One Binder to Rule Them All: Mom's Ultimate Family Organizer

I'm an on-again-off-again Flylady member. If you're not familiar, Flylady is more than just an online community of women trying to get a handle on housework -- it's a movement. The basic idea is to create standing routines for everything from cleaning the house to getting ready in the morning to running errands. The homemade manual for such an operation is a control journal, a binder of lists and routines and contact details and schedules all in one place.

Mom's Ultimate Family Organizer: A One-Stop Planner for Busy Moms is like the control journal's modern, stylish friend.

This three-ring binder is the brainchild of Amy Keroes, founder of Mommy Track'd, a website geared toward working moms. She knows busy (as do we all, jobs or no), and she polled all the moms she knew to come up with a simple collection of calendar pages, contact details, planning references, and tear-out lists, all separated by tabbed pocket dividers. This is a binder meant to live on the shelf in the kitchen, somewhere near the phone, so everyone in the family can get access.

Even if you don't fill out each page from cover to cover, this book offers a great blueprint for getting organized. Just seeing spaces for writing things down encourages you to write things down instead of cluttering your head with an impossible mass of details.

Win it! Who would like a copy of Mom's Ultimate Family Organizer to call their own? You of course! Just answer the following question in the comments, and I'll pick one lucky winner at random tomorrow at 5pm!

Flylady says: you can't organize clutter. What's one piece of clutter -- physical or emotional -- you've gotten rid of recently?

I recently took a huge box of old books to Powell's to sell. Not only did I free up space in my house, I got money back! To spend! On more books! (Now that I'm such a library goer, I plan to use my windfall on gifts for friends.)

Comments

[Elizabeth]

In the process of remodeling our kitchen, I was forced to remove the basket of miscellaneous stuff that used to hold mail and rubber bands and small toys and mementos and batteries to recharge and general stuff.

Now all those things have to go to their proper home, and for lots of them, that's the trash. It's definitely a change I'll keep when the remodel is done.

[Mary Kate]

I am just gearing up to do a good decluttering~ I am currently swimming in clutter which makes me quite anxious. It also makes me a prime candidate for this giveaway :) It would make a HUGE difference in my life.

[maya]

Definitely taking books to the used bookstore. My new rule is that we can only have as many books as fit on the bookshelves.

[Jules]

This past year we bought a house and added a new baby to our family so there was lots of attempts at decluttering - some more successful than others. Most recently, I went through all of my law school paraphernalia and got rid of all the books I will never ever look at again. It was very satisfying to sell them and remove all that weight from a spare closet.

[Martha]

I threw out an old wallet, and all the Zagats that we have newer editions of today! I am a bit of a decluttering addict:-)

[Liz]

We're getting rid of our baby stuff. Goodbye, double snap & go! Goodbye swing! Farewell, bouncy seats!

[Stephanie]

I recently began scanning all of the artwork my kids bring home from school, so that it can be saved in digit form rather than physical form. That takes care of almost all my kitchen table clutter!
(I still have to get rid of the art surreptitiously, though- my kids fall apart if they see I've thrown one of their masterpieces away!)

[Piseco]

We're a huge book family too, but I'm spending the spring weeding out, working on one bookcase at a time. I've taken bags and bags to donate already!

[Lauren]

I used to keep old magazines; I guess I thought someday I'd really have a need for that Oct 06 issue of... whatever.

Now, when I read a magazine, I tear out anything I think I like (that I can't find online) and it goes in a folder; the magazine then gets recycled.

No more magazine clutter! Plus, I have the basket I used to use free for other stuff.

[Heather G]

I have a pile of books waiting to be sold tomorrow. I also cleaned out our junk cabinet yesterday. Just about everything ended up in the trash!

[kim]

I'm trying to declutter every day and some days go better than others. Now that my last child just had her first birthday, there are lots of baby things we don't need. I'm using Craig's list to get rid of most things.

[Lydia]

We just put our house on the market, and we've gone from a completely cluttered house to nothing but stark open surfaces. Bizarre! And freeing!

I've given away all of our baby items and too-small clothes. We're lucky to have a local refugee resettlement office nearby, and it's hugely satisfying to take a piece of furniture, toy, or bag of clothes there and literally hand it over to a new refugee directly who wants the items.

[Chief Family Officer]

I've been getting rid of tons of stuff, actually (thanks in large part to my 29-Day giving Challenge). I've given away a large stack of books that were leftover favors from my son's birthday party a couple of months ago, I've given away several boxes of kids' stuff that my boys no longer need, I've donated some of my own clothes that I don't wear anymore. But the funny (sad) thing is that there is so much more that could go! And it will ... even if it takes a while.

[Val]

Just today I heaved out and freecycled all of my daughter's old clothes! I'm a freecycle addict - moreso in giving stuff away than taking it. It's so refreshing!

[mircat]

as i got out my summer clothes this year, i tried them all on and got rid of any that didn't fit or i hadn't worn in several years. felt so good to bag it up for the thrift store!

[Christina]

I am working on keeping receipts since so many stores are changing to stricter return policies as well as to keep track of our finances. However, instead of holding them indefinitely, I now go through the receipts once a month to toss anything that can't be returned or we don't want to return.

It's not a huge clutter controller, but it's a start.

[Jenny]

I've gotten rid of toys that don't get play'd with anymore and I cleaned out the hubby's crap from the living room closet. Everything is a little cleaner now.

[Carrie]

We are moving in a month, and there is all kinds of clutter to rid of! Kid toys is the big one though...there are entirely too many toys in our house!

[Ran Barton]

I recently took a huge book of metal trucks I played with as a kid and then my boys played with and called up a friend who has a son the right age and dropped them off at her house. They went from being forgotten to beloved again, which is much better than their being clutter in my house.

[Teresa]

I just went through my closet to get rid of the hopelessly out-of-style clothes from my pre-kid days. I finally realized that even if I could fit into them, I probably shouldn't wear them!

[Stephanie Summers]

I feel our home is full of clutter, and my husband is not ready to de-clutter most areas of our house. I have focused on de-cluttering my closet to set an example. It has been difficult because most of the items have some emotional value. I realize that the clothes that I am donating did not fit me very well. So, I was wasting precious storage space in our home.

I would so appreciate the journal. I like to organize, but I feel that I'm struggling to keep up. I was doing pretty well when I just had to worry about myself. Now, I have to keep up with two little ones in addition to myself. I want to set a good example for my kids by being organized - mentally and by de-cluttering our home.

[Lisa]

We just had our annual giant yard sale where I got rid of needlessly huge office furniture. While rearranging the office, I got my entire leaning tower of filing squared away in lovely folders.

[Linda]

I did a major sorting-out of outgrown kid clothes. I got everything separated into different sizes so when one kid grows into them, I'll know where everything is. I donated three big bags of clothes that are too small for my youngest child. I'm very proud of this achievement!

[Jennie]

We have a paper problem in our house. while sorting through papers recently, (I found junk mail from about 8 years ago.)
In the past two months, we have shredded and recycled two lawn sized bags of paper (old utility bills, pen pal letters from high school, high school and college lecture notes, etc.) We've still got a ways to go but it feels good to let go!

We, too, keep digital records of memorabilia. We have an entire folder in picasa of my husband's lego box lids and covers from cassette tapes he listened to in his youth...

[Wade]

I've got a set number of hangers now. One shirt in, one shirt out.

[Marketing Mommy]

I cut out all of the recipes that interested me in a pile of magazines and slid them into clear plastic sheet protectors in a 3-ring binder. Then I recycled the magazines.

[Ben in Boston]

I have to nominate flylady.com for the worst web design award. I was going to read it and see if I wanted to show it to my wife, but I couldn't force myself to read it with the garish colors distracting me from the content.

[Caron Arnold]

We're cleaning out our closets with gobs of things to donate: dusty shoes not worn in ages, old out-of-style shirts, items given to us that were never worn, etc. We're only half way complete with the task.

[Raven]

I just discovered freecycle and have been giving away lots of misc. items that have been sitting around collecting dust. It's great to help someone out there who actually wants the stuff.

[MC]

I got rid of all the VHS tapes I've accumulated over the years since they are on the verge of becoming obsolete anyway.

[Cathy]

I donated all of the baby girl clothes that I had in hopes of a daughter. I have 2 sons and my hubby says we're done, so I decided to give the clothes to someone who could use them.

[Allison]

I just got rid of a bunch of toys that my daughter hadn't been using... they went to my aunt's garage sale! Hooray!

[Hands-Free Heart]

I guess I'll say baby items, but truthfully, I have tons of clutter, and as I take frequent steps in this arena, I truthfully don't remember what I've gotten rid of! That's the beauty of it.

[Andrea]

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to simplify this year. Every couple of weeks or so, I go through a different area (dresser, closet, bookshelf, etc) and find things that we don't use/need. It's been very freeing to give away or throw away literally hundreds of pounds of things that were just taking up space. I still have a long way to go though!

[Lisa]

I have spent the last month cleaning out every closet in my house. What a great feeling to be able to open the door without a helmet. I'd love the book to get my whole family organized!!

[Cori]

I've been actively trying to declutter my life since I found out I was pregnant. Back then, I had to do it before my daughter was born. Then, it was before she started crawling. Then, before she started walking. Now, it's before she turns one (a mere 3 weeks away). I haven't been very successful, but I did get rid of one huge part of my life - my pregnancy and immediatly-following pregnancy clothes. Getting rid of clothes that were WAY too big for me not only cleared out my closet, it cleared my mind. Look at how well I was doing losing weight in just a year. Imagine how much I'll lose in two.
It wasn't much, but it was enough.

[STL Mom]

I recently donated five large boxes of books, including cookbooks. Somehow, a cookbook is the hardest to part with, even if I've owned it for five years and never cooked a single recipe.
I also gave away all the Little People toys - the village, the garage, the school bus, the zoo train, etc. My kids still played with them occasionally, but we are moving soon and we have to cut back. But it was sad to see those favorite toys go!

[Laura]

We finally recycled old rechargeable batteries that had been sitting around forever.

[T L]

I just purchased a shredder and got rid of old bills and documents.

[Jen]

I try to regularly go through my family's clothes and sort out what we haven't worn for a while, to give away. Then I am able to assess what we do and do not need! I love to be organized, but often do not know how to achieve a routine to establish order in our house.

[Maureen]

I got rid of my car. Donated it to a worthy cause. In one fell swoop, I decluttered: the mess of kids' toys, old newspapers, and junk food remnants that accumulated inside; the emotional clutter of squeezing in errands, shopping, and kid-chauffering--now all of us shop and play local, and older kids have learned to (gasp!) use public transportation!

[Rhonda]

Oh, clutter! Just on Monday we finally gave my old, broken down desktop computer away! Now I've just got my laptop, and it makes life much easier - I can carry it to the kitchen to look up recipies, sit on the couch to play on sesame street.com with the kids...

Anyhow, it's nice to not have the CPU sitting here in the playroom, tempting my kids with that big blue glowing button!

[Page]

A bag of books, CD's, and videos to the library book sale. There is so much more to declutter. That is how I plan to celebrate my wedding anniversary this year, cleaning out the house with the husband! :-)

[Lisa]

We recently finished the basement and were able to get rid of the exercise equipment and several things that were just collecting dust. There is much more to go, but this is a start.

[courtney]

Since I am expecting my first child in August, I've been on a cleaning out/purge tear through my whole house. Yesterday, I cleaned out my jewelry box and got rid of some very 80s jewelry that I'll never wear again.

courtneyhunt71 (at) aol (dot) com

[Angie]

I am planning a garage sale and have been removing things from every room I can. I love getting rid of things and the thought of making some money from it is exciting!

[Rachel -MA]

I recently went through three plastic bins in my daughter's room and donated or ditched everything she was too old for or no longer played with. Her room looks better and I feel better!

[harmzie]

I released a pair of leather pants (suede really) in order to resist the temptation to wear them to work. No one needs to see that at work. One piece of physical AND emotional clutter I released was "The Mother of All Pregnancy Books" I've had my last kid & am resisting the temptation to "save" it for my baby sisters - when they have kids, they'll want more current information! Let someone else get some use.

[Sara]

I'm ALL about keeping our tiny house tidy and well-organized. But this spring, I've finally focused on EMOTIONAL decluttering. After many years, I've decided to talk to my doctor about my mild depression. It runs in my family, and it's not something that we really talk about, but it was time for me to do something about it. Working full time, and raising three young children (including 6-year-old twins, one of whom has ADHD, and a 2-year-old) along with my wonderful (truly!) husband can be challenging financially and emotionally. Seeing a child psychologist for our son's ADHD, and getting help from my own physician has made our family life so much better! Why didn't I do this sooner? Let the sun shine!

[Julie Anne]

Just had a yard sale last weekend and got rid of some bigger stuff in our shed, some books, little things from the house, and some baby clothes!!

Plus made a little bit of spending money!!

[Brandi]

Emotional clutter: I forgave someone. It took me awhile to understand (and embrace) that forgiveness was for me, not for the person I was forgiving. That by forgiving, I wasn't saying "it's ok!"--I wasn't condoning the offense toward me, or inviting it to happen again--it was simply releasing the weight of it. Holding on to bitterness and resentment is so HEAVY, and once I was able to forgive and release it, life became so much more liveable. And joyful.

[Betsy]

Our preschool just had a spring clean out charity drive - I had to make 3 car trips with all of the stuff I gathered! I would line up all of their like toys - let's say stuffed animals - made them each take a few away from the pile - then I got to grab any that meant anything to me and the rest went away. It was a long day, but lots of fun.

My other one was that I started stockpiling their clothes in the guest bedroom as I folded them instead of returning them to their closets/drawers. This let us wear and see all the things at the bottom of the drawers. It is hard to get a 2 and 4 year old to try things on to see if they still fit, but this way I got to the bottom of the clothes and got rid of LOTS that way.

[adrienne]

I could bear to part with many our books if it gave me an excuse to visit Powell's and Portland.

And what's this talk about clutter? I'm not supposed to be keeping every item I've ever owned/touched/been handed in precarious piles all over my house?

[Amanda]

My husband's been out of town a lot lately and I've had the evenings to myself. I usually collapse out of sheer exhaustion (I have three children, one is an infant), but one night I actually cleaned out my closet. I got rid of a huge pile of clothes (many of which I had hung onto from college! shirts too short! pants too high!) and was left with a small number of things that look really good on me. So happy!

librarycollective.blogspot.com

[CJ]

I got rid of a coffee table in a yard sale a few weeks ago. Ever notice how big a coffee table is? They're huge, at least when you're storing one in your dining room because you don't have room for it in your new house.

I've also recently repainted my sunroom. The former owners had it painted with these giant weird cartoonish banana leaves. Now the walls are a pretty tangerine color -- a much more welcoming sight when coming home through the back door than the busy, cluttered, leaf-o-rama wall.

[marci]

i have piles of stuff after going through all the boxes in the attic that are destined for rebaying. i've never sold there, only bought, but with a soon-to-toddle baby, maybe it will be something fun i can do for a few dollars. i'm not much for yard sales, either having or going...

[Casey]

I got rid of years worth of old magazines that I don't read anymore.

[Isaac]

I'm on my way to UPS to drop off a cell phone for delivery to http://secondrotation.com. It's one less thing in my apartment, and I get a little money out of it, too, at the cost of very little hassle.

[Annette]

I finally donated my itty-bitty pre-marriage/baby clothes to Goodwill. I realized that by the time I'm done having babies, not only are those clothes going to be long out of style, but there's a fat chance that my body will ever be like it was when I was college cheerleader. And I don't care because being a mom and a wife is so much more fulfilling than wearing a size 2!

[Jenn]

last month we really attacked the toy chest and got rid of things that weren't being played with and all those plastic fast food toys and stuff.

[kelly c]

We just took a box of clothes over to the humane society thrift shop.

[dee]

I recently cleaned off an old bookshelf and re-used it to organize my son's dvd collection and our photo albums. The books were boxed up for a garage sale or donation this summer.

[Katie]

We have been doing a craigslist purge of our clutter. From an unused car top carrier, to old computers, to clothes that never got worn, it all must go with cash back for us.

[Gina S]

We actually had a speaker at our MOPS group talk about flylady and I immediately went home and cleaned out my closet along with hubby and got rid of several bags of clothes and delivered them the same day to the Goodwill so they weren't sitting around.
We use craigslist a lot too to get rid of things. It's is awesome!

[Shelley]

I just jettisoned the TV, stereo, and TiVo in our bedroom - hurrah! Like we really watch TV in there (or should)?! It already feels like a much more restful room.

[Misty]

I recently got rid of some bone china my (deceased) great grandmother gave me. I had it around just because she gave me it, but it was sitting in a drawer for the last however many years. It wasn't really being appreciated. So I gave pieces away to young girls I knew would be thrilled to have it.

[Abigail]

A Question for all parents with babies - How do I declutter when I have a baby who really fusses when he's put down? Do I let him cry (STRESS FOR ME!) while I deal with the house stuff, or do I pick him up and let the kitchen, laundry, cats etc go to hell in a handbasket?

[Kimberly]

My clutter problem is genetic, going back at least three generations, if the state of my grandmother's attic is any indication (we had to go through it last weekend...unopened kitchen utensils, etc.) So, I am almost doomed. BUT, my big proud moment was THROWING AWAY old dinged up aluminum loaf pans. That were still perfectly functional. But aluminum. But, and I will repeat...perfectly functional.

Phew.

[Kimberly]

My clutter problem is genetic, going back at least three generations, if the state of my grandmother's attic is any indication (we had to go through it last weekend...unopened kitchen utensils, etc.) So, I am almost doomed. BUT, my big proud moment was THROWING AWAY old dinged up aluminum loaf pans. That were still perfectly functional. But aluminum. But, and I will repeat...perfectly functional.

Phew.

[mama2etc]

I've been "flying" since 2004, so my house is getting better all the time, but my latest bit of clutter that I've disposed of was probably the most challenging AND the most significant... 30 pounds!

[Brother Phil]

I'm currently having therapy to help me to declutter - recent achievements include a cupboard full of electrical appliances. Next I've got to put some books on Amazon.

[Judean]

I keep a bag in the front-hall closet that goes directly to the goodwill store once full. In it goes anything I come across that is in donate-able condition that we haven't found a place for: clothes, toys, books, kitchen stuff, gifts. We moved into our house just under 11 months ago, and I figure if something hasn't found its proper place yet, it might as well GO! Having a new-ish baby means lots of well meaning gifts, but there is only so much room for teeny-tiny bibs and cheapo-plastic rattles; into the bag they GO! And once it is full, everything is already in once place, I grab the bag on my way out the door, and donate. woo-hoo!

[Judean]

oh, and in response to Abigail's question about decluttering with a fussy baby--two words: Baby Carrier. Whether it's a moby wrap, baby bjorn or ergo, it will be your friend when you can both hold the baby AND have your hand free.

[Sarah]

I, too, am an on-again-off-again FlyLady member. I've been refining my control journal for a couple years now, but it's far from complete. I use it frequently for certain things and rarely for certain other things. I feel like it's missing something but I'm not sure what.

The last time I did any significant decluttering was about a month ago, during Discardia (http://www.metagrrrl.com/discardia/). I got rid of a few bigger items that I'd been holding onto for too long, including a dress I loved but never wore, a stockpot I had forgotten I even had, some books and some jewelry. How liberating!

[mama2etc]

In response to Abigail:

First, this answer could be different depending on how old your baby is. If he's very young, you will probably still need to carry him quite a bit. Try a backpack or a front carrier or sling if he's old enough, to free up your hands. As he gets older, try putting him down, and wait a little bit before you pick him up again. Try to extend the wait period each time, and be very reassuring when you do pick him up. This is for your sanity as well... your son needs to slowly learn independence and you need a break!

Also, try putting him in something (again, if he's old enough) that keeps him upright, like an exersaucer, so that he can watch you as you go about your business.

Each baby is different, and you will have to experiment to see what works for yours. But trust me, it all works out, and you will be amazed at the number of things you can accomplish with a baby on your hip. If you poll moms, most of them will say that they have one arm that's significantly stronger than the other due to baby carrying!

[Ms. Four]

We moved from the States to Egypt last summer, which meant that everything had to get packed in boxes and shipped overseas or put into storage. I decided that except for a few heavy wintery items, it didn't make sense to put any clothes into storage. If I wasn't going to ship them, why keep them at all? This was both physical and emotional, really. It's been much easier since then to have a lean wardrobe.

[AbleApril]

Recently rid house of clothes that don't fit my kids or me or my husband. I like to Freecycle kid clothes that still have a lot of life and the rest goes to the Goodwill. Now I need to tackle the paper clutter...

[Ki Goff]

I recently sat down and actually worked out what I do and don't believe religiously, instead of just nodding to everything said. I learned a lot about what matters to me, and let go of some serious emotional clutter.

[Julie]

I've gotten rid of some (big) emotional clutter. I've realized that my parents will never be the parent that I want them to be and it's not my fault. That was big ol' box of crap.

[Sage]

With our youngest in toddlerhood, his room had become a repository for baby equipment, most of which I had bought secondhand. I was saving it up to sell at a local rummage sale, but the day before the deadline to reserve my spot, I noticed an announcement in our church bulletin. A woman with an unexpected pregnancy and on bedrest had called asking if anyone had baby items they would give to her.

I called her the next day (which turned out to be her due date!) and all the things she needed were the things we need to get rid of: bassinet, crib, swing, exersaucer, nursing pillow, baby monitor and baby toys.

Meeting someone's need and being spared the hassle of preparing everything for sale was a huge blessing. It was also a visual way to close the chapter on the season of birth and babies.

My motto is "flow and throw", which means keep the circle of useful stuff flowing and throw out the junk. It's like a fountain--keep the water circulating but remove the leaves and debris to keep it pristine and unclogged.

[Brandi]

I have had a realization that something is blocking my pursuit of the goals I want in life. That block is my low self worth. The past few weeks, I have worked on getting rid of it. Not just dealing with it, coping with it, learning to live with it...destroying it! And it's working. I am good enough. I am worth it. I am beautiful. No more negative thoughts blocking my way of achieving what I want in life...whether it be my health or my organized home!

[Rachel G]

In three weeks, we're moving to a house that is half the size of our current one. Yesterday, I went through the children's toys and determined which ones were still around just for ME. You know, the ones that they don't play with, but I wish they would, or have memories associated with them, or I feel guilty because it was a gift. They're all boxed up and ready to take to GoodWill today!

[Kim]

I just de-cluttered my entire apartment so I could do daycare for a few kids. I cleaned out closets and drawers. It was a huge project but my house is so nice now.

[Amy A]

I hate to throw away something perfectly good and I never had enough for a yard sale, so it just sat in my very small storage area. So I have been Freecycling a lot of things we don't use any more. Since I have picked up a few things that my kids like, they enjoy getting rid of stuff they don't use any more. They understand that once we are done with something, someone else will like it. And then we get great stuff other people don't need any more.

[LadyG]

Well, this one counts for both. I just got rid of a bunch of clothes - that still had tags on! - that I bought in my former life (including bad marriage and crazy corporate job I didn't like). It was very freeing. I am now trying to get rid of one bag of stuff a week. Sometimes its going through old papers, sometimes clothes, but either way one bag a week is heading out the door!

[michaela]

Ahh, there's something about spring that promotes uncluttering, isn't there? I have taken a ton of stuff to Freecycle and Goodwill recently. Most significantly: We cleaned out the closet in our spare bedroom, which had somehow become the place where we stashed stuff we didn't know what to do with. As a result, we finally got rid of some framed art we received as wedding presents (NINE years ago) but that we'd never hung because, well, it was ugly. (I sold one on Craigslist and gave the rest away via Freecycle.)

[Noel]

I'm an anomaly: I desire to throw out anything and everything. Of course, I find that I need XYZ at some point. So I keep more than I need or have space for, "just in case." Recently, I finally got rid of a foot spa that was taking up real estate in my tiny linen cupboard. It was a nice idea, but impractical. It didn't heat the water - somehow you have to get hot water in it, then lug it to an outlet to use it. Now it awaits the community garage sale in my condo complex.

[PsychMamma]

I'm an organizing freak and am totally coveting this! Pick me! Pick me! :-)

[Holly]

the huge graco duoglider that I used 3 times total and has been in our garage for 2 years. there's plenty more where that came from, but it felt so good to let go of something obsolete and cumbersome.

[Missy]

I finally took 4 armloads of magazines to the recycle bin, admitting that it's okay that I'm not going to go through them and clip "interesting" articles, that life is full and interesting as it is right now.

[mh]

The baby's clothes and toys are now decluttered. Outgrown clothes and unused (too babyish) toys have been stored for the next baby or passed along to friends. The current clothes all have a place, complete with a box in a dresser drawer only for socks! The current toys are separated into 3 bins to rotate/clean more effectively.

The baby/toddler stuff finally feels like it's under control! Here's to keeping it that way!!

[Dylan]

We started doing a lot of cleansing shortly before our son was born; it's slowed down some, but we've done all kinds of things in the last few months.

Our first child is a girl, so we've been migrating a lot of old clothes to various donation sites.

I got tired of all the rubber bands in the silverware drawer, so I made 2 rubber-band balls of them and they stay contained (yes, we actually find lots of uses for them).

P.S. My wife is also an on-again off-again Flylady member.

[Fox's Momma]

I cannot tell you the joy that overcame me when I managed to unclutter and organize under our bathroom sinks.

[Mary M]

Giant tubs of old baby clothes. I've separated them by size and donated them to friends, neighbors & co-workers. I'm trying to make room in my downstairs "office" so I can actually work in there!

[Judy]

I love to declutter, and since I'm expecting a baby this July, I think I love it even more. We recently went through all our closets and drawers and donated all our unworn/outgrown clothing! Yippiee!!!

[Jessica]

Most recently - the gorgeous hand-me-downs that were too small when I received them which I probably could have sold, but I was never going to actually get around to it.

I look around my house and feel like we still have so much clutter... but then I remember that we've decluttered enough in the past few years that we no longer have to pay extra rent to live somewhere with a full room dedicated to clutter.

[franticallysimple]

Six margarita glasses, four wine glasses, and seven beer glasses.
And we don't even drink.

[Michelle S]

This past year we moved & added a baby to the family. We had a HUGE garage sale in the summer-time and whatever didn't sell was donated to goodwill. As we packed up each room of the house we donated many other items we no longer had any use for; nor wanted to move a third time - it felt wonderful to declutter!

[holly f]

I just got rid of an afghan (blanket) that someone gave me in 1995. I had never used it, not even one time. I have moved from AL to Germany and then to Atlanta (and to 6-7 houses inside Atlanta) and have moved it with me every time. I wish I had gotten rid of it a long time ago, but did not want to because it was a gift.

[sarah]

My son just turned two and I got rid of all his baby toys. The ones I (and he) really loved went up into the attic for a future baby and the ones we weren't thrilled with to begin with went to goodwill or other friends who liked them more.

[Lyssa]

I just got rid of the bassinet that had been taking up space in the garage. I can now walk between the two cars to put my son in his car seat!

;o)

[Amberlynn]

There were empty milk cartons and liter bottles cluttered all around the kitchen. I cup them up, and turned them into watering funnels for the orchard and garden.

[mama4jc]

Speaking of books, we recently got rid of our old college texts that we kept thinking that we would use them as references...NOT! So, finally, after being in boxes since we've been married and having been moved to 3 different states, they've finally found a resting place - some in other ppl's homes thru freecycle and some in the dumpster.

[Tiffany]

I got rid of a bunch of jeans from before baby #1. I had been about 103 lbs. Now, 10 yrs later, 2 children happier, and 30 lbs heavier, I will never fit into those again. That was very painful to come to terms with, but I am healthy and happy. When I finally admitted this to myself, I gathered them up and gave them to "the skinny girl" in the office. I feel better that they aren't hanging in my closet taunting me!

[Samantha]

We're moving on Monday to a house half the size of the one currently. I purged baby clothes and items I was going to eBay (who has time anymore and eBay isn't the great deal it used to be), books got donated, my closet got a huge purge, I sold the 36" TV and an entire rack of electronics that my husband NEVER thought I'd part with and I've sold or donated hundreds of CD's, videos and dvd's. I consolidated all my media on my iMac, converted it all to mp4 or mp3 and now instead of taking up shelf space it lives in a 1 terrabyte MyBook hard drive on my desk (with another as backup).

[Laura]

I got rid of 3 truckloads of "I'll have a yardsale someday."

[Jennifer Anne]

2 weekends ago I went through my boys' closet and packed up all the outgrown clothes and games. Donated the clothes and gave the games to neighbors. Hardly seems to have made a dent.

[Kendra]

In the last week, I have managed to give away the maternity clothes I've been holding onto for nearly five years (despite the fact that I know I don't want any more children) and a whole bunch of miscellaneous baby-and-kid-related clutter -- you know, those odds and ends like shoes that are too good to throw away but not nice enough to consign, the old bath toys your kids no longer play with, the miscellaneous dishes, sippy cups, spoons, etc. I still have a lot more clutter to go, but just off-loading that pile made me feel pretty good.

[Kara]

We are currently de-cluttering our garage. We moved to this home almost two years ago and still have boxes to unpack and storage shelves to build. But with the arrival of spring we are now out there in full force!

[Chelsea]

We gave away a box of fancy kitchen appliances that are only used occasionally (for us the crock pot fits into this category.) Rather than trying to fit our life to the appliance, it is nice to have the counter and cabinet space to enjoy the style of cooking we really do.

[Peggy]

I just took two large boxes of miscellaneous records from my pre-married life (more than ten years ago) to the shredders on a free shred day! I also donated two garbage bags full of my clothing to a local charity. Still working on decluttering, though.
Peg

[Naomi]

I finally realized that saving cardboard boxes has made my home office look like hobo land. So I broke them all down and took them to the recycling depot at the grocery store because our sucky town doesn't do curbside.

[Elizabeth Hosto]

I just went through all the kid/baby toys and clothes for a toy and clothes swap that my Moms club put on, I got rid of a bunch of stuff we don't use any more and came home with just a few things that we do use plus it was a ton of fun to spend the evening with my Mom friends without the kids!

[tulip]

We just did a giant purge of clothes. It was nice to see an organized closet instead of an explosion of messyness!

[Miriam]

I recently unloaded a bunch of old magazines. It's so hard to part with those things! I keep a binder with pages of the best ideas, but getting around to doing it is always a chore. I have good intentions of doing it right away after I finish the magazine, but never do.

[Cory]

We just moved to a different state from PDX :( but we sold boxes and boxes of books to Powell's. Like Asha, we got a gift card that we'll use for this year's Christmas gifts.

[Kim]

We used to have a commercial-quality scanner from a previous job and one day it broke. It wasn't worth fixing it, but instead of trashing it, my husband took the thing apart and kept about 60% of the various pieces. I FINALLY convinced him we have no use for the metal rods and glass plates and tossed them in the trash.

[Jenny K]

I cleaned out my closet - I still had clothes from my working days and from right after college (it's been 15 years). It felt good to donate and purge all those clothes & shoes.

[mamaloo]

I'm going to be doing a huge purge soon. I'm starting with a few books and moving on to shoes I haven't worn since before I had kids! And my oldest is 5!!

[cavalierex]

I had a box of books that I wanted to sell and a bag of clothes that I wanted to donate to goodwill. They sat in the corner for 3 months... but I finally forced myself to run those errands and get rid of that clutter!

[Amie]

Okay, technically this clutter isn't gone yet but it will be within the week. I have a walk-in closet overflowing with STUFF. You open the door and it literally starts falling out. I have been chucking the STUFF in there for almost a year, waiting for our annual La Leche League charity yard sale. The good news is that the sale is less than two weeks away, so it's all going to be gone within a week. I will reclaim the "black hole closet of doom" and help out a good cause at the same time.

Of course next month I will probably have to start a new pile of STUFF for next year's sale. *sigh*

[Tanya Moyer]

We are in the process of moving to a new home, so as I've been packing/unpacking, I've been asking myself "do I really need this?" I have already taken 2 huge loads to Salvatioin Army!! It's been fabulous!
This organizer would be wonderful!
Thanks for offering!
~Tanya
the4moyers(at)msn(dot)com

[Susan]

I just cleaned out all the crap in my home office, including way too many books I'll never look at again. It was so nice to organize at least one room! I'd love to organize the rest of my life.

[Joyce]

At work, I was forced to change workspaces. I actually got a larger space, but I went through the plans and brochures and conference materials and discarded lots of it. The most interesting was taking the long roll plans (20+ feet) and trying to feed them through the large scanner. It worked! and I got rid of 6 of the long rolls. Now I have my desk clear of clutter even if I'm still choking on clutter at home with the new baby.

[melissaS]

Don't enter me in the contest but wanted to add that I love mine. I use it just for the calendar and week at a glance feature. It's really somehow helping me keep on top of stuff.

[mama d]

This declutter is decidedly emotional: Recently, I looked at my beautiful son with the dancing eyes (who happens to have been adopted) and tossed out the notion that *all* of his behaviors which concern me are adoption related. HUGE load off my plate and heart. Now, I feel like I'm finally ready to parent him and to be an honest parent to him.

[Thien-Kim]

I just gave away a ton of 3-6 month baby clothes (my daughter is 2.5 yo now), some craft supplies I hadn't touched in 3 years. And I'm getting ready to give the stroller and swing to a friend. Whew! It's physical clutter, but my mind feels lighter.

[Michelle ~ [ real neat ]]

Now that my daughter is nearly 4 years old, I finally decided that it was time to sort through the toys and clothes I had been saving "for the next one." I priced and tagged everything, and sold most of the items at our MOPS Consignment Sale this spring. I earned enough money to purchase my daughter's entire summer wardrobe! In fact, I even had enough left over to treat myself to a full-body massage! How cool is that!?!

[Rebecca]

We're expecting baby #2 in June, so I finally got rid of all my smaller-sized clothes that I was keeping in our guest room closet (which will become new baby's closet). It was good to come to terms with what size I *really* am.

[Steph.]

I killed two birds with one stone and got rid of something that clutters AND is an environmental waste. I just bought my canvas sacks for the grocery and goodbye to all of those extra plastic bags taking up space in my pantry!

I've done Flylady before and I would LOVE this organizer!

[Joyous]

I just sold an old chandelier on Craigslist.

[Kisha]

I have been sorting through my daughter's clothes this week. I have one (more) plastic tub filled with things she's outgrown that I'll be keeping, and a large plastic bag full of clothes that were lent to me to begin with that I'm going to return. I'm hoping to send the bag home with the lender this weekend at her birthday party. :)

[Michelle Z]

Good-bye baby clothes!

[Amanda C]

In the process of having our house built myself, my husband and our two children moved into his parents house. We rented a huge mobile storage unit that sits in the yard with a lot of our stuff in it. Now that we are in the process of moving into our new house, I realized how much stuff we have that we do not necessarily need. Hey, if it sat in storage for three months and was not missed, how much do we really need it. Except for our bed and our family pictures,I have donated everything to charity. I feel so good knowing that there are people out there less fortunate than myself that now have clothes for their babies and toys and furniture for their children.

[Tracy]

toys toys toys...we finally got rid of a lot of our infant toys that the kids no long play with and my partner sorted through her beloved hat collection. I know it took a lot of will power to throw out her hats!

[Ava Tari]

I used Powell's excellent online service to scan in the ISBNs of all our to-go books, get a quote, and then ship them (free!) to Powell's. Which is sadly on the other side of the country from us.

The last year has been an exercise in decluttering - not only our stuff. We bought a house and the seller left a ton of stuff. So I just got rid of a sailboat, a catamaran, and a 40-foot radio antenna.

[Ginger]

We had a growing collection of old artwork that didn't really fit our style... mostly hand-me-downs from my husbands parents. They were gathering dust in our basement, and this past week we sold the majority of them at the neighborhood garage sale... the remainder when directly into the car and out to Goodwill. That felt good!

[ivymae]

I recently gave all of my childhood toys to my children. So technically we did not get rid of them, but what use are toys when they are in a box in the closet? The kids love them, and even better, I get to remember being tiny and playing with them also.

[Emily Wolf]

The feeling that I have to do it all.

[Candace Prosser]

What is one paice of clutter that I haven't gotten rid of lately. I have been seriously purging. But I guess the biggest thing is remnant baby items. We are done with babydom and breast feeding. I have had three wee ones and my youngest is finally beginning to walk at 16 months. (She's not behind, she's just lazy: someone always picks up the cute one.) So I finally listed my $200 breast pump that I haven't used in almost nine months on Craig's List and the extra port-a-crib that has been sitting in the entry way since we moved from Oklahoma to Maryland seven months ago.

I gave all of the maternity wear to my neighbor who runs a mission to WV. All of the baby items and kids stuff that we have out grown went there as well.

Sad to see the time go, but excited to be moving on.

[Vator]

I recently parted with my maternity clothes which I have been saving in the event of a 3rd pregnancy. My oldest is now 5yo, and I also have a 2 yo. With the two I already have, I feel that I am extremely busy, exhausted and have not had time for anything else. I don't think I'll be ready for a 3rd...ever. Goodbye maternity clothes :-)

[Megan]

We had to have our house rewired, and while it was miserable, it forced us to clean out every room of the house so the electricians could do their magic. As a result, we seriously pared down the number of toys, since our kids play with about 25% of them - right now the extras are in the basement, but eventually many will go to Goodwill.

[Dawn]

Ive given up the idea that life is fair. Not everything is going to be "one for you, one for me." Its amazing how free that has made me - free to say no or even yes if I want to.

[Christy]

I've just ditched four big black bags of baby clothes AND my fat-momma wear. I'm back to my pre-baby size, and I don't plan to ever revisit those days!

Next I'm raiding the kids' baby toys!

[SJ]

I am about to donate a ton of the presents we got for our newborn to charity - she doesn't need more books (we already have a ton), is already too big for some of the clothes, or more stuffed animals, and will never know the difference (neither will the very generous folks who gave them to us). We still have so much stuff from her older brother!

[mustangmissy]

I have started to sell my baby gear. I've been holding onto it and cluttering up my basement but now I can finally see the floor down there!

[bom]

While unpacking books, I am weeding out ones I don't want. I also cleaned out three boxes of notes from grade school, high school and college courses from my parents' house. (My mom was thrilled. My dad asked me why I didn't recycle.)

[Cindi]

Hello, Simply said, if anyone could use help with organization, it is
moi! My family is behind me all shaking their heads "Yes!" Thanks,Cindi

[Karli]

I recently parted with 250 articles of clothing that previously belonged to my almost-3-year-old. It's amazing how freeing that was! I'd love the organizer to help find even more freedom in my life!

[Lauren Shindo]

We are moving overseas and I had a giant box of my daughter's baby clothes that was going to come with us. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars to bring this sentimental stuff with us, we decided to just let it all go to a local charity. It was painful to let it go, but it makes me feel better knowing that someone will get some use out of all those clothes!

[Anna]

I *finally* tackled my craft box. I have a tendency to get excited about a new craft, buy the materials, do it twice, then hoard the bits for, oh... years! But, my genius idea was to move everything that was remotely kid-friendly to my daughter's rainy-day-project drawer. Now, she gets to pick a project for us to do together whenever we're at loose ends for activities. I get the satisfaction of clearing clutter and spending fun time with my girl without totally having to mourn the loss of my stash.

[Rose]

Books! We've purged tons of our books. Now we can actually find and fit on the shelves the ones we really like. Instead of the ones we liked 10 years ago.

[Emily]

I am getting rid (in an ever-on-going process) of the emotional clutter of expecting myself to be my mother.

[JennB]

I just managed to unclutter bottles! Now that my son is eating less frequently, I now have countertop space back.

[Metromom]

I got rid of an entire drawer full of dull knives and replaced them with two good knives. What a difference!

[Mama Zen]

I recently attacked my daughter's out of control toy collection!

[Librariann]

Just got rid of a bag of old shoes. Still can't see my closet floor, but the wading is shallower...

[zoehabib]

I'm working with my kids on a "one item in, one item out" policy, especially around birthdays and the holidays. The biggest success was getting rid of their old tricycles and (baby) scooters before we opened the fancy new (big kid) birthday scooters.

[Alison]

Normally I donate things on a regular basis but somehow I still had enough things I'd been keeping "just in case" to put into a friend's garage sale last weekend: clothes, a couch and chairs, an old air mattress, toys, etc. Now I have some lovely empty cabinets in the utility room (well, the furniture wasn't in there, but you get the idea)!

[Kelly]

I have finally gotten rid of an over sized table that came with the house when we bought it five years ago.

[Dan]

Let's not forget the value this will have for babysitters and other parenting fill ins...

[Andrea]

I just had my 2nd child and I also have a 4 1/2 year old. Well our living room also doubles as a play room. Which is fine with one child but with the baby comes the bouncy seat, swing, exersaucer, play mat. All big baby gear and our living room just can't hold everything - nor do I want it to. So we moved a big bookcase into my son's room and filled it up with all of his toys and books. So now it is almost all out of the living room (except for just a few manageable ones) and we now have room for the baby gear.