2020 - banish the clutter

nannywindow

Hello all

Haven't done much lately as we are isolated for the forseeable future and unable to visit any cs (nor do I want them putting themselves at risk by asking for a collection of 1 or 2 bags) However today I received some beautiful m&s flowers by courier from my DD for Mother's day ( I think she gets her organizational skills from me........ I wish ) So the box and packaging have been recycled tout suite and very carefully wearing gloves etc. The good news is almost nothing is being put in the food waste either, which is a good thing really as it seems our council may be going to temporarily monthly collections instead of fortnightly.

Hope everyone stays safe and well.

nan

Michellelh

First thing on today’s to do list was buy oats which was successful, I was at Tesco’s a hour after they opened and managed to buy a big bag. This afternoon I sat in the sun coming in from my glass doors with a pint of beer and have halved my jewellery collection, some went in the bin (earrings) and some into the charity bag.

EnergyShifter

EnergyShifter said:

213. suit holder
214. Frame
215. Fleece
216. Did a seasonal swap with my clothes 

I've not been feeling too good.  I was doing my best to stay grounded amongst the chaos but tipped over the edge when on Tuesday I found out my friend's Dad had the virus and then on Weds heard another friend had died - it's not been confirmed yet that it was COVID -19 and no-one wants to ask the family at this time - but it was respiratory and although she had underlying health problems - she hadn't been expected to go - she was in her early 60s still working, still very active.  Then last night, after having my boiler serviced, I had a burst pipe under the sink which flooded the kitchen!  It's all knocked me sideways so I am going to focus on staying as grounded as possible over the coming days / weeks.  I've spent the afternoon pottering in the garden and that's helped a bit.

217. Old laptop to neighbours so they can go online - they're over 70 so self-isolating
218 Plant to other neighbour as a thank you for helping me when my kitchen flooded
219. Boiler serviced
220. Pipe repaired
221. dead digital thermometer (what a time for it to break!)
222. old dustpan & brush
223. various rubbish from garden storage
224-26 - 3 x empty paint pots
227. box of dead pegs
228. dead doorknob
Take Care Lovely People xxx

EnergyShifter

Nicnak said:

DD woke me up at 02:30am playing her Ukulele. 
Item 1822 - DD's Ukulele. 

That made me 

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. DO NOT PUT OFF TO TOMORROW WHAT CAN/SHOULD BE DONE TODAY

2. WRITE AND USE “TO DO LISTS” - MINIMUM 10 MINUTE BURSTS OF ACTIVITY UNTIL THE DECLUTTERING MOJO RETURNS (Thanks oceanspirit 👏)
3. LEAVE A ROOM TIDIER THAN WHEN I ENTERED
4. KITCHEN WILL BE LEFT CLEAN & TIDY EVERY NIGHT
5. WHEN DEALING WITH CLUTTER I WILL USE ‘Daisy1571’s idea of ‘WHAT WOULD I DO WITH THIS ITEM IF IT WAS SOMEONE ELSE’S?

Friday was a dreary damping kind of day & oh so cold 🥶 with a bitter wind 🥶 My day was lazy again - playing AB2, knitting, clearing down my planner & mini walks occasionally seeing a neighbour from a 2m distance & having a chat - keeps us sane as all 16 houses seem to be avoiding unnecessary contact 👏 DSis had to go out to pick up her meds & also popped into MrA - managed to pick up a few potatoes, some carrots, sliced loaf & a few bits she wanted for herself BUT still no eggs 🙁 DH went out on the working motor bike & visited 5 supermarkets - managed to get some tp & everything else on my list EXCEPT eggs. We are now set & should not have to visit any supermarkets for a while. 

We donated a sliced loaf of bread to a neighbour - as we ended up with 2 & no space in the freezers. Also now have 3 neighbours who are willing to let me have a couple of eggs if I cannot get any 👏 - proper wartime footing WITHOUT the actual physical/close contact 🙂
Dinner was salmon steaks baked in foil in the oven, boiled potatoes, fresh carrots. The lo boiled potatoes have been used to start an hm soup together with various bits & bobs from the freezer.

Saturday dawned bright & sunny - the sunshine is warm & lifts the spirits 🙂 but now there is a bitter wind to counteract the warmth 🙁 I have just cooked bacon for DH & DSis - roll for DH & bread for DSis. I had the stale bread toasted with jam. The hm soup is on a low heat. You may remember I told you about the awful beef joint I bought a couple of weeks ago ☹️ which had been cut into 3. Well, 1 of the 2 remaining bits has been browned off, put in a casserole pot with stock, a potato, carrots, a tin of chick peas & various seasonings & is now slow cooking in the oven. 

Sadly no decluttering as our rubbish bin & recycling bin have not been emptied for 2 weeks 😖 due to a strike in week one & vandalism of the truck fleet in week 2 😡 However according to the council website the bin men are working all weekend - we will see 🤞

I have to tell you whilst I remember - DB phoned & has just managed to get back to Germany (to his wife & boys) - drove from Scotland, empty ferry & stuck to his cabin & just a short delay at the Dutch border. The reason I tell you this is that he has just offered to post us some eggs 🤣 😂 🤣 He has the space to have chickens & they are good layers 🙂

619 - 624 Two Newspapers, kitchen recycling, glass jar, 2 glass bottles - Recycled
625 - 626 Two bags of kitchen detritus - Binned

Good work Michelleh 👏 Don’t do all your decluttering at once - you probably still have loads of time to fill 😆 

Well Done on the neutral items Happy Kitties 👏 The Charity shops will be inundated with donations when this is all over.

Keep up the good work TC77 👏 Remember the cleaning might not feel like progress but it is keeping you busy & more importantly keeping you safe in view of the current situation.

Good work boultdj 👏 Sorry about the job but at least you have the tools to keep relaxed 😉

Well Done Gem-gem 👏 Keeping busy by whatever means necessary is definitely the way to go especially as TPTB keep moving the goalposts - a week, two weeks, a month & now 12 weeks wt*

Thank you so much for that Nicnak 😂 🤣 we definitely need to find humour wherever we can 😆 Congrats on finding your oats & what a pleasant way to pass the time 🙂

Oh dear stellata - good news on the work front tempered by bad news on the food front 🙁 I know it is not the same ‘talking’ to us but we are here if you need us. 

Great work villagelife 👏 but see my comment to Michelleh 😆 

Thanks nannywindow 👏 & well done on keeping your food waste to an absolute minimum 👏  I am hoping that all the people who have been stockpiling fresh produce are not wasting it. I just have this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that there is going to be a massive amount of food binned. TPTB seem to be all in a dither & the ‘rumours’ that the army will be drafted in to stop people walking around etc seems to be overkill. Surely they would be better employed on rubbish collection duties. It will all be very well if we sort out the Covid19 situation but not really a lot of good if the streets are covered in rotting rubbish with all the attendant diseases 🙄 Sorry for the rant 😞

Thank you for sharing EnergyShifter & so very sorry that this has happened. Please, please take care of yourself. It never rains but it pours & you seem to have had a lot thrown at you ☹️ However I am heartened that you are trying very hard to pick yourself up, dust yourself off & get on with your life 🙂 I also want to say thank you for thinking of others - donating a laptop to your neighbours is such a lovely thing to do especially as you were so down.
Thank you so much 👏 

Please take care everyone.

MrsSD
626/2020

newlywed

Not much decluttering from me. Work has been madly busy and stressful trying to help get everyone set to be able to work from home.  Finally get to work from home next week, which is good because between the stress at work, a worried husband and having to spend over an hour a day on public transport, I have started to get really anxious about it all.  Both me and OH have underlying health conditions (mild - but still there). 

Might not need half my wardrobe if social distancing continues with working from home!  

Still, managed to buy a pair of leather boots for £2 on eBay so hoping these will be comfy and I can then declutter one pair to the bin and another to the cs. 

Hopefully I can make use of my lunch hours next week and get something done. 

Already decluttered far too many biscuits from stress eating so might be needing the skirt that was too big  

nannywindow

Morning everyone. Happy Mothering Sunday I'm afraid it's going to be the strangest one ever though with most daughters not seeing their Mums !

I can't sleep so I have been awake since 4am, that's not like me at all. However I have eaten a black pudding sandwich while listening to the dawn chorus and watched a beautiful red sunrise. It's the little things that are going make me happy in such worldly chaos.

MrsSD rant away lovely. I could rant for Wales lately. I too hope that those people doing all the food buying are feeding their families and not gorging themselves just because they can, or worse still reselling goods at exorbitant prices. See I told you I could rant and that's only a small smattering of what I could say about those people ( or dare I say imbeciles )

Today I hope to declutter a very large tree branch which is now hanging down over the garden ( about 20ft of it ) It is part of one of our trees and our neighbour has moved out, so now is the time to do it and also before it comes into leaf and it's weight doubles. I have no way to dispose of it, but it can stay in the garden for the foreseeable future. I will be on the rope which DH will lasso cowboy like Yee hah !! and then he will be wielding our chain saw on a pole thingy. That's the technical term, isn't it ?

Energyshifter here's a special (((hug))) for you as you are having such a difficult time lately.

Newelywed I shall be needing a smaller skirt as I am reducing our portion sizes to make the food stretch just that little bit longer as we are isolated because of DH's health issues. We have been trying to diet anyway and this will make us do it, so losing a few pounds will be good for us.

Hope everyone stays safe and well

nan

Willowtree222

Still not much from me. I am at work for the foreseeable so just trying to plan childcare for DD and ensure she is as safe and protected as possible. 
I am thinking of selling some Pandora charms that I have. Not sure if it is the right time, but I don't want all of them any more so thinking it might be something to help me keep decluttering. x

villagelife

I will be going to work unless I have to self isolate. I'm likely to be working longer hours as I work for the NHS.

560-570  tin foil trays recycled - all from takeaway but don't need that many.
571 some packaging not sure why I kept it but now recycled.
572 an old plastic bag.
Another cupboard sorted and is looking better with more space in it.

TC77

Morning, I'm in self isolation for 14 days, managed to eat half the supplies in 4 days! Have people who can help if needed, but 15 year old missed the last week of school.  Working from home (NHS too so may be volunteered when back at not working at home). Thought in evening I would declutter but knowing I can't take to CS or freecyle less incentive but sorting abit but also fixed to the news  - and so tragic so decluttering feels very first world issue, though very conscious of all those struggling day to day here. Feel if I can declutter at home will have time to do more to help and focus outside the house

 537 - pens

538 - started knitting after years using up supplies

539 - sorted cupboard

540 - some filing

And will use up some of the craft supplies to occupy time and wellbeing.

Hope you all stay safe