FlyLady.net: Declutter Challenge

Weirdest Items Decluttered - Part 1

This is one of my favorite parts of the Super Fling Boogie: posting the weirdest items decluttered (and in some cases, found). In the past, items such as pregnancy tests (positive and negative), dead goldfish frozen in the freezers awaiting funerals, rusty cars and car bits, dead plants, 90 pounds of aluminum cans, broken appliances, appliances without cords, just the cords, stuffed critters, 20 year old kid school projects and more have entertained and inspired us. It is amazing, the number of people who go through the weirdest item list only to realize they have "one of those" someplace in the attic or hiding in the basement. Have fun decluttering and enjoy the list (remember - only 15 minutes at a time - this list will keep getting longer)! Keep those weird items rolling in (and don't forget to say where you are from)! - FlyCrew

From our members - January 5

Hi Everyone! While decluttering my closet today, I found a dress still sealed from the dry cleaners ----with a claim check dated Sept 13th 1997!!! Since I have not worn it (or even missed it) in over 6 years, I will forward it on to AmVets this week. Happy Flinging! From, ChicagoRattler

130 identical black T-Shirts with the same design on them. The printer had put the inverse image on the shirt and nobody would buy them. But I held on, oh I held on for FIVE years just in case! - in Boulder Creek, CA

Hi FlyCrew, The weirdest items that I've flung this week was 14 athletic supporters. When the boys couldn't find them before a ballgame, we would run out to purchase a new ones because it would take too much time to scour through the house to find the lost equipment. What a lot of wasted time and money! With a decluttered laundry room drawers and closets, we should have no trouble when baseball season starts again! Learning to fly-- in Independence, Missouri

Hi FlyCrew, I think this would be classifiied as weird. I just tossed over 60 lbs. of non-iodized salt that has been in my basement on my pantry shelves since we moved here 17 years ago (we moved it here!). Why did I have so many boxes of salt on hand? I think I was planning to do some canning and pickling. That would have been one heck of a batch of pickles, had I ever done it! Flybaby in West Michigan

got rid of 21 pairs of shoes. i kept all the kids shoes thinking they could have hand me downs but never did hand them down to the next child. they all got new shoes and these 20 sat smelly in the attic. - from VA

How about 24 old yucky toothbrushes with their bristles splayed out in a permanent state of shock? I was "saving" them to clean out the bathroom tub grout. You guessed it--never used them, totally forgot they were at the bottom of the cleaning supply container. Bought a grout brush some time ago which is much tougher and better suited for the job. Suburban Chicago Flyer

We just tossed 30 pounds of Christmas tree lights! Can you believe? We've had some of them for 15 years (talk about a fire hazard), and even some that my parents gave to me that were on the tree when I was a kid (I'm now 35). Next year, we will have lights that we won't have to worry about setting our whole house on fire! Thanks so much from a Flybaby in Austin, TX.

I think this is my fourth super fling boogie, and I finally decided I could let go of one size 13, hardly worn, very expensive men's basketball shoe. My DS claimed that his younger cousin, visiting from Ohio and climbing in or out of DS's very cluttered car, must have kicked the other shoe out (and didn't notice?). I think the last time this cousin visited NJ and rode in DS's car must have been 1999. I first hoped the mate would show up, then believed I would search out a site on the internet for an organization that matches up people whose feet are different sizes so they can trade shoes, or who only have one foot for one reason or another. I heard about that group once, but never did search for them on the web. - Still trying to get off the ground in NJ

Surprise!

It is weirdest item flung time again! And I know how much fun these are to read (I get to read them first LOL - laugh out loud!). I also know how easy it is to get sidetracked while go through these lists, and before you know it, several hours have gone by and it feels like you have accomplished nothing. So, before you read any further...STOP where you are and find just THREE things that are to the RIGHT of your computer that belong in the trash. Out they go. Don't think about it, fling, flang, flung!

Go! Go! Go!

Let me know what you find. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put "toss1" in the subject line.

This Super Fling Boogie gave me the courage I needed to get rid of 4 large boxes of old books that my father & mother collected before I was born. They were 1st editions & leather bound books that I felt I "should" keep & kept them on our bookshelves. After asking, I found that neither one of them "had room" for them. So, dh & I have donated them to a fundraising auction for a friend who had a stroke. We will be able to get a tax deduction for it. I felt guilty before they left the house, but now I feel like a load has been lifted! We didn't love them, we didn't have time nor desire to find a book collector who would and it will be blessing both the eventual buyer and dh's friend in need. Oh, and we also tossed the two bookshelves that we no longer need. I guess I'm FLYing in NJ!

I remain the same size as I was 30 years ago, That is how long it has been since I parted with any article of clothing. My spare bedroom was made into a dressing room just to be able to keep things. You know that "might wear it someday." I decluttered 15 lawn and leaf bags full of clothes, shoes, nylons, jackets, scarfs, etc. I feel so positive about my new found space. I had to read your tips over and over before I became brave enough to just do it. I also had to remove the bags from my home same day or I would have pulled things out and put them away. I did my husbands things also. Thank you.

Maybe not so weird,but long overdue....tv movies recorded on video tapes..all 69 of them. Most are from somewhere in the late 80s or early 90s and I can't recall anytime in the last 6 years since we moved here that the never-quite-organized shelves of tapes were actually VIEWED by somebody in the house. So, out they go!!! And the 18-yr old son, who pleads "can't I keep them in my room, mom" was answered by "why? when have YOU last watched one that wasnt on tv, at the video store??" so he agreed and my empty bookshelves inside the VCR tape close now sports the grandbabies disney collection on the bottom (easy and within reach for the little ones), the entire dvd collection (which was two shelves UNDER the tv, requiring the 'hands and knees' approach to watch one), and husband's precious John Wayne collection, XFiles and Star Trek. So much that one entire bookcase was decluttered from the overflowing den. All for 10+ yr old hand-made video tapes that never got watched or never worked. AAhhhh. Don't THAT feel good!!! - Renewed Flybaby from Kentucky

From Mobile, AL... I threw away an old car radio from a Honda Civic, but I've never had a Honda Civic! Where did *that* come from?? Also two broken push mowers (one of them had a run-in with a sledge hammer one frustrating day) that have not worked since 1999. Very heavy bag of Blue grout that has hardened in the package, 7 non-functional sprinklers and a leaky aquarium that has moved with me twice. Lots of other stuff as well, but the rest was kind of boring.

So far my weirdest item (which I have to work on day by day) is a bag of cement in our storage room. My husband bought it several years ago because he thought he would repoint the bricks in our foundation. But the job was too hard and three years ago we hired a mason to do the repointing. I cannot lift the bag of cement so I came up with the great idea of cutting a hole in it and using a trowel to take a few pounds out at a time, getting it into a recycled plastic grocery bag and putting it in our trash. Can't do too much each week because the can would be too heavy for trash men to lift easily. This job is REALLY baby steps. I am almost done and will have a LOT of pounds to post. 3 month flybaby in Massachusetts

I found 6 containers of 23 year old cross country ski wax in my nightstand. My husband hasn't gone skiing since before we were married - 21 years ago. - Flybaby in Michigan

Hey Flycrew I am so excited. This is my third super fling boogie. My husband and I cleaned out our garage last weekend and I wouldn't let him take the truck to the dump until today so I could post the pounds. I am happy to report that we threw out 410 pounds of JUNK!. That doesn't count the Hot Tub that will be going ASAP. The pump has been out on it for the last three years. Being a typical SHE, I wanted to keep it because I just knew that we would get it fixed someday soon. We really enjoyed it when it worked. For the last three years it has been taking up space and became a huge catch all and fire hazard in our garage. You guys are all a true blessing for God. Happy New Year Ks. Flybaby

After thoroughly raking and sweeping under a shelf unit in the garage I looked through the pile of dust paper etc. and found a pair of "Alf" size 2 underwear. The weird thing is my grandsons are now 19 and 18. Fair Oaks grandma ca.

Hi FlyCrew-- This isn't that weird, but it's funny how long I had it for how insignificant a thing it is. While decluttering my office, I found a grocery receipt from the local grocery store...from 1992. That wouldn't be too strange, except that I've moved eleven times since then--including once clear across the country, and back again, to the same town in which I originally got the receipt. I decided to keep it in my control journal, as a reminder of what a clutterhound I used to be, and could easily become again. Thanks to all of you for your guidance--it has been just what I needed. -A Flykid in Ithaca, New York

Dear FlyCrew: Not sure if this is weird, but we finally flung our 1991 Ford Escort!!!!! The car has been sitting in our driveway since it died last March. I won't tell you how many times I almost hit it as I backed out of the garage. We called the local Catholic Charity who happily took it off our hands.

Hi, I am not sure that these are weird but I keep finding "future gifts" that I have stuck back. I bought these things because they were on sale because the first years of my marriage were lean financially and I always had to look for bargains--especially for gifts. Then I hit on the idea of stockpiling gifts and having them when I needed them. You guessed it--the person that I needed a gift for often didn't need what I had but more often than not, I forgot that I had gifts stored.

So I am gathering them all up and taking them to a belated Christmas exchange (was snowed out) and letting everyone pick from them umwrapped. I will continue with other friends and family until all are given away and will donate the rest. I will then trust God that the money will be there when I need to buy gifts. I am feeling lighter already. Thank you Fly Crew. I want to live in the present--not past or future. Flybaby in North Carolina

A 1987 Cadillac Brougham, a 1986 Toyota Corolla, and a full-size upright piano, a studio upright piano and a grand piano... all GONE from San Pedro, CA... that's about three tons right there !! YAY !!

FlyCrew, While decluttering my four year olds bedroom, I found a tooth (she hasn't lost any yet) in her desk. To top it off, it had a filling in it, which means it was a molar from my ten year old, who claims to have lost it several months ago. Noone has any idea how it ended up in the youngest childs desk, and I am not sure I want to know! Flybaby in Nebraska

FlyCrew Surprise!

Welcome back! It is time for your second FlyCrew Surprise! This time, find THREE things that are to the LEFT of your computer that belong in the trash. You can do this even if you are at work - hee hee!

Quick, go, go, go. We will be here when you get back!

Let me know what you find. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put "toss2" in the subject line.

Hi FlyCrew! I decluttered a sharps container that held used sharps from when I had to administer medication to myself during my pregnancy. I returned it to the lab to dispose of properly. My "baby" will be two years old next month! It was something that had always nagged at me when I opened the bathroom closet, now I can smile! - in Brimfield, Massachusetts

My dd had braces 6 years ago. Came upon her "molds" (plaster imprints of her teeth before braces). Doctor had told me to keep them to show how the braces had helped her. Maybe to justify the big fee? Didn't even unwrap them, just tossed. Can look at her wonderful smile now if I need any proof that they worked. In WV

The little metal "key" we had to use everyday to adjust the bone spreader implanted in my mouth (for 6 months) when I was twelve! I'm now thirty five!!! Why did my Mom save it? Did she think my jaw would shrink back? Iiiiit's outtaheeeeeah! Baltimore County Flybabe

A surgical boot. About 15 years ago, I broke my ankle and wore a surgical boot. 15 YEARS AGO! I finally realized that if I do break my foot again, they will give me another one. LOL

I decluttered 25 lbs of pennies that DH had been saving for over 10 years. It was nearly $50. :-) Flybaby in Indiana

Legal paperwork and all the back up documents for a restraining order against an Ex. It was issued in 1998 and expired in 2001. We're talking 4" tall stack of paper in a box of other files from that time. I've moved on from that issue and in fact had a burning of the paper I carried in my purse three years ago. Now the rest is gone! Goodbye bad Karma! Cracking out of my cocoon of clutter, San Diego FLYlarva

Hi FlyCrew, My very first and weird items decluttered are seven Boy's Life magazines. What's weird about it is my son hasn't been in the Boy Scouts in over three years! Toss Toss Toss!

Hi FlyCrew! What a way to start the new year! I helped my SIL (a single mom with a full time job) declutter her daughters' bedroom. It took us FOUR hours to do one small room, but it is DONE! The girls now have a place for their toys (about 1/4 of what they had before), a place for their easel and art supplies, storage under their beds and best of all, a closet that can be opened without a fear of a clothing avalanche! We filled up every inch of my cargo van with items to be given away, plus 30 contractor bags of TRASH to the dumpster!

The weirdest (or perhaps the grossest) item we found was a used diaper...my nieces are 4 and 6 and haven't worn diapers for a LONG time! YUCK! The room looks (and smells) so much better now! The girls are on vacation with their father; we can't wait to see how they like their "new room" when they return! THANK YOU for the motivation and inspiration! Ohio fly baby

FlyCrew, My weirdest declutter item so far: A dowel in the trunk of my car. Quite a long one, perfectly intact. Beats me what it was doing there, what it was originally for/from, or how long it had been hiding (probably since last March, which is the last time I cleaned out my trunk). My equally cluttered 10 y/o son immediately coveted it (as did I, truthfully, even though I have no clue what I'd do with it). But I was firm (with both of us), and out it went. If, for some reason, I ever remember why I had a dowel, I can always buy another one. In the meantime, though, it's one less goofy thing to find a home for!! Metro DC Flybaby

In the processes of a fling My sweet cousin and I conquered the depths of darkness beneath the bed. In our fling we flung a dead mouse who liked like he passed out from exhaustion running the maze of disorganization which was beneath the bed. The Gypsy in Terre Haute, Indiana (note from FlyCrew: there are many dried out critters being found during this superfling!)

I decluttered the top of my fridge. Please realize that I'm not tall enough to see anything that's on it without a stool! It's a hot spot for my husband that I discovered yesterday! These are the items that were hiding up there...(o.k., I can't blame him for ALL of it! ...) 2 mismatched votive holders wax stuck in bottom, 1 half gone sparkly gel candle in a wine glass, 1 bank promo calendar for 2004, 1 piece of black plastic, battery compartment cover off something? 1 clear plastic over-the-door wreath hanger, 1 ziplock bag of school pictures, 4 old photographs of distant relatives, 4 glass coasters with dried flowers inside, 1 recipie for brownies in a jar, 1 invitation to a birthday party in November, 1 mail-in product registration card, 1 one lb bag of window putty, 2 business cards, 1 small paint roller cage, 1 child-made beaded necklace, 1 men's watch with dead batteries, 1 magnetic key holder, 2 Chev1500 truck decals, 1 infant nostril aspirator ("snot sucker!"), 1 pkg wet/dry sandpaper, 1 barbeque lighter, 1 City parks and recreation schedule, 1 cellular phone adapter (for phone no longer owned), 1 shiny plastic exhaust stack for toy truck, 1 blank VHS tape, 1 timer, 2 polished rocks, 1 small spray bottle lens cleaner, 1 cat shaped night light, no bulb, 2 framed picture of the kids, 1 bottle of nail polish hardener, 6 bobby pins, 1 pair of nail clippers, 1 yellow game piece, 1 burnt filament from a halogen light bulb, 1 small brass hook, 1 chain for a pocket watch belonging to FIL, 2 bent straight pins, 1 pencil, 1 roll black electrical tape, 1 2" deck screw, 2 3/4" screws, 2 black plastic hooks off mirrors for towing, 1 plastic gear?? 1 straight razor blade, 2 wooden biscuits (for joinery), 2 AAA batteries, 1 Bernardin snap lid and ring, 1 peanut butter lid

I have to get rid of part of a truck hood. My son, the artist made the rest of it into an interesting frame for a picture, but I still have the outside edges of it. What do I do with it? I don't my usually understanding garbage collector will take it.

I really enjoyed your book. I got it just before Christmas, and it did make a few changes in how we did things. Thankyou so much. I'm from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Ok. This is probably a bit gross for some....but I just flung my first son's umbilical cord clip! He is now 3!!! Don't ask me why I saved it...I don't know....probably the "she" in me! Flybaby from Mass (Note from FlyCrew: you are not alone LOL!)

Hello FlyCrew!!! I have just tossed the weirdest item I have ever seen. I was helping my mom boogie her fridge and there on the bottom shelf in a little medicine bottle was the left over dried remains of my umbilical cord! I just turned 34 on Christmas day.. Not sure why mom was saving it but it has been flung with total embarrassment and no looking back. A couple of fluttering FLY babies in Colorado

Surprise!

You have just read a bunch more weird items. DO you have any of the same items kicking around in your home? Now for this surprise, LOOK DOWN! I am notorious for hiding stuff under my desk. Find three things UNDER your desk or on your floor around your computer that don't belong.

Out they go!

Let me know what you find. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put "toss3" in the subject line.

My weirdest item flung for the first day of the Super Fling Boogie is hot chocolate! Oodles of it! Everyone from here to the end of the earth that I know seems to like giving me hot chocolate as gifts...I don't even really LIKE hot chocolate but they were gifts so I kept the nice little packages in my kitchen...moved them from apartment to apartment....aye! Flybaby in Ontario, Canada

Dear FlyCrew: My husband and I dragged (literally) a huge, rusty fireplace screen with chain mail and the whole bit from our basement and out to the garage. It weighs a tons, is ugly, and most weird, we don't have a fireplace, which means.. it has been in the basement since we bought the house 8 1/2 years ago. NOT ANYMORE!!! Thanks so much for all that the Flycrew does! Ontario Flybaby

1/2 box of at least 4 yr old Freeze pops from my youngest (now 5 1/2) 1st b-day! YUCK! - Fluttering in Sturbridge MA

When I started decluttering our little aquarium, my husband started laughing. He didn't know that the fish will thank me for a cleaner and larger place to live. Now, for the weird thing. About two months ago, our Fiddler crab shed his shell. Shellfish shed like snakes. When they grow, their old shell isn't big enough, so they grow a new one underneath it and then shed the old one. I never took his old shell out of the tank. Today I finally removed it. Granted, it's only a few ounces, but it was a huge weight on me. Every time I went to feed the fish, there was the hollow shell. I can't believe I beat myself up over this garbage. I blessed myself by blessing the fish that I care for. Who knew? Flylady, you did. I can't help thinking that I am shedding my old shell too. I am taking the same idea into every room of our home. I didn't even get resistance from my children. I think they were as relieved as I was to get rid of the broken and unused toys. There is a brand new shining home under this shell of clutter. catching air under my tiny wings, - LA

Although this item isn't weird, I just wanted to share anyway. My dishwasher had quit cleaning dishes for the last week or so. We had FACEd our finances so we were able to purchase a new dishwasher to replace our 18 year old one. My DH wanted to just take the old one out and put it outside to "take later" to the recycling center. I said don't take it out until we are ready to get rid of it cause I didn't want it to clutter our backyard. He took it right out to the truck and we took it to the recycling center that takes old appliances. The other item I decluttered was the flimsy plastic hangers that we have used forever. I put them on nice sturdy plastic ones now. I decluttered enough clothes in my closet to have room for the sturdier type of hanger! Thanks! Flybaby from Champaign, IL

Hi FlyCrew, Hee hee! We flung a 200 lb. 1972 Wurlitzer organ.

The fun part of this story is that we got this fine musical instrument when our neighbors across the street put it out for trash pick-up three years ago. I was talking to a friend on the phone and I looked out the window and saw it, and said to my friend "Wow, there's a big organ out there across the street, I wonder if it works?" And she laughed and said "Who cares, it would never fit in your little house anyway!"

I agreed and for the rest of the day prayed somebody else would stop by and pick it up (we live on a busy road), before my husband (musician) had a chance to see it. Well, he came home, was saying hello to me and our baby, when he looked out the window, did a double-take and said "Holy Cow!*" (*Well, it wasn't "holy cow" exactly) and then "Wonder if that thing works! We should go get it!"

And I said "Where would it fit? And what are you going to do, put it in our van, run an extension cord through the bathroom window and test it out before you drag it into the house and try to find a place for it?" (I'd obviously been thinking about it too much all through the day!)

Well, that's what he did, it worked, and we did manage to house it for quite some time, fairly comfortably, but clutteredly. Today it went to a friend, they have a big house and have people come over to play music all the time. They reported that they've been playing it all day!

Hooray! It's out of my house! - Flying and Flinging in Town Hill, Maine

My husband threw out a Hard Hat Warmer -- I have never seen in wear a Hard hat in the 8 years we have been married. Grand Island, Nebraska

Hi FlyCrew, It's trash night at our house and my husband wanted me to post this as a "weird" decluttered item. A three foot inflatable Lite beer can with sun glasses on and a green hat! He thought that could be pretty weird and I'd have to say I agree with him! Got it from the parents when they moved. My husband said, after it's been hanging in the garage for about 5 years, this annoys me! Out it went! Side note: My husband is 6' 6", so I can see how it annoyed him, he kept hitting his head on it! How's that for weird??? A flybaby in Illinois

Hi FlyCrew, Today I did it! I threw away my 8 year old sons first baby teeth that he lost 2 years ago ( hidden in my underwear draw). And his last premi diaper from when he was born in 1995. Why did I keep them? Flybaby in RI

This is not really "weird", but kind of. Dh and I decluttered under our bed on New Years Day (king size). We flung 15 pairs of slippers, 7 pairs of socks, 7 pairs of my shoes and 30 magazines. It was alot of work by what a refreshing way to start off the New Year!! FlyBaby in Wisconsin

FlyCrew, Recently my husband and I did a 25-fling boogie together while reading "The Courage to be Rich" by Suze Ormond (it is one of the exercises she asks her readers to do) and we flung two jars of TEAT DIP from the bathroom cabinet. Now, before I go any further I should explain that this is a substance used by dairy farmers on their cows, made of lanolin plus some other chemicals to kill germs and whatnot. Why did we have this in our cabinet? Well, my husband's father owns a dairy supply business, and I guess my husband thought it would be good for dry, cracked hands or something. Why did I keep it for 4 years and move it twice??? Because I am breastfeeding and thought it would come in handy? When I have a tube of pure lanolin ointment made for just that purpose? Not to mention all kinds of lotions for the dry hands. Why do we keep this stuff "just in case"? Flybaby in Texas

Surprise!

OK, before you read any further, it is time to LOOK UP! Yup, get rid of three things that don't belong ABOVE your computer. This may be on a shelf, or in a hutch.

Up, out, and away! You are doing great.

Let me know what you find. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put "toss4" in the subject line.

FlyCrew, This evening I was demonstrating the 27 Fling Boogie to my good friend who is visiting me for a few days by singing and dancing around my living room picking up papers and throwing them into a bag for recycling. Well, around item 4 I picked up an envelope from the table next to my door, and did a double take. I was holding a bank envelope with $100 in it which my friend thought she had lost on her trip to my house! Boy, did we have a laugh! ~Fluttering Solo in Philly

A pair of handcuffs! DexH was a bouncer at a nightclub..they've been hangin around for two years. When my kids found them, I knew it was time to FLING! I don't have the key to unlock them...so it could've been a disaster. Thank you Flylady and Crew!! Flybaby in Nevada

a filthy mat that read "Laundry Day is a Breeze" - Louisville, KY

A grapefruit that's been lurking in the back of one of the fridge drawers for more than a year. Scary thing is that it's a little shriveled, but not moldy! ---Bemused in MS

I have had de-cluttering the laundry room on my to do list since Oct. thanks for the nudge to get it done. the wierdest thing: old blankets we received for our wedding almost 33 years and 6 children ago. Socks that no one claims, only one child left at home. One porcelain throne, replaced 3 weeks ago. Throw pillows, I don't even know where they came from.

Hi FlyCrew, This may not sound weird, but it was for us. It was 15mts of POOL FENCE that weighed a ton! The thing is, we have never owned a pool, there has never been a pool on our block, but we ended up with a fence for it anyway! Regards - in Aus

OK FlyCrew...........I have just begun my journey with you and today I am in a closet looking for 27 items to dispose of............not a problem, believe me. I ran across a corsage box with 12 silk flower corsages from weddings I have sung at. Not only are they ugly and old but many are smashed from being in the box. Do you think I will be needing them in the near future ... or distant future, for that matter? WEIRD. - from Camanche, IA

I found a number of little metal foil discs my husband had cut from the top of wine bottles before pulling the cork. He's been tossing them in the drawer with the foil cutter and the pulled corks. Boogied without hesitation. Plano, Tx

Maxi Pads (unused) from 1988!!!! They were in a little purse I had stashed away in a hope chest after returning from a class trip to Paris in high school. The plane tickets were in there too, so that's how I was able to date the maxi pads, in case you're wondering :) FLYing in the Crown of Maine

DH and I moved into our first house in June thanks to having to FACE our finances. When we moved in, DH found feminine wipes (unpackaged) that belonged to the woman that lived here before. He then placed them on my side of the medicine cabinet "incase [I] wanted to use them." No thankyou. They're unsanitary. They've sat there in the cabinet and I look at them every day and think about how there is no way I'm using them and why weren't they thrown out when we moved in?? Today, 6 months later, they are gone!!! Surrey, British Columbia

12 gift boxes with no matching top/bottom, 2 scanners that do not work with the computer I have (the same exact scanners) and computer software books for software that was obsolete before my son (14) was born.

Idecluttered 30 pounds of unwanted Christmas decorations that I felt compelled to put out every year. This year, instead of packing them up with the negative feelings of "I don't even like this" I have donated them. What a relief!

The weirdest thing I decluttered yesterday was our chandelier over our dining room table. We moved into our house almost 3 years ago. The chandelier was the ugliest light I have ever seen. I never did replace it because I thought they were expensive and I thought it would just be too difficult to put up. Well just so happen before Christmas I decided I could not stand the light more and it was really embarrassing. I went shopping to see if I can find a light. Out of amazing I didn't realize they were some very pretty lights very reasonable price . Well yesterday I purchased a very pretty light and my handyman 16 year son put it up less than an hour. My family looking after it was completed and started laughing and asking why did we wait for so long. It show if a person just plan ahead, I could had this a long time ago. I just didn't know the price would be so reasonable. - in Arkansas

Our credit cards!!! Our total debt: $23,000 flung! Yeeee-hawwww! Value of flying debt-free? Priceless! Thank you fly-crew! -Flying high over Texas skies

Dear FlyLady, I decided to clear out my dinning room buffet. The things I found that shouldn't have been there was amazing...old letters, shoe polish, holy water, a flower from my brother's wedding in 1984!!! But the one thing I had to laugh about was a bottle. A bottle from my "try to be Martha Stewart period." It was filled with Vodka and vanilla beans. It was to age a "FEW" months and become vanilla. I was efficient enough to be a piece of tape and mark the date... 11-9-1990. That few "months" turned into 13 and 1/2 YEARS! It smells like vanilla, but I don't know about the alcohol! ;) Flying in fewer "circles" in Buffalo, NY

OK, for some reason I have been hanging on to a broken knob for a window unit air conditioner that I no longer have! Not that the pieces took up much space, but what on earth was I going to do with them? - in Baton Rouge, LA

A nasty looking halgogen lamp that has been sitting in my guest room closet for three years-yeeeeesh! As I could hear the garbage truck in the neighborhood, I wildy looked around the kitchen for more things to throw out on the curb. I have been a flybaby for a year, my husband laughed and said, "don't throw me out!"

My DH did a fabulous job of cleaning up the basement. Since we have been doing the Super Flings for a couple of years, dryer lint no longer qualifies as a weirdest item for us. So I asked him if he had unearthed any weirdest items, and he said "No, not unless you consider these." And he turned to me holding the little stumps cut off of three past Christmas trees. I asked him what he was saving them for, and he said he was saving them until he decided what he could do with them. I said we couldn't submit them as weirdest items unless they were actually decluttered, so into the trashbag they went! Flybaby from University City, Missouri

This evening (Sat evening 1/3) DH and I were putting ALL the Christmas decoration boxes in the attic, and decided to throw out some large boxes old computers and old audio equipment had come in. We still have some of the stuff but the warranties ran out a decade or more ago! Anyway, INSIDE the boxes we found evidence of mice nesting long ago, and also I decluttered a very dead squirrel from the attic. (Probably got in thru the vent and the cat killed it). Also put in the donation pile a bag with about 60 children's clothing hangars ( I never used to throw any hangars out that I got when buying something, no matter how junky). We got about 50 pounds of old clothes, recycle stuff, trash, and donation stuff out of the house tonight and it feels GREAT! - in Virginia

I finally let go of the shirt my husband bought on our honeymoon over 14 years ago. It still looks wonderful (cream colored cordory shirt from Carmel Calif). He would of sent it packing ages ago, but I loved the memories attached to it. So, it will be in our local Salvation Army, hopefully blessing someone new. I don't need the shirt to keep the memory alive. Thanks, Flying in BC

Hi! I recently cleaned out one of my kitchen drawers which I store all those odds and ends.. I threw out all of my daughters bottle teats which I was planning on keeping for when she had children of her own. Instead I took a photo of it and placed in ehr scrapbook album. - Redbank, Queensland, AUSTRALIA

Surprise!

OK, we have gone to the left, the right, up, and down. Now, turn your chair around and look behind you. Find three things that don't belong. Don't think too hard about this. Just toss, toss, toss!

Let me know what you find. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put "toss5" in the subject line.

My weirdest item (so far) is a bag of slivered almonds I boogied from my pantry. They expired last January! The weird part is...I didn't buy it, and we didn't even live in this house last January! A friend was moving (last spring) and let all of the neighbors come over and take all her unused food and cleaning products. I took expired food, and then hung on to it for over 6 months! Weird. Flybaby (and military spouse) on Okinawa

2 cars DH car died donated to the American Lung Association-help kids for camp DD car coded and so we put a DNR order on it at the mechanics and bless the Dear Car Dealer he gave us something for it and it helped with the downpayment on new car First time to Fling-Smiling flybaby Illinois

I have gotten rid of a broken bathroom door that has been in the washroom for about 1 year. - from columbus ohio

Hmmmmm the weirdest item decluttered... 6 boxes of empty butter tubs from my basement. My grandmother was saving them for something years ago. Also 2 joint compund buckets that had dirt in them. ????? - in NE Ohio

The weirdest thing I tossed in the super fling was 19 pair of maternity panties. Ironically my baby is 19 years old! Teehee!

I got rid of 4 rolls of “emergency” toilet paper. You see, my Father In Law brought home a case of it 3 years ago and gave us 4 rolls for just in case. Since I’ve been flying we’ve never been out of nice soft toilet paper and have never even had to think about the sandpaper like paper he gave us. - Sydney Australia

I know, I know...Don't need any lectures about safety! I'm hanging my head. But found in my garage...a can of lye inside a plastic bag. Don't know what happened, but the can had exploded. Thank goodness it was inside a bag! Also, no weight here, but lots of volume~two garbage bags full of those styrofoam peanuts used to stuff extra space when you mail packages. And a Xmas tree. Now that isn't odd, but the odd thing is that ours is the *only* Xmas tree out on the whole block (our city picks up with the trash). I'm just wondering where all the other Xmas trees on our street are hiding?

I just donated a Karate Uniform that I used for three months when I was 11 (16 years ago), three dresses from high school formals complete with matching shoes, and my graduation gown (you know, the cap and gown, but heaven knows what happened to the cap). Flybaby from Madera, California!

am really flinging hard this time. I’m having a baby in July and moving to my new house in April so I am trying to eliminate all that I can before I have to move and before I get too large to do anything. So far, we’ve flung old firewood, roofing shingles and plywood, yard timbers, wire fencing, old puzzles that we never framed or displayed We donated a load of stuff including old gifts I accumulated and didn’t want to get rid of because I felt it would hurt people’s feelings, a car air filter (sold car 4+yrs ago), old light fixtures (took down when we put in fans in our current home – 1997), and 4 ashtrays (quit smoking in 1999), plus normal STUFF. I’m working on a new load now. There’s no guessing what I’ll find next… - Greenville, SC

Six cans of clearance cat food. I have hung onto them through three or four other Super Flings. Why is this weird? I have no cats! I love them but I’m deathly allergic to them. I bought these cans because it was “such a good deal”, probably a year ago, intending to give them to one of my friends with cats. She’s since moved and has no more cats. The food is still not expired so now the local no-kill shelter will get it...TOMORROW ! - Flying and gleefully decluttering in Michigan

Today I had a very productive day of decluttering and when it was through I asked my DH so how many pounds of junk do you think we cleared out of here? He responded oh maybe 500! You see today I got rid of two broken down dryers an old washer and cleaned out the garage! Sincerely - In New Mexico

I dejunked lots of stuff, and what's weird is that at school, where I had already dejunked before a classroom move last May, I found this much junk! Stuff I blessed other teachers, students, and St. Vincent de Paul with included: a whole box of crayons (& I teach 9th grade, & not art), a scarlet macaw tail feather, a Jello mold shaped like the USA, a plush purple monster that dances and sings, a pink ball that answers questions (like the old 8 ball with a little glass window), a radio, a briefcase, index cards, gradebook and planner filler pages, books I don't use anymore (lost count of how many), a dozen empty binder notebooks, a trophy, Chinese macrame, a whole box of pens (that do write), toy food in a real Tupperware, a pencil box, a cosmetics case, nail polish, a planner, 2 desk blotter/calendars (current year!), drawer dividers galore, posters, division practice cards, baskets & boxes, notebook paper, bulletin board border, markers, colored pencils, masking tape, calculators, 2 electronic organizer/translators, . . . each day I try to pick at least 1 more thing to bless someone else with.

The weirdest thing I've decluttered so far was my 15-year-old plaster cast of my teeth--the dental impression my dentist made when I got my first crown all those years ago. Why did I keep it? Because my dentist told me to! Why? I have no idea, since he never mentioned it or used it again. Then again, his office was crowded with little gifts and decorations made by grateful patients--maybe he needed to become a Flybaby too. Thanks to you, I'm slowly chipping away at the mounds of things I "need" to keep--thank you thank you thank you!!!

Two plastic "christmas" liquid soap pump containers. One in the form of a drummer boy and the other an angel. Both gifts from my mother-in-law, both never used and one was at least three years old. FlyBaby from MD

Ok I got on another energy high and decided to tackle the corner of the living room where my childrens toy box was overflowing. You wouldn't believe the things I found....matches to shoes, matches to socks that are lurking in my sock basket, missing silverware(yikes), and I got rid of 3 13 gallon bags full of broken, worn out, and chewed up(by the dog) toys. Amazingly--the toys all fit inside the toybox and I can now close the lid. THANK YOU FLYlady for the superfling boogie and giving me the ambition to get this clutter out of our lives!!!!! - NE OHIO

Surprise!

How is the area around your computer looking? On my desk, I have a real problem with pens and pencils - they are all over the place. So, for this Surprise, gather all those pens, pencils, markers, and put them where they belong. Get rid of the ones that don't work and the ones you hate using.

This is starting to get fun! Out, out, and away!!!!!!

Let me know what you find. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put "toss6" in the subject line.

Dear Flylady and Co, This Super-fling couldn't have arrived at a better time. I have been in the process for the past few months of "super-flinging" my entire house for a move upcoming this month. We are military and are only allowed so much weight, so the more I fling, the better. I was doing my Super-fling Boogie yesterday in my basement (the dungeon). I found over 25 pumpkins (you know the kind that the kids carry around for treats at Halloween) and probably and equal amount of Easter baskets. Thiis is weird, as I only have 3 children! I know how it happens, each year relatives give the kids candy in the buckets or baskets for the holidays and I keep them *just incase I'd like to do a craft with them.* Well, no longer! Last Easter I gave each one of my Brownie Girl Scouts an Easter basket to take home after we had an Easter Egg hunt at our meeting. I had 15 girls! So if I flung 25 baskets and gave away 15 baskets to my troop, I had about 40 Easter baskets. Yikes! Flying Fast in Maryland

Dear FlyLady- I got rid of 3 carloads of stuff, among which was a harley davidson barstool that sat in the corner of my bedroom and acted as a laundry pre-wash stop-off. Flybaby in Amarillo, TX

Being a newbie to Flylady, it is difficult for me to "declutter" however, I did come across something while cleaning out my dresser...you know those breast pads that go inside your bra to avoid leaks while breast feeding? Well, I found a stack of those way back in one of the drawers. Funny thing is that I never breastfed! They were given to me and forgot about! They have now been flung! Fluttering in FL

One chewed up paper plate with ribbons hanging from it. This was my rehearsal bridal bouquet. My cat likes to eat paper, and apparently I hadn't gotten to putting the bouquet away for 'safe keeping' fast enough, so he munched a bit LOL I tossed it away except the three large bows made of curling ribbon. Since I buy this stuff regularily, I'm saving myself a bit of money :) (Also tossed out the box that was housing these items, which also included three colored paper napkins, shriveled, dried up balloons, pieces of streamer, and three paper wedding bells. I tossed out the one that had dried FOOD on it, but gave the other two to 2 1/2 yr old DD to play with til she mangles 'em :) The funny thing is, all this time that this box was taking space up on my mantel, I thought it was a collection of drinking glasses DH was saving LOL UGH!!! Madison, WI

The weirdest thing I've decluttered is a punchbowl from my wedding! I've hung onto it for more than half a decade even though it was UGLY & everytime I saw it, I wanted to get rid of it but didn't because it was one of the bowls used at our wedding! How silly! I have more important memories of that day. Now if I can just let go of the leftover napkins...

A huge hard drive from 1987 that is 2'x 4' x 3'- dh has finally given up some of his computer parts that are of dinosaur age. He really could open a computer museum, showing the development of technology. This is the first baby step for him. Flying and flinging in CA.

I decided to throw out (donate to charity) my turtlenecks. I realized that I really hate wearing them. It seems like something you're *supposed* to want to wear in the winter, but I realized today as I was going through my closet that I avoid wearing them. They're uncomfortable and not very flattering to someone like me with a short neck. I'm trusting that God will provide me with warm, comfortable, flattering winter clothing and bless someone else with my turtlenecks. Someone who will smile when she wears them. Flybaby in Southern Illinois

Hi, FlyCrew! I have just flung eight, count ‘em, EIGHT plaster castings of animal tracks left over from a sixth grade science project (two years ago) that have been “adorning” the front porch of my home. While one woman’s trash may be another’s treasure—these are definitely TRASH!!! Chirping in Missouri

Vegetable gardening is my hobby, and I grow vegetables every year -- in the ground, not in pots. But I've always thought that if I DID grow anything in a pot I would need that little chip of pottery to put in the bottom of my pots to keep the dirt from flowing out with the extra water. So I saved broken clay pots from all sources -- just in case! Today I decided to weigh and fling -- I've just flung 60 LBS. of broken clay pots!! - in East Hampton

Yesterday we pulled out about 300 pounds of late 70's carpet from our family room. You know, orange/brown/ yellow in bold geometric patterns, and so well-used that the foam backing underneath it was ground to powder. We replaced it with fresh new carpet which makes the room look far brighter and bigger, with the bonus that it's easy to see all those little bits of Lego and save my feet! -Altona, Manitoba, Canada

Dear FlyCrew, I'm a new flybaby, turned on by a friend who saw me crossing out my resolution to get it together once and for all since I thought it was hopeless. She sent me to you. Anyway, yesterday I flung----my piano! Picked up at a thrift store for a "song," it has sat unplayed in my very small living room for years, inducing guilt every time I passed through. It is now in my best friend's daughter's new apartment. She's a first-year music/piano/song teacher and is probably playing it right now. I have a beautiful white space of peace. Thank you! - in Maine

Hi FlyCrew This summer we started picking ticks off the dog and saving them in a jar of alcohol. (tick disposal is really tough, they survive anything including flushing so we read about alcohol on a tick control website) Anyway there are about 120 ticks in this jar which has been sitting on a shelf of a bookcase in our bedroom since last spring. (the total climbing all the time) Anyway, we were thinking it would be interesting to do something scientific with them (homeschool family) but today I decided to just boogie it into the trash. so much for science! and getting rid of a truly ugly jar of bugs and dog hair in alcohol! (you can imagine how it added to the romantic atmosphere in our bedroom) - Lil Fly in VA

Last Surprise!

This is a general all purpose surprise... look across your desk or the area around your computer. Is there anything else that doesn't belong? Out it goes. You need this space for productive work and fun, not for clutter! Enjoy the space. You did fanstastic!

Catch you later this week on weirdest items #2! We will be going into a "dungeon"! YIKES!

Let me know what you find. Send an email to FlyCrew@flylady.net and put "toss7" in the subject line.

Hi FlyCrew, this may not be very weird to some but my DH (supreme packrat of electronics) just got rid of a box of wires and coax he pulled off of a project he made 40 years ago. (about 20 lbs of wires). They were attached to a 15” X 68” bi-fold type door which he used as a table top (they were attached under it). This “door” is now mounted on the wall as a shelf to store things like light bulbs. - in Iowa

A 35 year old chair with the uphostery rotting off it from the sun...it was my parents before they had me! Also an entire rubbermaid container (yes, the big kind) full of "extra" socks that's been in my bedroom for 3 years, a sleeper sofa and changing table that was my MIL's for her kids!

I thought that tossing out my dental retainer from high school was weird enough. I haven't use the retainer since 1975. Then, I found the envelope containing the four bicuspids that had to be pulled so I could get my braces. I haven't used those teeth since 1972. Somehow I doubt I'll ever have a use for them again. Starting to "get it" in Michigan

I finally flung Christmas Cards received in 2001 and 2002. 2003 will be going out this week! - Palm City, FL

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