You Will Pay. You Will All Pay.

I'm not a fan of giving parenting advice.
Well, maybe just every now and then. Only when it's asked for, of course.
But outside of that, no, never. I would never impose my opinions on childcare, discipline, nutrition, etc. on anyone. Not me.
Okay, maybe sometimes I like it.

So, here is my only piece of unsolicited advice for the day:

Throw It Away!! (Or you will pay!)

When your child outgrows a piece of clothing don't throw it back into the wash! ("Just so it will be clean when I donate it.") No. You will never donate it. You will wash, dry, and fold it. And then you will put it right back in the drawer where your fashionista daughter will find it and adorn herself with it during her 6 a.m. wardrobe expedition. By 8 a.m. it will litter her floor along with the ten other garments that have absolutely no right to even be in your house anymore. And they're cluttering up your happy place!! The nerve! This WILL repeat until finally you are drowning in outgrown clothes, and then you will spend days sorting through it all.

So, what you need to do is this: somewhere--don't ask me where--in your filled-to-the-brim home find a corner. (A corner the fashionista will not find.) In that corner, place a bag. A trash bag. The Force Flex kind. And when you come across a piece of clothing that will most likely--yes, there's still a chance, there's always a chance--never be worn again, you prance your little behind to that bag and put it in. I know, I know. I've never heard of such a cold, heartless thing to do. To just throw it out without even a second thought? No, my dear, because this is where second thoughts get you:

Before you know it you're spending an eeennnnnttttiiiiiirrreeee weekend sorting through clothes. Just clothes. 80% of it was worn only a handful of times, and what a burden it all turns out to be.
You know, you feel like you're being wiser for keeping this shirt or those pants around "just in case." But in the end they just clutter up the place and drain the livin' daylights out of the Blessed Housekeeper who works day and night to make sure that her happy place is indeed her happy place!

The FlyLady exclaims that you cannot organize clutter. I claim that exclamation right now! You cannot organize unnecessary clothing. It makes absolutely no sense, and so you just toss it in the drawer and pray it will disintegrate. (And it doesn't by the way. It spawns!)

So, yeah, I'm sorting this week.