A Matter of the Mind or “Mind over Matter”

How cleaning out the junk drawer saves time and (head)space

There is at least one drawer in every house or apartment that can be appropriately labelled, “the junk drawer”. Batteries and pen lids live there. Elastic bands and sticky tape live there. That receipt, that missing button, that spare change or important note. Surely those must live in there too – right? The junk drawer seems to represent either a last-ditch effort to get something off our plate or a place of unfulfilled intent. Either it is a place we put things until we have decided what to do with them or we put things in there because we simply feel they don’t belong anywhere else.

The other thing to note about junk drawers is that they are, by nature, messy, or at least somewhat disorganised. Things are thrown in there quite hastily and often, forgotten about just as quickly. Even in the most organised of lives or offices or homes, there is a drawer full of “stuff” that defies classification and seldom actually gets thrown away. Oh, and everyone has a junk drawer – even if their junk drawer is situated somewhere in their own mind. More on that in a moment.

We throw things into our own junk drawer everyday – for better and for worse

If junk drawers had internal filing systems or dividers and labels, it’s likely that they would look orderly, be functional and invite inspection. But we often say, “oh, don’t look in there, it’s too messy.” We are not happy with the sight of such disarray and disorder, we might even find the revelation of our mess embarrassing - particularly in an era of Instagram-worthy, organised perfection!

The same junk drawer principles apply regardless of whether it’s the third draw down in our kitchen, or situated in our own minds. Here’s an example of what can happen:

·??????this is a work issue, I’ll put it there for tomorrow;

·??????that is a relational fence that needs mending, that goes over there with “ongoing negotiations”; however

·??????this unresolved conflict or doubt or fear? Um, not sure what to do with that one, I’ll just throw it in my mental junk drawer for now.

The problem is, “for now” becomes “for an extended period of time” (or forever) and that’s how problems can begin to take root.

It's not just that we forget why that item (or thought or issue) is in the junk drawer, the problem is that when we do decide to find a solution, all that other accumulated junk gets in the way. How many times have you been unable to get to those batteries you need for the remote control because they are buried underneath a mound of paid bills, half a screwdriver set and a collection of kindy artwork? This is where frustration can raise its head, further complicating the task of finding what you need – and what you need to do about it.

Don’t wait for Spring, clean out the junk drawer and find what you need faster

Of course, some people learn to live with a small pocket or two of isolated clutter – because they can. Sometimes however, there’ll be an increasingly pressing need to sort through the junk and resolve some issues, find some solutions, be free of entangling pieces of string, post it notes, and pen lids. Eventually, the junk needs to be addressed.

As humans, we are most comfortable with clarity. We might not like cleaning or decluttering but, particularly when it comes to a healthy mind and relationships, clarity is often a key ingredient.

So, what’s the answer?

Do we just keep forcing uncategorised items into the junk drawer, and trying to shove the drawer shut? Or should we commit to regularly and intentionally sorting through the “stuff” in search of clarity? My answer is yes. But be warned: you won’t always like what you find in there. Don’t be discouraged though. Remember that there are lessons to be learned with every exploratory expedition into that drawer and if you avoid confronting the junk, you will lose the opportunity to learn and grow from the exercise. So, the next time that difficult conversation, demanding task or complex relationship rears its head, you’ll have the tools at hand to solve, serve and survive (and thrive in) the challenge at hand.

Now, you may feel that clearing out that drawer is a daunting task. In some cases, it will be but there’s help available. For the larger jobs there is help in the form of counselling or supervision, and I encourage you to pursue these with enthusiasm, curiosity, and openness. But sometimes all you need is to take time alone for self-examination and reflection. The most important thing is to intentionally commit to the task and get started.

Start by asking yourself, “when did I last clean out the junk drawer?”