Do I have a junk drawer?  No.  But I do have places that contain random “stuff.” Here are a few of my homes for things with no homes:

Screws, little pieces of whatever go into this zip lock bag which I keep in our “indoor tool” box:

Miscellaneous pieces of whatever

Those little game and puzzle pieces that end up under the sofa, behind the cushions, etc… when I find, I’ll toss into this little container. Every so often we’ll take the time to put back in original place. If I had to stop and put back in “proper place” each time… well that wouldn’t happen. So, this is the “holding place”:

When we're missing a game or puzzle piece, this is where we go to look...

This container holds seldom used {but needed} kitchen pieces. This way they don’t jam up our main drawers containing the daily or weekly used pieces. {Isn’t it frustrating when you pull open a drawer and there’s so much stuff you can’t open {or close} all the way?!!}

Kitchen utensils that are needed - but not often used {oyster shuckers... melon /cookie scoop}

And I’ve saved my favorite for last... I work with my kids {and husband} on building good organizing habits – such as every toy needs a home. And every toy needs to be in its home when not in use.  This doesn’t always happen at our house. {I have to work at it, too, so I try not to be too hard on them!} HOWEVER, that’s not to say I don’t get frustrated. SO, when I’m in the mood, I’ll go around with this box and toss in whatever has been left out.  And then keep it for awhile : ) It’s actually quite a stress reliever when I feel like I’m going to loose it if I have to say one more time, “Pick up your stuff!!”

And this is where the left out things disappear to...

Having an automatic place to put things that don’t have a specific home keep your cabinets, drawers and surfaces from getting overrun with clutter. But you have to be strategic… and it has to be a small percentage of your things!  Notice the pattern of items going in to these holding places and consider establishing new homes if need be. Don’t allow junk in your prime real estate spaces – keep it for your favorite / most often used things!