How does this work? Each newsletter you’ll see one reader’s answer to the previous week’s question. Then you’ll see the question they have for the list, which you can respond to if you’d like. Or you can just read and enjoy.
Previous ask:
What’s in that drawer full of random stuff in your house? You know the one.
[Editor’s note — I really loved all the responses we got, so as a year-end bonus, I’m including three of them. There’s still one question at the end to answer, to keep the chain going. Happy New Year, friends.]
Derrick answers:
-earplugs for musicians
-pocket knife
-two separate sewing kits
-a telescope I purchased off of Instagram (small and not at all as powerful as the ad made it out to be)
-a Tupperware full of change collected over the year
-deodorant
-headlamp for running at night
-my ticket from the 2016 world series game 4 in a protective lanyard
-wireless earbuds in a charging case
-two cases for glasses with no glasses in them (the glassses broke but i didn't want to throw out the cases)
-small binoculars I got as a swag from work
-a watch with a broken band I never replaced
-four pocket constitutions from the ACLU after I made a donation
-harmonica
-another pocket knife
-combination lock
-3 unopened packs of red tortex guitar picks
-a stack of restaurant gift cards received as presents over the years I've yet to use
-star wars themed lip balm
-about 5 Degrassi pins I got from ordering a Degrassi Jr. High t-shirt
-pair of sunglasses
-teeth whitening trays
4 eyeglass cloths
-pocket size flashlight
-a magnifying glass
-a small "No Solicitors" sign i bought for our front door but never put up
-a broken mini usb cable
-three days worth of mail i haven't gone through
-empty prescritption bottle i keep in case i want to use it for vitamins during travel
-branded face mask from work i need to wash
-roll of dog poop bags
-sqwaker for my dogs
-a bundle of different colored highlighters rubber-banded together
Thais answers:
My drawer of random stuff is in a nightstand in my closet. It's my personal drawer in an apartment that is otherwise all shared with my boyfriend. In it, I have the usual various items that are necessary to own in life, but only occasionally used - stamps, a small sewing kit, random keys. I also have a nostalgia section which includes my iPod shuffle and a small box holding the three love letters I've received in my life. And about 12 gift cards I'll never use.
Chelsea answers:
LOL, I abhor miscelanea. I won't let anyone who works with me create a Misc folder on any drives. I refuse copies of my receipts, and ruthlessly throw away most keepsake and promotional items. I've lived in my apartment for more than ten years, and I recently did a KondoMari cleaning before subletting and moving to a house in Westchester. That helped me find places for most everything, but I stopped just before getting to bric-a-brac, so despite my best efforts this terrible drawer is still waiting for me when I move back. It's stuffed full of instruction manuals and warranty slips, quarters for laundry, batteries (some were meant to be thrown out, others are new, there's no telling which are which), two socks filled with rice from when I used to have a microwave to use them as homemade heating pads that now jam the drawer upon opening it, a clip-on bike light (no doubt in there in need of a battery ...and because I don't own a bike), lighters (mostly novelty lighters, all terribly placed given the drying paper just inches away), old candles, old rubber bands, foreign currency, and binder clips. It's the only square foot in my apartment that contains these things, so in that way it's organized. But really it's a drawer full of stalls. When I'm feeling bold, I fantasize about throwing it all out without even looking any of it over.
Chelsea asks:
What's a compliment you get often that, based on what you know about yourself, is hard for you to believe is true?
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So, what's in that drawer?
Every cable to every electronic device I have since roughly 1991, despite the actual devices being long since gone.