Very clever! I guess something in me just felt it was wrong to rip apart a book (of any sort) so I have kept all those multilanguage mauals intact. I think it is time to get-to-tearing ;-)

What a good idea! I keep my receipts/manuals the same way, and my instruction manual bag is bursting at the seams. Time to downsize :)

I just received a CD player that had a pile of operator manuals, that were in every language you could imagine. I tossed all but English.

I have a file for most of them, but the ones directly related to the entertainment center in the den all go in a ziplock inside the entertainment center. That includes the TV, DVD player, VCR, stereo, etc.

Then kitchen items go in the kitchen in a drawer. It really helps, when I need to do something, to have the instructions at my fingertips.

I always check to see if the manual is available online. If it is, I download it and toss the paper copy.

Just last week I threw out three telephone instruction books. Did you guess I only have one phone at a time? (That means I had four books). Also the instruction book of the old dishwasher in the kitchen,which was came with the house when we bought it in 1981 and was thrown out when we renovated in 1987. By the way,if you lose an instruction book, most companies either have them available online or will mail you a paper one for free. This happened with my daughter's apple I-pod.

I too cull out the irrelevant manuals. I punch holes in them or keep them in plastic sheet protectors in

Mustangs, I am so jealous. That is as organized as anything I've seen lately.

What do you put in the finances and the idea books? How are they organized?

Thank you Marie.
Mustangs Finances is to manage accounting for our youth organization (www.tampamustangs.com). Thank goodness as we got audited last year.
Financial Reports is for our personal 401k and other savings statements.
Idea Book is for decorating and entertaining ideas or vendor brochures that I have clipped from magazines or gotten from the many home shows that I have gone to.

Wow, Mustang, that photo is so impressive!
I want to look at that at my house! It encouraged me, thanks!

Thank you for your positive remarks SunFlower. I enjoy organization but perhaps I have obsessions with symmetry and order! Surprisingly, I do get snide remarks both in person and on the forums, that is one reason why I have stopped posting and mostly lurk.

You will really appreciate my

I see evidence of a P-touch labeler!!

Mustangs, where'd you get those spice bottles? They don't look familiar to me. (in fact, I went to see if you lived in a different country than me, bcs often the coolest-looking packaging comes from another land)

Mustangs, now I have serious spice drawer and laundry room envy! I'd love it if my house were that orderly. Maybe when the kids go back to school I'll tackle my kitchen and laundry area again. Aside from the kid's rooms, those two spaces seem to fall into the most disarray at my house. In the meantime, your pics are inspiring :)

OT - does anyone know why the random green double-underlines keep popping up in the posts? Or is it just my computer?

Mustangs: Spice drawers are beauty!! I now remember seeing your laundry room before on either laundry forum or building forum. And at that time I was encouraged too!!lol.
Please keep posting, especially photos!! I need a help in the closet....!!

TS, Your eye for detail is amazing. You are correct, I got the spice bottles in Italy for .50 each. They were filled with a spice that I didn't recognize but no matter, I poured out the spice as not to have any issues with customs, I was only interested in the bottles. Yes, the P-Touch is my friend.

Sheri, Don't beat yourself up. If I still had kids at home, there wouldn't be the level of organization that I now enjoy. The underlined wordscolor> are advertising. You can "opt out", which I did, but I see they are back. Perhaps you have to "opt out" weekly.

Sunflower, Thank you for the comments.

Wait until you see Mustang's impressive collection of gadgets.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tie your jaw closed first

Mustangs, I am always looking for new gadgets (my downfall) but have never even seen some of yours. Where did you find all of these?

Marie, In my travels.

Lest you think I arbitrarily take pictures of my gadgets--Jessica didn't mention that we had a Cooking Forum get together in Michigan last week and I was in charge of the party game (Name That Gadget). I posted pictures so those who couldn't make it to the get together could participate virtually.

(busted!!!)

Oh, well now all becomes clear! Mustangs, that spice drawer is a thing of beauty, and you know I've always liked your laundry room. I only wish you had pictures of the food item and what it looks like after ''gadget use''! I'm particularly intrigued by the wavy sandwich cutter...and the popcorn kernel separator cracks me up, although I can see how it might be useful if you're doing something with that popcorn.

Cooking for a family of six everyday, I'd have to be filling those small containers up every week! Sigh. I'm really looking forward to an empty nest but I have a long ways to go.

I keep a hanging file folder of manuals and New Years Day has become my traditional weed-out day. Nothing to do and the house seems quiet.

I never thought of getting rid of the non-English pages. I do get rid of manuals on things which I will just end up replacing if there is a problem and I know how to use. Coffee maker, iron, etc.

Gloria

Mustangs -- I am completely in awe of your organizational skills -- really wonderful!!

You should give classes in organization!

Thanks Teacats, but you haven't seen my garage.

Just today I ordered built-in cabinetry for the garage because the walls are closing in...again. Thanks to this forum, two years ago, I got my car in the garage for the first time ever. I even had to practice since I had never parked a car in a garage.