Decluttering 2013, the saga continues ...

debjam

Evening all, I'd like to join in please. I have been reading daily since the beginning of Jan but have been down with the flu that is going around so haven't really been able to do much. Today has been the first day I have actually felt human enough to really do some work.

So today have managed to de-clutter:

Box of oldcardboard and paper – recycling centre
3 pairs boots – (not able to put in charity bag as soles have come off)recycling centre
2 bottlesfryer oil – recycling centre
BrokenLaundry basket – recycling centre
Broken faxmachine - recycling centre
3 pillows –recycling centre
2 empty potsof gloss paint – recycling centre
4 broken computermice – recycling centre
Plasticfront from degu wheel – wheel broken and thrown already - recycling centre

Fax machine was the best result. OH has had it since year dot and it hasn't worked for at least 8 years now but he would not get rid of it. Finally managed to persuade him that is now defunct and will never be needed even if it could be fixed thanks to scanners and email.

Have also had a really good tidy up and found a large bag of clothes for charity shop (which had been hiding in our spare room under other carp) which I have decanted into 6 smaller bags for ease of carrying. Can now also see the beanbag in our front room (was always covered with OH motorbike gear which he would never hang up) and my dining table (again a junk table, embarrasing as it is in our main room).

Sorry for really long post but have to say a big thank you to you all for giving me the energy to get on and do it. Am back to work tomorrow and haven't got a day off now till next Wed but will try to keep up with the reading and have another go next week. Next to tackle is the conservatory and the pile of carrier bags that OH thinks we can use as bin bags(I could keep any supermarket stocked for a good week with what I have here). He can't go into a shop without coming out with a carrier bag or 6 even though I always carry 2 bags for life and we always have crates in the car for food shops.

wendy_ann1983

Well there is just one car load left to get out the exes, the rest is jam packed into an 80ft sq storage unit stacked about 4ft high! Holy moly that's gonna take some serious decluttering!

Goldiegirl

Not much de-cluttering here for the last two days as I've been at work, but I've been pleased with progress generally this month.

I'll update my list over the weekend, but I have two cupboards which are completely clutter free.

I'll continue de-cluttering all over the house, but will also look at areas in depth, so I can have other areas which are clutter free and 'finished'.

We are all doing so well, I'm so pleased to be part of this.

VickyA_2

Good evening everyone :hello:

Well, what a lot of decluttering you've all done. You've really put me to shame, but hopefully I'll catch up this weekend.

However, I've started on my list:
1) 3 books to be returned to a friend who lent them to me.
2) 2 books - CS (books are a major weakness)
3) 3 travel books - return to in-laws tomorrow.

Not much, but better than nothing I hope.

Sue14

Hi all, thanks for your messages of support, really appreciated. My dad seems mostly unaffected by his ordeal, and is very pleased to be home. At the moment I’m trying to keep him from going out, as there is still a lot of ice near where he lives, and I’ve told him not to leave the flat tomorrow if it snows again, he has plenty of food in so has no reason to go out, but he is a free spirit and if he wants to go out he will, lol, you’d hardly believe he’s 87!

I know the transport people are not responsible for dad being sent home the way he was, they just do as they are instructed (although you would think common sense would prevent them from leaving him, if they got him home and they couldn’t get in), the blame lies with the discharging doctor and his team, for not making sure it was safe for him to go home. From what my dad has said, he thought they had informed me he was coming home, and that I would be at his flat when he got there. In one way I’m glad he didn’t have a key to get in, as his flat would have been cold (as I’ve only had the heating on low to stop the pipes freezing while he was in hospital), and he would have been there on his own until I could get there.

I need to get his medication reviewed so the GP will hear all about it as well, and I will be contacting PALS, as advised by the social worker at the hospital, and I have also contacted our MP to ask why it is legal for this to happen, as I know this is not the first time this has happened.

He has some after care, for up to four weeks, and they will be assessing him to see if he will need carers on a more permanent basis, one woman goes in each morning to help him to get washed and dressed, and another each evening to see if he needs anything and to make sure he has something to eat. I read the notes when I went to visit him today, and the one from this morning had put that she’d made him a ham sandwich and he’d insisted on carrying it into the living room himself, saying ‘I’m not completely useless you know!’, I thought ‘that’s my dad’, lol!

TheDoolallyDilly wrote: »

I'm all of a tizz, because I got a phone call asking me for an interview for the job I applied for last week :T:eek:

Good luck with the job interview!

debjam wrote: »

Next to tackle is the conservatory and the pile of carrier bags that OH thinks we can use as bin bags(I could keep any supermarket stocked for a good week with what I have here). He can't go into a shop without coming out with a carrier bag or 6 even though I always carry 2 bags for life and we always have crates in the car for food shops.

My OH is the same, I always have bags with me, but although I put them on the end of the checkout he still picks up carrier bags!

Well on the decluttering front I've not done much, but I did take all my dad's clean washing back to him, so the spare bed is now clear, and I've also sold 2 items on ebay, but will count them when I've posted them.

Lilyplonk

Good morning all :wave: - have the rest of you had snow during the night? Didn't half come down heavy here last night, but had really slowed down by the time I went to bed around 1.30am. We can tell that it's beginning to thaw already - there's none left at all on the trees that were 'heavy-laden' last night but the road still looks treacherous as the snow landed on top of solid, compacted ice from a week ago .

I'm feeling quite lousy, so doubt if any decluttering progress will be made here today - apart from using up my supply of Paracetamol! In fact, I'm heading back to bed shortly as OH has finally surfaced from it - I've got a good book to finish off and I reckon that'll be the best place for me today.

Good Luck at the GP, and with PALS, on Monday, Sue - let's hope that the hospital staff learn a valuable lesson about how to discharge people. I worked in Social Care/Housing Sector before retiring, and it's amazing how many times this kind of thing happened with some of my tenants. Relatives would speak to ward staff and ask to kept up-to-date with arrangements and also reassure the patient that they would 'be there' when they got home. Unfortunately, when it came to the actual moment of discharge it was either a different member of staff on-duty OR nursing staff would ask the patient about arrangements at home and they'd just say 'Oh it's OK, my son/daughter said they'll be there.' Nursing Staff would then think all was well and not double-check by contacting family member to inform of times etc. They also under-estimate how disorientating it can be when in a hospital environment surrounded by unfamiliar people and places.

speak again later, folks - Lilyplonk xxx

DundeeDoll

Whoop whoop i have found my sewing box so will be decluttering that today and making sure it is sensibly filled. Oh the embarrassment yesterday. Doing a ceilidh in a buddhist centre (i'm in the band) and we had to take our shoes off. I was the only one with a hole n her sock. Gonna get ruthless today with the socks. Sun is shining so will take stuff sorted so far to CS.

TheDoolallyDilly

Sue14 wrote: »

Good luck with the job interview!

Thank you - and I'm glad your Dad is none the worse, considering how he was discharged.

Lilyplonk hope you feel better soon, a day in a warm bed with a good book sounds just the ticket.

One more DVD added to the CS bag today. I'm finding it really hard to find stuff to declutter now!

Gers

Am taking some final bits and pieces to the CS this morning and then going to re-re-arrange the remaining stuff.

It's amazing how big a room looks when almost empty and it will look even better once the bed is in.

Have to say it's reading about others' efforts which has kept me going over the past few weeks of chaos so thanks to everyone.

Apart from CS visit I will be doing very little today. I'll be away from home from Sunday to Friday (work) so am going to make the most of a lazy day, apart from packing my case.

Snow is melting so I'm sure I can get my car out of the street.

northern_star

Well the snow is going to keep us in for most of today, so we plan to catch up on some jobs, including further 'sorting' in the spare bedroom. This room has been unusable for months due to the amount of stuff in there but we're chipping away at it and now we can actually see the floor - although there's still some way to go before we get to the point where we can redecorate and reclaim it as a usable space. I've put some heavy duty bin bags in there so we can operate the 3-bag-system (1 for saving in the loft, 1 for binning and 1 for the CS). Hope to be able to report some progress later.