Got 5 Minutes? Organize Your Junk Drawer With These Acrylic Storage Containers

Hip2Save may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you via trusted partners and affiliate links in this post. Prices and availability are accurate as of time posted. Read our full disclosure policy here.

More Tips

Acrylic organizers are among our favorite products to stay organized!

hand holding plastic organizers with messy junk drawer in the background

Got 5 minutes to organize

Organize your drawers in just minutes with these affordable acrylic drawer organizers. You’ll never look at your junk drawer the same way again!


hand holding acrylic drawer organizers over messy junk drawer

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who doesn’t have a junk drawer. Whether yours is messy or organized, it’s hard to avoid having one of these pesky drawers in your home. That’s why I purchased these acrylic drawer organizers from Target years ago and haven’t looked back since!

*Note that since purchasing mine, Target updated the color of their product from bright blue to a neutral dark gray color.

plastic organizers in dollar tree

Trying to stay on a tight budget? Luckily, the Dollar Tree has loads of plastic organization containers! While they’re not quite the same material and quality, they’re certainly much more affordable if you’re buying multiple drawer organizers.


Now, let’s get organized with your new acrylic drawer organizers!


Take everything out of your drawer.

hand wiping down inside of dirty junk drawer

The first thing you’re going to do is take everything out of your drawer. You can’t get organized until you have a fresh, clean slate!


Put everything into groups.

organized piles of odd and end miscellaneous things in groups

AHH! Don’t you already feel better looking at this? 😍 I know I do!

This is the most important step to achieving a functional junk drawer. When taking everything out, group similar things together as shown above.

various colors of scribbles on paper with pens and pencils in the background

Don’t forget to test each pen and marker and toss out the ones that no longer work. This is also a great time to sharpen all your good pencils too.


Analyze what you’re organizing in your acrylic drawer organizers.

groups of stuff on counter with clear acrylic drawer organizers

Next, you’ll want to analyze everything you’re keeping so you can decide how many acrylic drawer organizers you’ll need. Make sure to also measure inside of your drawer so you know that all the containers will fit. 🙌🏻

As you can see above, the main groups are writing tools, command hooks & adhesives, and tons of batteries. Everyone’s junk drawer stuff will vary, so that’s why I love these organizers so much – they come in 3 different sizes so they’re completely versatile for your needs.

bottom of acrylic drawer organizer with blue rubber grips

Another reason I chose these acrylic drawer organizers is that they have grips on the bottoms which make ALL the difference.

I tried another set of organizers before, but they slid everywhere when opening and closing the drawer. Over time, they caused more of a hassle than a solution.


Put everything in your acrylic drawer organizers.

hand holding clear plastic organizer with various sizes of batteries

Now you’re ready to start putting everything into your acrylic drawer organizers. Everything should have its own place and be easily accessible so when you need it you aren’t having to shuffle around in your drawer.


Put everything back in your junk drawer.

organized drawer with stuff inside

This is the most rewarding part – seeing everything placed so perfectly! 👏🏻 Thanks, acrylic drawer organizers. 😏 And now you also don’t have to be embarrassed opening your drawers in front of guests. LOL!

Hip Tip: Cut Command velcro strips into squares and stick them to the bottom of any containers without grips so each one stays in place. Plus, they won’t damage your drawer if you ever need to rearrange stuff down the road.


Take a minute to appreciate your job well done.

before and after comparison of junk drawer

Wow! 👏 Look at the amazing difference – these acrylic drawer organizers sure made life easy peasy! Looking at the before, it’s hard to believe it really wasn’t that much stuff after all! 😱

organized bathroom drawer

I loved these acrylic drawer organizers so much, I made sure to scoop up some extra containers for my bathroom drawer.

See what I mean? They’re super versatile, and I love the new gray color of the container bottoms! 😍


I found some unique products to organize everything in your kitchen!


About the writer:

Sara is a self-taught blogger & photographer and brings 9+ years of experience to her craft. Her work has been featured in numerous esteemed publications, spanning building, travel, and fashion. Beyond her creative pursuits, Sara’s primary mission is to empower others to embrace a toxic-free & sustainable lifestyle.


Join The Discussion

Comments 32

  1. animity

    Big Lots has some great container options too for a great price.

    • Amber (Hip Sidekick)

      Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to check my store too!

  2. Klp

    I have some of these for my drawers and love them!

  3. JES

    We use a tackle box for our “junk drawer.” Easy to adjust compartment size and portable.

    • Amber (Hip Sidekick)

      Neat idea, JES! Thanks for sharing what has worked well for you!

    • NikkiLLM5

      I like this because our tiny home doesn’t have many drawers. I’m getting a tackle box next trip to Walmart! Thank you!!! I have a thirty-one two pocket grab handle tote on my counter under the medicine cabinet I keep inhalers, ointments, creams, band-aids, and other first aid quick grab items in.

  4. eas

    I wish I had a “junk” drawer”. Our kitchen is lacking drawer space for anything other than the necessities. I could have a junk drawer but I need the only extra drawer for hand towel and dish rag storage. Anyone have awesome ideas for storing those in a kitchen, but not a drawer?

    • Amber (Hip Sidekick)

      Good question! I keep all of mine in a drawer right now too. I did find these Swing Arm Towel Racks from Amazon. It looks like they could be mounted inside a cabinet door. Hope this helps!

      • Sandra

        This is what we use for our towel storage and it works well. (the swing arm towel rack above)

        • Amber (Hip Sidekick)

          Awesome! Thanks for sharing that, Sandra!

    • Sarah S

      something similar to the material tubes for storing plastic bags? I keep our dish rags in an opentop watering can under the sink.

    • JES

      Mine are in a small basket under my sink. My sister-in-law uses an old two tier fruit stand she found at Goodwill under her sink.

    • Sue

      What about the storage solutions that go under your cabinet? There are ones you could use that are wire where if you have your extra towels folded neatly it would still look good, and handy to boot if you have a spill and need to grab a towel quickly. Use the current “towel” drawer for your “junk”.

    • eas

      Awesome ideas, guys! Thanks!
      We don’t have a ton of under-cabinet space, but I could definitely free a little up. I think I’m going to move some infrequently used things above my refrigerator, and then I can add some kind of bin or shelf for towels in the space under my sink.

    • tipaye

      I’d mount a hand towel rack on a cabinet door…mine holds 2

  5. nickyB

    I use the plastic bins from Dollar tree for my drawers. You usually get 3 for $1.00 and they hold up well. I’ve had mine for years.

    • Amber (Hip Sidekick)

      Oh yes! I have a few of those too! Thanks for the helpful comment, NickyB!

    • jen s.

      That’s what I do too! It looks great when the drawer is completely filled with the different sized bins, because there is always so much that needs organizing!

  6. Ashley

    I just cleaned out my junk drawer yesterday and was thinking I needed some organizers! Perfect timing as usual!

  7. Lesly

    I used chocolate and candy boxes to organize my drawer 🙂

    • Jennifer (Hip Sidekick)

      Love that idea, plus you are recycling!

    • Carol

      I’ve also cut cereal and cracker boxes off to organize my junk drawer. I’ve used the same ones for years.

      • Jennifer (Hip Sidekick)

        How cool! I love hearing all these ideas! Thanks, Carol!

      • eas

        We made a bunch of organizers like this a few years ago. We took some pretty and thick scrapbook paper and mod-podged them to help them hold up and look nice.

      • Melissa

        Yes! Velveeta boxes make great writing utensil holders too

  8. tracy

    This time last year I cleaned out every draw in my kitchen and bathrooms and organized them! I used different sized organizers from dollar tree. They are exactly the same white organizers as the MadeSmart modular draw organizers which cost a lot more. Between the 2 dollar trees near my house, I managed to find 4 different sizes. Now all my drawers are compartmentalized and I can easily find everything. All my cooking utensils, peelers, knives, measuring spoons etc have a designated compartment and stays neat

  9. Tammy S.

    I have the blue bottom organizers in my pantry drawer and love them. I recently cleaned our junk drawer, bathroom drawers and daughter’s night stand drawer with the cheap ones from Target. Brightroom I believe. Need to get more for the RV next!

  10. SoCalLemon

    Lol, this is a perfect post after 3 years of pandemic living. I feel like the first couple weeks, we all did a bunch of organizing. Now, we’ve got cupboards full of hand sanitizer, mask, tissues, TP and random forks and ketchup from food deliveries.

  11. SoCalLemon

    A random piece of organizing advice – all my batteries, flashlights, candles and a first aid kit go in the BOTTOM cabinet with a couple bottles of water and snacks. With regular power outages during fire season, and a regularly dead cell phone (oops!) I know I can fumble my way through the house to a particular cabinet and just sit down on the floor and find everything I need in a blackout.

    • Katie

      That’s a great idea to keep those things together! We have small children so we can’t keep them in a low cabinet but we can keep them together at least!

  12. Pammyjo

    Hate to be a party pooper, but storing loose batteries in the tray like that may not be safe. I was always taught not to let the battery ends touch each other (or a metal object) when being stored to avoid a possible short. Of course, letting them roll around loose in a drawer isn’t good either. For safety, I store unused batteries in their original packaging where their ends will never touch which is the recommendation of manufacturers. Perhaps an engineer can weigh in on this subject,

  13. Sheila

    Keep them in the freezer to keep them perfectly new!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

It's not your Grandma's coupon site!

Sign up for a Hip2Save account (it's free) to access all of the awesome features!

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot Password

Don't have an account? Register

Become a Hip2Save Insider

Don't Miss Out! Join our large community of insiders - it's totally free! Once you join, you'll be able to save & share your favorite deals, rate posts and recipes and add items to your HipList and Cookbook! What are ya waiting for?!



Already have an account? Login

Thank you for rating!

Would you also like to leave us a comment?