I didn’t realize another drawer explosion was about to happen until I got home from vacation, couldn’t find the key to my pickup and went drawer-diving for a spare…

I don’t even know WHEN it became a junk drawer, I usually just open it a couple of inches to grab scissors or extra house keys when I need them… who knew the rest of this stuff was there.
My friend Susan says drawers and purses are like Dr. Who’s Tardis, Snoopy’s doghouse, and Harry Potter’s tent — they hold many times more than their actual size would indicate. Sadly, she observes, this does not hold true for suitcases.
Here’s a partial list of loot from the drawer:
- 6 pairs of scissors. Yes, 6.
- 4 pocket flashlights – 1 I just bought, not knowing the other 3 were here.
- 9 keychains – 3 with tiny squeeze-flashlights of their own.
- 2 pocket knives – 1 standard, 1 with Betty Boop.
- Old stuff – an extra key to Bob’s old PO Box, a coupon from 2008 (to be fair, just 1) and these —
A ticket from the Empire State Building Observatory — that would be from 1998, just before Bob’s second surgery in NYC.
A U.N. Guided Tour button — I haven’t been, so, no clue.
A U.S. wheat penny and a 5-pfennig coin, way pre-Euro.
And is that Odie? … I can’t imagine how he got here, either.
Moving on…
- 3 folding rain hats. circa 1950-60. These would have belonged to Bob’s mother because: Kansas. Through what wormhole did they arrive in my kitchen drawer?
- 3 mystery objects…
Eventually I noticed there’s a razor blade inside the yellow one, so it’s a paper cutter. The silver one’s hard to open, so I haven’t. The black one? I finally got it open.

Apparently it’s a compass, but it’s an indecisive one, much afflicted by the wobbles. And why does it have a ruler on the side?
The drawer’s back together now, with most of its papers and many of its objects filling the recycle bin, with a few useful ones to donate. I even stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond today and treated myself to some drawer organizers to keep me honest. The last job to do is sort through the keys. Am I happy with my clean drawer? Yes — I’m jubilant.
Do you know what’s in your kitchen drawers?
More on the Weekly Photo Challenge