I Just Discovered a “Magical” $11 Trick to Stop Things from Sliding in Drawers (I’m Impressed!)

An impeccably organized drawer is my new favorite thing. I recently transformed a junk drawer in my kitchen with the help of a professional organizer and I still ooh and aah every time I open it. I understood the hype of small organizer bins, but I didn’t really get it until I used them myself. Everything is in its place, it’s so much easier to see when I’m running low on things, and the organization makes my brain relax. The only thing I’ve encountered that takes some joy away from my immaculate kitchen drawer is that the plastic organizers don’t stay in place. 

Every time I opened the drawer, the organizers would move. They’d slightly shift and the neat rows turned into a jumble. It was a buzzkill, and I wanted a solution fast. Luckily, the organizer I worked with mentioned an inexpensive, clear adhesive I could use — and much to my surprise, I found an article right here on Apartment Therapy all about the same hack: museum gel. I had to get my hands on some!

Museum gel is intended to keep valuables like antiques secure, so there’s no risk of them toppling over and breaking. The adhesive is non-toxic, it won’t damage your surfaces, and it’s easy to remove. Naturally, it comes in clutch when organizing your drawers. 

Simply take a small amount of museum gel, roll it around in your palm or with your fingers until it’s soft, then apply at the base of your organizer. I put it on two opposite corners of each container (you could do all four corners, but I don’t think it’s necessary) and press it down onto the drawer. Then voila! Your organizers will no longer slide around every time you open your drawer. The gel doesn’t feel super sticky when you work with it, but, like magic, it sticks just enough to secure the items in the drawer.

While museum gel is very easy to remove, take some time to find the best layout for your drawer and organizers before you use the adhesive. I actually had a week or two to play around with the layout of my junk drawer before I got my museum gel, which ended up being great. 

Now that I have this non-toxic gel, the urge to organize more drawers is very real. I recently decluttered and organized a drawer in my bathroom, and the museum gel works like a charm. My containers keep hair ties, bobby pins, gua sha tools, and pimple patches corralled — making it much easier to get ready for the day without digging through items to find what I need. 

I truly smile every single time I open an organized drawer now — not only because it looks pristine, but also because the organizers stay put. Thank you, museum gel!

Buy: Ready America Museum Gel, $11.46