2021 MISSION DECLUTTER and CLEAN

[Deleted User]

I haven't updated this thread for ages.  I have hit my three de-cluttering targets for 2021.

1. My home office which is an absolute tip at the moment
2. The spare room because it has been used as a bit of a dumping ground
3. The large cupboard in the utility room which is jam packed

Now that the physical clutter has been dealt with I want to start dealing with my digital clutter.  All those photos I haven't done anything else, why so many apps on my phone and tablet, get myself off those email lists that clog up my inbox, and hopefully start to close some accounts I haven't used for ages completely.

vulpix

 Good morning. I ache more than usual today after a full day stoking the burning bin and clearing brambles at SS's house yesterday.
 Up an at 'em now for my own garden reshuffle. The patio I laid previously is annoying me as I realise now it should have been slightly different to look better on the eye and give me slightly bigger garden bed. everything is moving about 6 inches to the right.
 The trouble with gardening is that nothing is static,for me anyway. If it's not a plant in the wrong place it's a patio!
 Mrs SD you are so very good at encouragement and confidence building. Thank you. My philosophy on life is stuff out of your control happens and you have no option but to make the most of it. I have had plenty of rough times and ill health but I always have a plan to work on. It might only be a small goal but small goals build to bigger goals. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. I think it is how you are raised, my attitude is the same as my Mother. Glass half full and I hope I have passed it on to my children too. I am quite logical which helps. I can see the steps required to solve a problem. I get great satisfaction from achieving a goal, but there is always another hot on it's heels! Mr V follows in my wake,happy to fetch and carry for me. We are a good team.
 Vx
 

villagelife

444- polo shirt sold so posted off. Some money out away in savings too
445 packaging used up
446 one of the rolls of sellotape used up and inner recycled. I still have another 3 half used too. DH busy then at Christmas even if we have pkenty!
447 shampoo sample used up.
448 egg box with eggs in given to my parents.
Things are slowly leaving the house but my mindset is more positive at present.

Happy_Kitties

Updating early as I won’t remember everything when I get home tomorrow
139-140.   Easter hampers x2 being delivered tomorrow
141 jigsaw sneaked into one hamper for Duncle!

 142 knitting things to DD who wants to take it up again
143 knitting patterns to DD
144 car freshener of DDs-back to DD!

145 smellies to DD
. 146 old emergency pendant-recycling

Emm-in-a-pickle

Good afternoon All, seems we`re all getting on with things with some pauses here and there...

BitbyBit, thanks, yes I`m healthy enough now, just a bit fatter and lazier!

Vulpix, hail fellow survivor, I`m a `glass half full` person too, the only one in the family unfortunately - thanks for your good wishes re my DD , we`ll sort it but I`m giving her space to sulk, `twas ever the way.

Jennifer, I used to get more done during a few days off when I was working full time, but when not having to go to work meant not making the most of days off because every day was a day off things slipped....

Mrs SD, until I became a breast cancer survivor myself I never knew there were so many of us out there, it really helped me to get my head around things, so I`m always glad of the opportunity to declare my experience in the hope that it helps others, and particularly folks who are worried about getting checked out, hearing of so many healthy survivors may help prevent delay.

I`ve been busy... my 3 tier cake container that was a dollshouse tat store is now a 4 tier (found a white plastic bowl that fits perfectly as an extra bottom tier!) spice tower, with an inventory of what`s in each tier sat in the top one. It`s now on a little shelf halfway-upstairs mini landing, a cool spot, and looks quite good. I also have an empty shelf where all the contents used to be in the spare room of doom. (My ex DiL buys me all sorts of spices etc as she lives in Stoke where there`s so much more available than here, I love experimenting and there`s quite a few things I`ve never used yet. Now I know exactly what`s there and won`t have to rummage/cause a minor avalanche to try something new)

Also, I have DVD shelves either side of the LR hearth, (put there to hide where the cat scratched the wallpaper ages ago) and the tops and the mantlepiece had lots of tiny ornaments, some made by grandchildren, so, kept and dusted (at infrequent intervals) but the places they stood will be removed soon, and so I`ve carefully removed and cleaned them all, binned a few of the chipped ones, put most in a little display case I found in spare room, and now on the desk in my room. Took ages, but very pleased with result.

I also found several photos, and lots of bits of sewing kit nestling on DVDs, so sorted them away in my newest half empty sewing basket, and a blackbird pie-funnel which is now scrubbed and put away in a kitchen drawer, and SEVEN old AA cards, binned!

I`ve cleaned the gas hob too, found a full bottle of Elbow Grease in the undersink cupboard, thought I`d run out, and was so pleased I had to use it straight away.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. KITCHEN WILL CONTINUE TO BE LEFT CLEAN & TIDY EVERY NIGHT

2. JUST DO ONE THING EVERY DAY (courtesy of bit_by_bit) OTHER THAN DAY TO DAY CLEANING & DECLUTTERING 
3. CLEAN ONE ROOM (TOP TO BOTTOM) EVERY MONTH (hopefully 3 weekly by the end of the year)

Try again 🤞 Friday was a gloriously sunny day but, and it is a big but ☹️ there was a rather bitter wind so the warmth of the sun was countered by the wind ☹️  DH & I finished the hm soup for lunch. Tea was an egg sandwich each - now only have 19 eggs left 😱
Dinner was extremely late - 10.00 p.m. 😔 Home cooked burgers in buns with oven chips. Full takeaway experience as we had lettuce, cheese, bacon, cornichons, fried onions, tomato slices, relish & mayonnaise. The three of us were in agreement that they were tastier than the last gourmet burgers we had delivered & of course so much more MSE 🙂
AND DSis did the washing up & most of the drying up & putting away 🥳
Start with the good news - DH won £25 on the Premium Bonds 🥳 & I won £50 🥳🥳
Now the bad news - my SKY box hard disc drive is kaput (if the SKY forum conspiracy theorists are correct it is because of a Sky update which corrupted the box 😉) Unfortunately I am inclined to agree as my dealings with SKY over the years have been ‘troubled’ as customer service is really not their strong point & apparently it is even worse now due to Covid19 😖. I have lost all my recorded programmes, there is no live pause, the TV guide is scrambled etc, etc, etc (I bet Yul Brynner came to mind 😉)  I tried to decipher the instructions online but as I am basically a technophobe it was not a lot of use. I have asked my DH to investigate other options but he is currently engrossed in Moto GP. 

When I have all the info to hand I will try to get through to SKY customer services & see what can be done 🤞 It is a very strange experience watching ‘live’ - I have to watch the ads 😔 rather than fast forwarding. (I am rather pleased I lost my previous post as I was very annoyed 😠 but having slept on it I am now more sanguine & am starting to accept that I may not be able to watch my favourite series 😢 if SKY has to be ditched - not so sure DSis will be best pleased but hey ho 😉)

706 - 708 Kitchen recycling, plastic bottle, drinks cans - recycled 
709 Kitchen detritus - binned

Saturday is an overcast & chilly day. DH is watching MotoGP practices & qualifying. I am about to start on lots of paperwork including building myself up to tackle various frogs staring on Tuesday 🤞

I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter 🙂

Cheerleading is now commencing 😉

Not morbid at all, ilovetea 👏 in my opinion, just a wonderful thing to do for your daughters 🙂 


Great work TC77 👏 In view of the change in weather I hope you kept a few winter clothes in the wardrobe 😉

Excellent work EnergyShifter 👏 you should be very proud that you are establishing a morning routine & doing so well 🥲 (this emoji comes up as ‘proud’ who knew 😉)

Excellent work GrannyKate 👏 Wishing you a very successful selling experience 🤞

Your allotment sounds like hard work 😓  bit_by_bit  ☹️ but a real bonus having the shed & greenhouse 🙂 Sounds like you have very green fingers which bodes well for decent crop sizes 🤞 Sorry you are suffering from tiredness & pain ☹️ not a good combination but I admire your fortitude 👏 Retirement is keeping you busy 😉

Well done Gers 👏 especially sourcing a place to dispose of the ‘oils’ 👏 I hope you are suitably proud of yourself 🥲 👏 Hope your mum is doing a bit better.

Lovely to see you Lover_of_Lycra 👋 and even better that you are reporting in with your successes 👏 You have worked very hard & have earned two Gold Stars ⭐️  ⭐️  Wishing you every success in reaching your new targets 🤞

Vulpix, what an amazing 🤩 person you are 👏 Tiring yourself out sorting SS’s garden & then starting back on your own garden - you obviously have a good eye for landscaping 🙂👏 Speaking of gardening not being static - DH just printed off a picture of our garden from 3 years ago. Decking replaced by patio, old shed replaced with new larger shed which was painted, raised bed dismantled & halved & made taller, new raised bed built out of sleepers by DH, table top bed built by DH & the hedge he planted looks like a hedge & not sticks 🥳  
“”Mrs SD you are so very good at encouragement and confidence building. Thank you. My philosophy on life is stuff out of your control happens and you have no option but to make the most of it. I have had plenty of rough times and ill health but I always have a plan to work on. It might only be a small goal but small goals build to bigger goals. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. I think it is how you are raised, my attitude is the same as my Mother. Glass half full and I hope I have passed it on to my children too. I am quite logical which helps. I can see the steps required to solve a problem. I get great satisfaction from achieving a goal, but there is always another hot on it's heels! Mr V follows in my wake,happy to fetch and carry for me. We are a good team.”” Vulpix, what an inspiration you are & thank you for sharing your philosophy on life. It resonates with me (I just have to put it into practice 😉) & merits a Gold Star ⭐️ 

Great work villagelife 👏 and very nice to hear that you are in a more positive frame of mind 🙂

Great work HappyKitties 👏 I did 😃 at the ‘sneaky jigsaw’ declutter 🙂

Wow, Emm-in-a-pickle (your name really makes me smile 😃 & lifts my spirits, hence writing in full - especially when I need cheering up 😉) Thank you for sharing your life with us 👏  You have been exceedingly (Mr Kipling anyone 😉) busy. Cleaning, decluttering, repurposing, tidying. So busy in fact that you have impressed me so much that I am awarding you a Gold Star ⭐️ By the way, any chance of discovering another full bottle of Elbow Grease & sending it to me 😉😉

P.S. I started writing this post 2 hours ago & got distracted 😱 DH has marinaded the beef brisket which will be tomorrow’s dinner & has volunteered to cook cheesy pasta for tonight’s dinner 😄 I was the gopher for ingredients so decided to clean & rearrange the 3 shelf ‘spice, condiments & oils’ cupboard + cleaned & sorted/rearranged the spice & herbs drawer & combined various spices/herbs (who needs 2 half full pots/jars of something when you can have one full pot doh 🙄 😉. I also scrubbed the 2-step ladder which DSis uses as a table. Feeling very virtuous 😉 

Still haven’t started the paperwork 😔

710 - 715 Various pots/packaging & 2 not needed plastic takeaway boxes with lids - recycled

See you all later & hope you all are enjoying your Saturday 🙂

MrsSD  🏅🏅🏅🏅 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Decluttering Target: 2021    715/2021

2021 Savings Pot:  £41.00 to end of March

EnergyShifter

EnergyShifter said:

269. Coat

270 & 271 - 2 x easter cards posted

272 - Book mark sent to Niece - very cute metal one with a dangling cat ornament

273 - earphone box & bits

274 - spare easter cards - recycling - spilled something on them 

275 - 7  3 x morning routines completed - there have been mornings when I have so not wanted to do it but I have pushed myself - good news is that the journalling part has started to feel habitual.

I have been very slug-like today - for the first time since I started my 30 day morning routine challenge I didn't do it.... I had a very enjoyable night last night eating food and drinking gin in my cousin's garden - followed by a bit of a hangover today - hence the slug-like behaviour... Lying on the sofa, watching TV, napping and eating chocolate.  I did at least get out for a walk this eve so I feel a little more human ! Not going to beat myself up about it - it is what it is, back on track tomorrow.... 
278 - Large Easter egg which I'd been gifted by a company I work for taken to cousins to share - this was a very good thing as I would definitely have eaten the whole thing myself today... (& it was a very substantial Easter Egg.... ) .

Gem-gem

Good evening everyone, 
Have been very busy either at work or in the garden. Over the next two weeks will go back and catch-up. Am off for next two weeks so plan to go through much of the house again. 

Have planted six new raspberry canes, three tubs of potatoes, repotted a bed of strawberries, placed new soil round blueberry bushes, weeded and cut down and dug up a rosemary bush. 

Have still been decluttering - have two large full bins of paper, glass and plastic to go out. 

Have reorganised my office. Emptied unwanted training manuals - have them all electronically.

Boxed up 16 books - sold for £6.32 😀
Bagged up eight books, two jars of jam - ready to drop off to aunt. (Read Jeffrey Archer's new book - Turn A Blind Eye in 20 hours. Included in the pile to go to my aunt) 

Bagged up three books, two jars of jam - ready to drop off to Mummy. 

Finished a shower gel - bagged ready to take to JL
Sent shirt back to JL, reordered another size for hubby - package disposed. 

👏 Boot fairs start up after 12 April. Just need a decent weekend to clear the loft again of the bagged up items. Then hubby can book a roofer to get a new roof put on. It will be a good opportunity to have ensure that no clutter goes back up. (Will be decluttering around £11k from the bank account 😱).

Mrs SD - found the 10 masks - phew!

GrannyKate

Small contributions today;  Went for drive in new car with DS2 and children.  Too cold to stay out long.
675 Found pot of dishwasher cleaner at back of shelf so used that up and recycled bottle
676 Another bag filled with shredding from the legal pile and 2 full bags dropped off at tip
677 Cardboard inner for parcel tape recycled.  I now have one roll left from stash bough many years ago
Otherwise read kindle and generally did nothing.  Flowers and cards received for Easter.  Lunch and Easter egg hunt at DS2s tomorrow

TC77

Abit of cleaning and few things done, but DD back to football which is great distraction from revision and I had a lovely long walk with a friend and her dog.
721 ood food
722-725 items to textile recycling