"I believed him for a while, until I got older."
"I think he was just trying to protect me from the fire."- teddypa1981.
"Rain, rain go away..."
"That if it was raining where I was, it was raining everywhere in the world."- morningshartz.
Age is just a number.
"My parents used to seem really old to me, so much so I believed they grew up like cave people as children, wearing giant leaves for clothes and what not."- Laleena_.
Hammer Floor GIF by VPROGiphySo that's how they're made!
"That smokestacks from the power plant created clouds."- Scaniarix.
An instant cure.
"The sun gives you sunburns, therefore, moonlight should heal them."- velocipeter.
Better safe than sorry.
"Don't drink and drive meant all drinks."
"My dad was super confused when I told him he wasn't allowed to have any soda until we got home."- hulagirlslovetoparty.
Don't believe everything you see on TV.
"There was an episode of Mickey Mouse where Mickey couldn’t reach something at first, so he tried again and somehow his arm was long enough to reach it."
"As a small kid I believed that if I couldn’t reach something, I should just try reaching for it again and my arm would then somehow be long enough to reach it."- That-Dutch-Person.
love him one piece GIFGiphyThe miracle of childbirth.
"That babies are pooped out."
"When I was like 7 I was listening to my aunt as she explained that childbirth was pretty intense and painful for her, and I was all solemnly like, 'yeah, sometimes just my poops are painful, I don’t think I could get a baby out' and she went 'um, WHAT?' and her reaction made me realize real quick that I had f*cked up somewhere and I tried to change the subject while my mind was just reeling lol."- thesoundingfurrows.
Oh to be a child again.
And to believe literally everything you're told.
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