I’ve been on a drawer organization binge since Christmas Eve. That’s when the bottom fell out of the tray in the kitchen junk drawer amid a cloud of unseasonal language. I emptied the whole drawer, evaluated and binned the true junk (including about 1/2 inch of tooth picks, which lined the bottom of the drawer) and then put the remainder back in new homes. When, on Christmas Day, it took 30 seconds to find a 2025 button battery, I realized I had made a profound impact on my quality of life.
I went on to the ribbon drawer. Yes, we have one; don’t judge. Still my family complains that we have inadequate storage space. Anyway, as I was cleaning up the Christmas wrapping station, I reorganized that drawer too. The epiphanic effect was not quite as strong, but it still felt good.
I turned finally to something I’ve been wanting to improve for ages. There are certain tools that I reach for constantly. They would be always on my desk except I tidy up weekly or whenever I write a blog post. Then I have to spend a minute every week finding the knife and the tweezers again.
No more! I routed shapes for all my favourite tools out of a scrap of plywood. This sits on top of the drawer sides and utilizes the 1/4” of clearance atop the drawer. The result is I lost only 1/2” of drawer depth.
It’s all a bit rough, although a little paint helps to hide the worst. I need to organize the next layer down as well, but I’m certain the change will be yet another improvement in my life.
Pembroke:87 
Might not be the most perfect, but it works. Right?
I’m loving it! I don’t even need to look to get my most-used tools. It’s almost faster to put them away each time I put them down than it is to leave them on my workbench.