2019 - A Clutter Free Life

bit_by_bit

Just back from Reading Festival. I decluttered a lot of calories walking from the furthest camping area (cos we got put in the overflow with our campervan). The walk between some stages was long too. We managed 7 -8 miles a day. It was too hot to eat a lot and we shared a cup of beer between us.

In fact you could actually make money litter picking. 10p a plastic bottle and 10p a cup. Free water was on tap all day and night but people were buying small bottles for £2.50. Mad. If I was younger or cooler I would have been collecting them myself to pay for my next visit in a few years time.:o

I usually pick up a tent or two and other camping stuff for free on the Monday morning but this time we left early so NO recluttering. Yay. Another decluttering win. :T:T:T

Anyway, I would like to report that on the way we dropped of a nasty pouff I was saving for a project and never did and a bag of electrical items to the tip.:)

Catcrazy

104- pair of trousers back to shop.
And (does this count)
£12 back in my pocket ,😚

CEW

Full weekend update. I didn't get as much done as I had hoped to. It was just too hot to work all the time but I did manage to send Mum home with a full car :T Some of it was shopping but a lot was items I was donating to a friend of hers who does work for various charities. Anything I donate to her will be sold on or used in one way or another.

I didn't keep a full list as I stopped counting but from memory

1 suitcase
1 dressing gown
2 t-shirts
1 fleece
5 (at least) jumpers
3 jogging bottoms
4 candle holders
3 candles
1 handbag
20+ notebooks
3 rulers
1 German language tape
8+ wicker baskets
50+ items of stationary
1 photo frame
2 pairs of knitting needles
3 balls if wool
Various ornaments and odds and s0ds
Various items of toiletries
Various cleaning and household products
4 odd dinner knives
24 piece cutlery set
20 plastic tubs with lids
3 training DVD's
1 brand new photo album that although I love it I know I will never use it. I've had it about 15 years or more :eek:

That's all I can remember at the moment but in addition to this I have sorted through my cleaning product and toiletries stashes and those I didn't want to keep that were not suitable for donation were disposed of.

Not so bad really and I do have a few things to start off the next batch to be shipped out which will be in 2 weeks time. This includes a washing basket, a bedside cabinet, a chest of drawers and a large amount of coat hangers.

Sorry for the long post but it has made me realise that I have achieved more than I thought I had :j

Hope every one had a great bank holiday weekend whether decluttering or not

nannywindow

Decluttered the front and side hedges . Unfortunately I have recluttered with the green waste that we have taken off . I would dearly love to dig them all up and replace with fencing, but that will have to wait til next year now

Found some old carpet in the garden, think it was laid as a weed suppressant. Some of it has been cut up and disposed of, but there is some left that is really wet and muddy, so we will wait til it dries off before it goes anywhere near the car for a tip trip :eek:
Hope everyone has had a good day
nan xx
TC77 don't tell my DH about your DIY stuff or he'll snaffle them :rotfl:

Fire_Fox

Your Tour de Wales sounded delish Mrs Salad Dodger! :drool:

No clutter has left the building this week: inexcusable because there are several easy wins to be had. Very slow but steady progress towards my other goals to report.

Have been haemorrhaging money for the last eight weeks with no end in sight. However all the 'big ticket items' - appliances/ furniture/ tradesmen/ service charges - were long expected and savings long earmarked.

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I have been trying to reverse seven years of neglect of my flat (repairs/ maintenance/ decluttering/ cleaning) linked to mental health, low income and, increasingly, physical health issues.

Decluttered £££ on two vertical electric radiators (10% off BH) as agreed with the electrician. Buyers remorse: where on earth am I going to store them until they are fitted?! :rotfl: And will they look too tall and too thin?? My track record visualising 3D bulk is poor.

My support worker is sourcing replacements for my undercounter freezer and refrigerator. This will free up floor space because the old fridge door has to be barricaded shut, :eek: and because the ancient freezer is currently in the living area, where one of the new radiators is to be located.

Electrician is provisionally booked for two days next month, to overhaul the lighting (££) and heating (£) in half of the flat. If all goes to plan the Furry One and I should have a more comfortable Winter compared with last year, and that was more comfortable than the Winter before. :T

Fire_Fox wrote: »

No children, but a little cat who now needs more home comforts (osteoarthritis).

Decluttered £ to our vet on Wednesday. The pet equivalent of the 'lunchtime facelift' out and home in under an hour!
- Fresh bottle of prescription anti-inflammatory: her tail end looks well groomed again :j
- Copy of her medical notes: hoping to start veterinary acupuncture (££) at a different practice.

Yet another online order to replace the cat's pheromone plug-in diffuser and carrier door (both damaged), a third brand of fish/ salmon oil for her joints (dislikes the first two).

Sited the Furry One's sheepskin mat in a spacious corner under one of the new sideboards. This should discourage me from using this area [STRIKE]for clutter[/STRIKE] as storage. Slept upon several nights already.

bit_by_bit

I forgot to add earlier. I took a carrier bag of crisp packets to work last week. they are recycling them and get about a penny each via Warkrs crisps.:j This is doubly good. I don't eat a lot of crisps bud DD does and DH wants some in the house at all times even when DD is at uni.

We are rethinking our shopping when she goes back to change our habits so hopefully there will be less recycling anyway.

greenbee

You're a bit far away Fire Fox, which is a pity, as I have a spare under counter fridge and freezer sitting in the garage...

Getting heating and lighting sorted out for the winter is a great idea. I've gradually been more comfortable every year I've been here, but progress has slowed this year, so I really need to bite the bullet and get the kitchen done.

I cleared the last of the bits of tree from the drive (they've probably been there for over 18 months now, as the majority of them were split last summer). Log stores are now full, bits are in buckets for kindling, bark is in a wire basket by the compost to dry out. Three logs that refuse to split either with an axe or the hydraulic splitter have joined the pile for the firepit.

I also sorted out the gardening gloves, threw away the odd ones and the worn out ones, and tidied them up.

I'm hoping someone will be coming to remove some furniture at some point, but they've been going to turn up for ages, so I won't hold my breath...

oceanspirit

Mrs_Salad_Dodger wrote: »

Excellent work oceanspirit :T it must be a lovely feeling to have a place for your writing materials & to dispose of paperwork :T I am sure that paperwork breeds - every time I get it sorted more appears :rotfl:

It definitely does breed, I seem to have been at it for years and yet there is still loads of the stuff in my small home.

CEW wrote: »

Sorry for the long post but it has made me realise that I have achieved more than I thought I had :j

Well over a hundred items - I'd call that a cracking achievement.

A smaller amount for me today as fatigue set in after the larger amount done over the previous two days:-

5 items of paperwork shredded or recycled.

Not sure how much I'll be able to do this week but I do need to sort out the papers needed for my tax return so perhaps one or two more items will appear during the process.

choille

choille wrote: »

331 - 2 things posted.

341 - big bag of plastic recycled.

351 - another big bag to the recycling bin

381 - 30 DIY catalogues into recycling OH is having a sort out:j

401 - massive batch of work stuff (paper work) burnt on bonfire.

That felt good.

OH wanted me to sort out some more boxes but I couldn't face any more. Pathetic I know.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. SMALL TASKS WILL BE DONE ASAP
2. I WILL LEAVE A ROOM TIDIER THAN WHEN I ENTERED
3. KITCHEN WILL BE LEFT CLEAN & TIDY EVERY NIGHT
4. WHEN DEALING WITH CLUTTER I WILL USE ‘Daisy1571’s idea of ‘WHAT WOULD I DO WITH THIS ITEM IF IT WAS SOMEONE ELSE’S ?’
5. IF I WAS STARTING FROM SCRATCH, WOULD I BUY THIS?
6. BE LIKE A POSTAGE STAMP - STICK TO ONE THING UNTIL YOU GET THERE

The BH Monday was bright & sunny 😎 - blue skies, wispy white clouds & even hotter than Sunday. Too hot to start taking up the decking so DH carried on with his restoration of the corn grinder & tidying his garage. He also helped another neighbour with taking off a child seat from a bicycle. I did an sm shop - surprisingly busy - I think people were hiding from the heat :rotfl: Cleared down a few more programmes from my planner. Dinner was a salad - only 3 hg tomatoes plus unfortunately 2 had to be put in the wormery

2826 - 2846 Cardboard box, 5 drinks cans, 2 glass jars & metal lids, glass bottle & metal cap, foil tray, food can, egg box, 7 lots of cardboard packaging, 2 lots of paper packaging - Recycled
2847 - 2855 Bag of kitchen detritus, large amount of plastic packaging from various deliveries, 7 lots of plastic packaging - Binned

No decluttering but not feeling guilty

Well Done :- nannywindow - Justin has a lot to answer for Excellent work on the garden decluttering :T; TC77; villagelife; Catcrazy - the £12 counts :T; CEW you should be proud - really helpful to list your successes :T; you have been busy greenbee; oceanspirit good work with the paperwork; choille - there are only so many boxes you can face - so NOT pathetic - just human :rotfl:

short_bird, we can but dream :rotfl:

Sounds like you had a great time bit by bit & decluttering so many calories you must be chuffed :T I went to Reading festival just the once & met Francis Rossi Well Done on the crisp packet decluttering.

Oh Fire Fox - decluttering ££ is never nice but it sounds like you have been very MSE by saving up for major projects :money:

Hope Tuesday is cooler as we need to take up the decking

MrsSD
2855/4038