13 Things That Used to Be Kept in Every Junk Drawer
Peek into the past with these oddly specific and nostalgic items once found in every American home’s go-to junk drawer.
- Chris Graciano
- 3 min read
Junk drawers were the unofficial treasure chests of every household — chaotic yet oddly organized. From mystery keys to half-used birthday candles, these drawers held the forgotten essentials of everyday life. Let’s dig through memory lane and uncover 13 classic items that used to live in every family’s most cluttered space.
1. Twist Ties
Auntie P on Flickr
Salvaged from bread bags and grocery produce, twist ties were gold for quick fixes. You’d find dozens of them in various colors and conditions. They secured cords, sealed snack bags, and hung Christmas lights.
2. Spare Keys (With No Label)
Alex P on Pexels
Every junk drawer had at least two keys no one could identify. They were kept just in case, even if the locks they belonged to were long gone. Most were scratched and bent, but nobody had the heart to toss them.
3. Random Batteries
John Cameron on Unsplash
Some worked, most didn’t — but they went into the drawer anyway. Loose AAs, weird square nine-volts, or those flat coin batteries nobody could remember buying.
4. Dried-Up Pens
Andrew Seaman on Unsplash
You’d dig through a dozen pens before finding one that actually wrote. Ballpoints, felt-tips, and old company-branded freebies lived here far past their prime.
5. Safety Pins
Kamran Abdullayev on Unsplash
Always useful, always tangled in something. Safety pins were the MacGyver tool of the junk drawer — used for everything from clothing emergencies to weird crafts.
6. Takeout Menus
Khanh Tu Nguyen Huy on Unsplash
Folded, stained, and slightly outdated, these menus lived in the drawer just in case you forgot the number for the local pizza joint. Most had handwritten notes or circles around favorites.
7. Rubber Bands
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Some were fresh and stretchy, others dry and cracked. Rubber bands were gathered from newspaper deliveries, broccoli stalks, or mail bundles.
8. Birthday Candles (Half-Used)
lil artsy on Pexels
Stubs of pastel candles with waxy tips and bent wicks sat waiting for another birthday cake. Most packs were incomplete, missing the same few numbers.
9. Paper Clips (Bent or Rusty)
Patrick Ladner on Unsplash
These clips were warped from past overuse, but still found a home in the junk drawer. Some were twisted into hooks or lock picks by curious kids.
10. Matchbooks
VR38DETT on Wikimedia Commons
Collected from bars, diners, and weddings, these matchbooks served more as mementos than fire starters. Most had two or three sticks left. They were stylish, nostalgic, and somehow always ended up under everything else.
11. Loose Screws and Nails
Hikmet on Unsplash
Leftovers from IKEA builds or mysterious furniture repairs were saved out of habit. Most didn’t fit anything anymore, but tossing them felt like jinxing future projects.
12. Tape Rolls with No End
Ron Lach on Pexels
Clear, masking, duct — it didn’t matter. You’d spend more time trying to find the starting edge than actually using the tape. Still, it was always worth keeping.
13. Old Coupons
Roadsidepictures on Flickr
Expired months or years ago, but they are still neatly clipped and stashed. Some were from brands that no longer existed. Yet they remained, stuffed between envelopes and wrappers.