2020 - banish the clutter

ailz95

We went to our usual farm shop yesterday - our 'day' out.  It was strange, only 6 people allowed in at a time, so we queued in the sunshine.  We were chatting to a member of staff, who then got relieved as it was so cold in the shop and someone else felt it was time to get warm.  We could get most things that we wanted - no bananas.  We also went to the post office to send 100 disposable gloves to one of the kids and a storytelling cube to another.  We thought about going down to Hastings even if we stayed in the car and looked at the sea, but I think we were both a bit shaken by it all- remember we only get out one day a week and a lot has changed since last Tuesday.

And the exciting news is that DH cleaned the car - he's only been promising to do it since October.

Stay safe and stay well.  Also stay sane - not something I've tried to do!!

short_bird

My mother was taken to a care home this morning: a neighbour helped get her into the taxi and they had staff and a wheelchair at the home. Her house is now tidied, everything switched off apart from the fridge freezer and laundry done. I am now back in my own home (20 miles away, I don't drive) and have sorted a few things out via phone with regard to GP and meds delivery. 
Now for that curry...

Gem-gem

Hello, 
Yesterday, only cleared a couple of things from the shed (ended up in already very full bin) but did wash the car. Over the next few days I will clean the inside. A lso planted two rows of spring onions. And put compost round my blueberry bushes.So that is one bag in the recycling bin.

Today worked 11 hours at home. 7 hours with one job and four with the other. That means I only have to work tomorrow morning, then that is me done for the week. 

Also Recycled: unused post; three empty beer bottles; 
Keep safe

TC77

Working at home so a little in the garden at lunch time. Despite chipping away it is evidence still chaotic - still can't find seeds and bulbs. We looked out the wii fit , manage to find batteries but then 2 controllers missing (the backs are there?) luckily picked up a new one at xmas so we have one but where are the other 2??

562 danish oiled kitchen surfaces so made me wash up etc

563 garden stuff

564  - 578 - CDs binned

579 non working cable

580 birthday cards recycled ( a few days ago but think I forgot to count and keen to keep nos up)

581 difficult email with lots of scanned documents sent

Feel that others things must have decluttered - if I remember will add tomorrow.

Certainly not decluttering lbs as usually very active and not been out of the house for 9 days (ok garden a couple of times, so will try the wii in the morning (use the time I would normally be on the train).

Just remembered 582- 583 scented drawer liners and lavender bags that I won't use to CS (I have plenty?

Stay safe

nannywindow

Had a day sorting my gardening/caravan shed. The old van cover had somehow exploded inside the door and I could only access things by mountaineering over it. Anyway I hauled the errant cover out to find that a herd of field mice had been partying in it. A rave by the looks of it and without permission ! The cover has now been cut up and bagged ready for the tip, which has closed for the forseeable future but it is ready and waiting. Also gone one Sunday glove, an empty weed killer spray bottle and and a sterilising fluid bottle. My mothers day choc box has also gone into the recycling ........ boo hoo   Annoyingly I received 2 leaflets through the post this morning, had to glove up just to put them straight into recycling.

Take care and stay safe declutterers

nan

sillyvixen

Not been here for a while (january), decluttering is very much fits and starts with me!! As I now find myself at a loose end untill further notice, and with 2 family members working from home in different rooms, I feel a bit limited as to what i can do! 
Today I retreated to the bedroom to declutter the wardrobe - i have been loosing weight over the last 6 months, so most of my wardrobe is too big. Luckily I did a few online orders for bits and Bob's that were ready to collect from stores early last week when I was using up holiday. I mostly replaced a few tops that I had 2 sizes bigger that were on clearance at 70% off, and purchased a dress for a wedding that is now posponed (but as a floral maxi dress will keep it for the warmer weather - even though i am not now attending a wedding I will need clothes for warmer days at home - it is not to fussy/expensive and was purchased as somthing I could wear again). Even a week ago town was empty so I took the oppertunity to go to primark for t-shirts, leggings,tights and a pair of shorts -  our primark is over 3 floors I only had need to visit 2 of them, but only counted 9 other customers.
An way at the moment I was paid today to stay at home and declutter my wardrobe - 70 items removed and bagged up - I am stuck with it at the moment as charity shops closed - its a good job I cleared the cupboard under the stairs in January as I can store charity donations there untill I can get them moved on!!  Hopefully our recycling will still be taking fabrics and I can get rid of the not fit for purpose stuff on Monday.
On the plus side I found a top I purchased at the end of the bhs sale that was too small, it is a floaty top so the fact it is loose won't matter, I have kept several floaty tops that I could wear a smaller size but still look ok due the style. I tried everything on except stuff I really didn't want to keep.
I have kept the dress I wore as my going outfit 5 years ago when we married, I have put it on a 2nd hanger and added to the dress cover I have my wedding dress in - i am not ready to get rid of those any time soon.
Unfortunately I am not able to sort the cupboard in the spare room (or clutter the room with donations) as it is now home to a systems support worker - who is sorting out problems for clients than can work from home!!  And the dinning room is reserved for validation reports of test data for a medical device manufacturer that supplies the nhs!  - i am on full pay (atm)

I have been out today to do shopping for a church family that have been in self isolating due to one of the kids having a high temperature an having to cut contact, I have been e-mailed photos of thankyou photos of pictures the kids have done. We have to do what we need to .. I am waiting for needs of the older congregation to keep me busy!!

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?

Wednesday was another sunny, warm day but with a very chilly wind.
However did 2 loads of washing & managed to get mostly dry on the whirligig - just half an hour in the td to finish off - folded & put away. Also did the 2 items of hand washing, hung out for a while but now draped over the banisters 🙁
DH & I finished the hm soup 🙁 & the 3 of us had meatballs again.

641 Paperback from CS read & in CS bag
642 - 643 Kitchen & Office recycling - Recycled
644 Bag of kitchen detritus - Binned

Well done villagelife 👏 I am having the same problem - extremely dry hands & no amount of hand cream seems to help 🙁

Nicnak decluttering is the least of our worries - as long as we keep up with the day to day decluttering & our usual household tasks I think we will all cope 🤞  Thank you for continuing to work & please keep safe.

Well done boultdj 👏 electronic decluttering is quite freeing 🙂 I had to look up couch roll 🙂 but I can see it would be useful if you run out of tp 😉

Sounds like you enjoyed your ‘day out’ ailz95 🙂 Really pleased that your farm shop is practicing safe shopping 👏  Better late than never re the car cleaning 😉

Hope your mother has settled in, short_bird?  & I hope you are OK 👌 Curry sounds really good 😋 

Gem-gem, please don’t work too long each day but glad that you can wfh 🙂 Ooh spring onions - I love them 😉

Well done TC77 👏 It seems to me that the problem with wfh is that you see your clutter all the time ☹️ At least when you go out to work the clutter is out of sight & out of mind 😆 

Thank you nannywindow 👏 for such an entertaining post 😁 At least our mice have the decency to stay in the garden box & eat peanuts & nibble at fat cakes 🤣 By the way I think you should receive chocolates every Sunday 😉

You have been busy sillyvixen 👏 Isn’t it great that your hard work in January means that you don’t have to have CS bags cluttering up your living space 🙂 Long may full pay continue 🤞

Stay safe everyone.

MrsSD 
644/2020

villagelife

A small amount done
580-581 pairs of rights with holes in
582 a small bottle recycled
583 a small bag of rubbish from my car

Chocolatedrinker

Morning all,
I am working from home at the moment - self shielding as medical conditions make me vulnerable but not very vulnerable category. 
To update where I have got to so far:
1567 - ball of wool to cs
1568 - toothbrush binned
1569 - 1572 - 3 squares knitted for charity
1573 - envelope to send squares to charity
1574 - shower bomb uu, container recycled
1575 - body butter uu, container recycled
1576 - pen uu, binned
1577 - handful of paper & receipts recycled
1578 - old cardigan recycled.
Hope you are all keeping well,
CD

basketcase

Popping out of lurkdom to say Hi, hope everybody's well - which means even more now than it used to, don't you think? 

  sillyvixen I know just what you mean about home WFH-ers cramping your style.  DS is a fairly high risk category.  We saw this coming over a month ago, so he got set up for working from home in advance and was told not to come into the office over a week ago.  I'm not exactly creeping around, but we're in a flat and anything in the hall (where the cupboards are), my bedroom, hoovering etc is out.

I can't do my job from home but, again, anyone who could work from home was asked to do so on St Patrick's Day.  It took a day or 2 because there's about 700 people who need to have their machines packed up to take home.   DS said he wasn't officially on lockdown yet and, provided there was social distancing at work, I might as well go in while I could.  I'm an agency worker, so if I don't work I don't get paid.   I did go into the office (social distancing was NOT a problem!) but we were all ordered out with immediate effect on Monday morning.  I was relieved, because I was worried about the possibility of bringing 'It' into the flat. 

  Mrs SD I loved your "chin up, titus out"  - hadn't heard that before!   It gave me a much appreciated giggle.

I've been thinking that, since the virus, the threads have got even more like 'Over the Garden Fence' type chatty. I'm one of those terrible people who likes to listen to other people's conversation on buses etc (Surely I'm not the only one who has to stop themselves occasionally from saying "He didn't..." " )   I had this sudden vision of us all sitting round a kitchen table, slurping tea/coffee/whatever having a good old natter and wondered what any non-MSEer listening would think of what we were saying,  My favourite so far is a comment on the Fashion on the Ration thread "the first thing I'm doing is trying to make knickers out of old t-shirts.."

  Anyway, better get off.  I'm taking DD for a Vitamin B12 injection (her in the back on the passenger side, both of us with facemasks on and a bleach cloth to sanitise everything before and after).  Then I'm going to step up distancing for a week.  I've had 'isolation boxes' ready for well over a week, but last minute things need sanitising and to be put in.  I'd've done it yesterday, but spent too much time and effort crawling around on the floor chasing after the %$££&* rabbit, muttering about onions and chervil.  It's DD's therapet.  She suffers from anxiety and depression, and the rabbit has really helped.  So I sanitised and bagged everything then left it at her dad's garden gate.  (Well, I didn't bleach the rabbit, of course.  It's just lucky I didn't boil it!)

   I will get round to updating my decluttering...