The junk drawer alternative transforming homes with more stylish and practical storage

There is a place in every home where all the odds and ends you might randomly need are kept together. It’s messy and chaotic but somehow you always know you can find what you’re looking for.

That space used to be the junk drawer, which was either the top or bottom drawer in the kitchen.

Now a new junk storage location has emerged as a more stylish and effective alternative to the mess of cords, rubber bands, scissors, permanent markers and batteries.

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Enter the junk bowl; a storage solution I have been using and loving for years, unaware it was even a thing until I realised I didn’t have a junk drawer.

And then I overheard someone else talking about her love for the junk bowl and how it can free up an entire kitchen drawer for kitchenware.

Instead of the drawer you can pop your bits and pieces, like keys and coins, in a decorative bowl.

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In my home, the junk bowls serve as things I need either near the front door or by the living room sofa.

The kitchen bench bowls were all lovingly crocheted by my mother and hold keys, stamps, permanent markers and charging cords.

Over on my living room shelves is a large bowl I crocheted myself, which contains a measuring tape (I use this more often than you’d expect) and hand cream.

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Meanwhile, the bowl on my coffee table, which is almost a tray, is a Kmart purchase from a couple of years ago that is no longer stocked.

This contains yarn, mini scissors, crochet hooks and crochet projects in progress so I can easily reach for them while watching TV.

The junk bowl isn’t without its perils, though, because just like the junk drawer there are many items I could get rid of or store in the garage along with my screwdrivers and batteries.

The kitchen bench ones seem to have little things I didn’t know what else to do with as well as cards I so rarely use I don’t need them in my wallet.

In the shelf bowl is my collection of face masks, and while these are still useful at times a lot of them are either broken or stretched, making them no longer wearable.

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Like any vessel, container or storage space in the home, junk bowls also need the occasional decluttering and cleaning – they tend to pick up dust and debris like everywhere else.

But those downsides don’t outweigh the fun and stylishness of the junk bowl for me.

Junk bowls and their siblings, junk dishes and junk trays, turn storage into décor allowing you to show off your personality by adding more colour and style to your home.

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It also elevates items of necessity from things you hide and stash away to something that is so useful you want it within easy reach in the area of the room it’s most needed.

Some of these bowls and dishes cost less than $10 and others you can make yourself by crocheting, sewing or moulding with air dry clay.

It’s one of those homewares that is both useful and beautiful, making it an affordable way to add comfort and decoration to the home.

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