2020 - banish the clutter

[Deleted User]

Thanks all, it was a bit of an ordeal for a 6 year old going through two tests in a week but he's chipper, he's an upbeat little lad and seems to live life at 101% enjoyment levels but it is a REAL relief to get that negative result and know the other two younger ones are not going to catch covid from him.  His poor mum had to work from home because they lost his first result and being  a GP with booked clinics working remotely from home without access to her usual resources was trying for her too.  All ok now though and I sincerely hope it stays that way.

Yesterday was manic, very hot and uncomfortable because I spent it in the kitchen preserving and dehydrating. It had to be done because  the ripening rate of what we grow increases in the heat so I had lots to process or it would have perished.  I now have plum jam, greengage jam, tomato chutney, dehydrated potatoes for DD, dehydrated mushrooms for me and many less jars in my jar cupboard.

We've also decluttered the French beans from the garden bed  because they'd stopped flowering and there were no more beans but the runner beans growing up what was a rose arch are still giving masses of beans so we ate those for supper with some cauliflower cheese.

bit_by_bit

Hi all. just popping in to say hello. We haven't moved any more rubbish out, yet, but I have a plan to get out of bed and first to the charity shop with some bags on Monday morning.
ailz95: Each charity shop has its own rules. I work at one who sells all unsuitable and out of season clothes to the 'ragman' who also takes books and CD's, shoes, belts and bags. the shop still gets so much per kg. I wouldn't take any books that are less than slightly used, written in or damaged, nor would I take specialist or very old books or classical music. All these they don't sell. I have local shops that do sell those items though and often I will take my books to oxfam as they will take anything and reuse it as appropraiatly as psooible. I huess what I am saying is don't be down hearted. Ask if they take such and such and item and they will tell you. 
The only clothes I ever chucked out were beautifully pessed and folded in a case but were so heavily smoke scented they made me gag.
Having said that your approach of NOT bringing stuff in is better overall.
Thankyou for the start for my husband Mrs SD. Luckily he hasn't got a hoarding gene in his body so I get on his nerves massively. He was very pleased and says thankyou. 
Right, off to tidy a messy corner and catch a shower.

TC77

I try to take things to cs that I know will take things. One takes electrical which many won't .
1518-19 item sold and packaging
1520-1521 ood food 
1522 -23 broken hair brush and another item binned from DD room ( hoping she will sort out sometime. 
1524 old.receipts.etc.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. WRITE AND USE “TO DO LISTS” - MINIMUM 30 MINUTE BURSTS OF ACTIVITY AT LEAST TWICE EVERY DAY

2. KITCHEN WILL BE LEFT CLEAN & TIDY EVERY NIGHT

3. I WILL ENDEAVOUR TO BE NICE TO EVERYONE & TRY TO SEE THE FUNNY OR PECULIAR SIDE TO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
4. DAY TO DAY DECLUTTERING WILL CONTINUE

Saturday was hot, overcast & very muggy. Uncomfortably hot all day. Sum total of activity was a phone call to milkman to cancel next weeks deliveries, watered the vegetables, hard boiled some eggs & opened some tins - we had salad for dinner. DSis & I watched the first 2 episodes of His a Dark Materials - jury still out 🙄 DSis did inform me that reading the books would help in understanding what was occurring 😉 

1458 - 1461 Kitchen recycling, drinks cans, plastic bottle, cardboard packaging - Recycled
1462 - 1463 Kitchen detritus, plastic packaging - Binned

Your inner squirrel must be very happy boazu 👏😃 What a palaver for the 6 year old - so pleased it all worked out well.

Very useful info about the workings of charity shops, bit_by_bit. Thank you 👏 Glad your husband was pleased with his gold star 🙂

Keep up the good work TC77 👏

BE KIND. STAY SAFE. BREAK THE CHAIN. SAVE LIVES.

MrsSD ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  🏅

1463/2020

[Deleted User]

My inner squirrel is feeling the heat, or rather it was yesterday so the chutney is currently simmering on the stove, yesterday was just too hot to think of cooking it. The kitchen smells nice and 'exotic' with all the spices and the jars are in the oven to pot up when it's done.  I took jams and chutneys down to the store yesterday and there is a nice little supply for the winter coming along, nice to open a cupboard door and think  ' I made that'!  Hubby has gone to the allotment for more plums to stew to freeze and the tomatoes are giving us vast amounts of ripe fruit so I shall make more chutney from them and have to find another supply of jars, my cupboard is almost empty.  I hope all this counts as de-cluttering? we will be taking a few more things to Hedgehog Rescue, some books and curtains too so I know that does anyway.

Happy_Kitties

*341-346   christmas charity boxes x6 delivered.
*347  the last of a candle, bits in the bin, glass jar in recycling
*348    birthday present(to be sent tomorrow)
Trying to work out how to send some more neutral items with a birthday present as boxes are in very short supply
EDIT-found a bag strong enough to make a parcel so 4 more neutral items to be sent
=137 neutral items sent

nannywindow

Yesterday we decluttered another very large branch   I confess it was chopped up only enough to manhandle into the shrubbery, it was much too hot to do anything else with it. I also mowed the front lawn and dug up my potatoes, there was over 10lb collected ! Not bad for planting 7 wrinkly sm pots for fun    The potato tops have been put in the green waste bin along with the grass cuttings and the top half of a shrub, which had grown far too big for it's boots.

In the bin a solar light which has given up the ghost.

DD is coming over to paint the rest of our fence so will stay for lunch and may have one or other DGC in tow, perhaps both. I'm sure DGS will arrive, he can sniff out a roast lunch a 500 yds    That's half my freezer decluttered right there 

Happy decluttering all. Hope everyone is well, hugs coming your way if not.

nan

Gem-gem

Sold:
Bag of plant pots
Two books
Three jigsaw puzzles
10 h/m cards
Two dice
Two pairs of trousers 
pair of pjs
jacket
4 jumpers
hat
5 jars of jam
Binned:
clothes hangers
hat
charity shop:
Bag of books
Give to a friend:
books
two jigsaw puzzles
 

short_bird

653-677: A kitchen and fridge clear out, book finished and films and series deleted

TC77

Some cleaning and a few things out

1525 dried out show polish

1526-27 dried out pens

1528 receips decluttered

1529 paper decluttered

1530 emails decluttered