The Man-Drawer - all men have them

The Man-Drawer - all men have them
22 June 2013

My husband has a Man-Drawer.  In fact, dotted around our home, at a few choice, select places, he has a few.  Please note that a Man-Drawer, is not to be confused with a Man-Cave.  They are not the same thing at all.  Though technically both belong to men.

Perhaps it is time to de-mystify the mysteries of the Man-Drawer myth...

So exactly what is a Man-Drawer?  Well it is sort of the stationary version of a women's handbag.  Without the benefit of being encased in awesome leather or material of course.  And then there's the fact that it's not mobile at all.  Such a wasted opportunity.

And whereas women are occasionally accused of having the entire kitchen sink in their handbags, men's Man-Drawers might sometimes really contain bits of a sink.  Including some contents of one too.  Like a mug without its ear.  The chain, formerly attached to the plug from the sink.  And stuff of that ilk.

So what else does a Man-Drawer house, and why do they contain these mysterious items?  Well, the contents will vary from home to home, man to man, and Man-Drawer to Man-Drawer.  But here are some of the seemingly random things you might find in one (actually my husband’s to be more exact):  allen keys for items he no longer has, superglue, shoe laces, mismatched screws, bolts and nuts, perhaps a universal spanner type thingie, or maybe those teeny-tiny little screwdrivers you use to fix your spectacles, spare keys for cars we no longer have, keys for locks no longer needed, batteries (some charged, some not, some way past their prime), pieces of string, electrical plugs and double-adaptors, darts, pocket knives, fishing gut (not that my man fishes at all), bulbs, all manner of tape and glue, glue sticks, lanyards, fish food (not that we even have fish at present), pumpkin seeds (this one is a bit of a mystery – we don’t really do the whole gardening thing), hosepipe connectors, etc.  The loot list seems endless!  Where does it all come from?

Perhaps the best way to describe it, is to say that it is the equivalent of a whole garage, condensed into a drawer.  Pretty impressive actually, all things considered.  Space limitations are a given.  Though, my man also has Man-Boxes.  Not to be confused with Man-Boxers.  They are not the same thing at all.  Though technically both belong to men too.  Man-Boxers contain Man-Vegetables (sorry, it’s true, i.e. two potatoes and carrot).  However Man-Boxes, are also a form of Man-Drawers.  My man has Man-Boxes for all manner of cables and wires.  From cell phone charges for cell phones we no longer have, to computer cables for computers we no longer have.  Other Man-Boxes contain CD’s and DVD’s which double as instruction manuals or installation discs for computer programmes we no longer have.  DVD players we no longer have.  Computer mice (mice is the plural of mouse, right?) we no longer use. Cd players we no …..  Then there’s a small mountain of defunct cell phones, with their accessories.  Battery chargers, and random loose batteries.  Old camera’s and their chargers.  Computer speakers, headphones, broken torches, DVD drivers, etc.  Truly amazing!!!

But just maybe, I shouldn’t be too hard on him.  Because truth be told I have a few Woman-Drawers too.  Let’s call them Chick-Chambers.  And perhaps in the same way that my husband’s Man-Drawers confuse me, my Chick-Chamber would confuse him too.  It also contains apparent random things, like:  butterflies to earrings I no longer have, old sentimental cards, pens, shells that I picked up from that beach off Sentosa Island in Singapore, old dummies belonging to my kids (shame, so sweet that they were so little once!), the odd photograph, nail polish, a macaroni angel Amber made for me at Playschool, a whole collection of broken jewellery items (all neatly put together in a little baggie – bangles, necklaces, etc. – a mountainous pile of beads!), a broken off label from the hairdye box I used the last time I dyed my hair about nine years ago (just in case I want to use the same colour again – L’Oreal 26 Maple Burgundy Red – I rocked that colour), little notebooks, lip-ice, a felt heart Amber made for me, a gold egg-shaped maraca (???), hair clips, hair ponies, nail files (hey, I might actually manage to grow my nails one day!), sentimental letters, perfectly round little Kleinbaai stones, on which the kids have hand drawn ladybirds, bookmarks (many, many, many bookmarks), extra buttons received on clothes, coins from all over the world, a few Chinese notes, two whistles (???), bath salts (given to me by Cole – he hand mixed it at Cubs one year), bits of ribbon, broken mobile bits, clothes labels, trinkets from Xmas crackers, tweezers, etc.  Actually, stuff that all makes perfect sense for me to keep there. 

I do however feel honour bound to admit, that in addition to my Chick-Chambers, I also have a few areas of attempted Diva-Domain.  I have the odd Broad-Box dotted around.  And Honey-Hampers too.  I have many, many receptacles and containers filled with woman’s loot.  Buttons, and materials and bits of pretty ribbon.  Beads, and string, and jewellery making essentials.  Knitting stuff, needles, wool, cotton, etc.  Special pencils, and stationary and girly-twirly things.  Stuff I deem essential.

In which case it is rather cheeky of me to poke fun at my husband’s Man-Drawers I suppose.  Especially as I dip into his Man-Drawers so often, to get stuff I also seem to need…..

And as for those Man-Boxers….  I occasionally dip into those too.

Click and Like on Facebook

Randoms pics of random Man-Drawers