2021 MISSION DECLUTTER and CLEAN

bit_by_bit

Another one here supporting the 'less is more' message when it comes to storage. Having go rid of the clutter, and the units holding it, the house looks better and is tones easier to clean. 

1 bag to the CS today. A more pleasant afternoon, busy but not too busy.  The manager had 50 bags gifted in the first hour of opening and we have been redirecting all day to the shop a mile down the road.

I bought a couple of tops for myself too. Sx

newlywed

Cleared out my already tidy bedside cabinets and binned a couple of handfuls of bits and pieces.

also managed to fit the box of tissues inside the drawer instead of on the floor.

actually only took 20 mins per drawer, including putting things back in their correct places rather than back in the drawers.  

TC77

@vulpix congratulations on the house and downsizing! @bit_by_bit how fab to notice easier to look after the house. Although over the past 18 months I have got rid of a lot as I hate putting things in the bin has been slow and work very busy but trying to go through small things too. 
So haircut today and recognise won't have my hair long enough to tie back again ( short bob,) so putting hair bits in box that DDs can go through and all the bits of games that I don't want  in a tin ' waiting for big sort out of dd2 room after gcses yo see if other bits which go together before passing on. 
803 small bits of things in small plastic bags  so don't get lost 
804 luxury slippers father  Xmas gave me back to shop as fell apart , voucher to spend another day.
805 packaging recycled 
806 soup with broken packaging out 
807 email and phone call sorted.
 808 electric toothbrush  binned ( already have another)
809 sunhat to cs ( have bought another)

Have quite alot of space in drawers so definitely don't need more storage and hope at some point 8 can get rid of some like many of you have !

3secondmemory

I’m still struggling with exhaustion but have managed  to clear some of the backlog of ‘goods out’ stacked by the front door. 

Over the weekend I took 2 bags to the CS, some old medicines to the pharmacy and some unused cans to the food bank. I also had my 2nd Covid jab on Sunday so took it easy on Monday; I went for lunch, by myself, at an old watering hole favoured by my late friend who died of cancer last year. Sometimes you need to declutter your mind as well.  I was happy to see three other people dining solo in peace - it takes courage and effort to dine out alone in the best of times! 

I’m still not sleeping well so used these early hours to sort out my bookshelf. It’s just starting to get light so I’m going to wander down to the phonebox in the village which has been repurposed into a community book swap.  The trick is to drop my books off but not bring a whole pile home - I have the intention of doing a lot of reading but it’s not happening 😔 

I’ve done more than I realised, I suppose but gone are the days where I could whip through my entire house from top to bottom in a few hours. I’m only concentrating on about a square metre at a time. It seems endless but occasionally, I notice something and I can see a difference. I wasn’t aware of how much sensory overload there is when nothing is ‘right’ 

I just went to make a coffee and at the same time boxed up my beloved mandolin which I’m too scared to use anymore and my Lakeland spiraliser which takes up an inversely proportional amount of space compared to the amount of spiralised  vegetables a single person actually uses. 

And if I stand at the right angle looking out of the kitchen window, I can see the half of the back garden which has been tidied and cut. that’s been a 10 day project, a few metres at a time, BUT i’m getting there 😃

balabooberlies

Work has been done !  

2 wheelie bins full of recyclables and general household stuff that cannot be recycled (criminal !).

I am claiming 2 bags especially as I KNOW I did all the work.  This is not a goldfish moment........

Ergo.........15/104.

bala

x

vulpix

 I quite agree about sensory overload. My mind is clearer if my environment is clearer too.

 Mr V has had his opp and messaging so he is ok! 

 I have been given a bug hotel ,it's massive. I want to empty it,clean it,paint it and reassemble it. Much rather distract myself doing things like this than cleaning. I suppose I could put the oven shelves in soak whilst I do it. 
 I have soaked and de labelled 31 tonic bottles from DD2's pub for DS wedding reception flowers. (Sundays tonic water use at the pub)

 I have  bought a clothes rail from FB. No wardrobes coming to the new house.They have been dismantled and moved too many times. The cottage is too small for them.

 When Mr V comes home we are on a diet. I have said it here now, so I will have to do it. I have ordered a dress for the wedding a size too small. Dangerous but essential.

  Vx

greent

3secondmemory said:

And if I stand at the right angle looking out of the kitchen window, I can see the half of the back garden which has been tidied and cut. that’s been a 10 day project, a few metres at a time, BUT i’m getting there 😃

Love this bit   Doesn't matter if it takes time - you are making progress (and gardens take a LOT of work!) x

oceanspirit

1 food item uu
1 item on tip pile
1 item paperwork recycled

Friend's paperwork taken back to her yesterday by another friend but she refused to have it back in her flat so it's still in other friend's car.  Other friend says the place is full of piles of stuff, just like her previous house was.  She had said last week that she is no longer a hoarder.  Sadly this is not true.  We don't think there's much more we can do until she agrees to accept professional help.

The excess items on the dressing table have been put into a make up bag that I just use for travelling - they are bottles of creams etc that I'd put there to remind me to use them up - and put away in a drawer.  Mrs SD you are so right that it was lovely to put the bag in the drawer without having to squash it in.  There's still plenty of space in there but I won't be filling it up again.  It's amazing that moving just a few small things makes a room look so much better. 

ruby_eskimo

Glad that my posts rang true for some of you too.  That is an achievement and a half vulpix!  We've been talking about maybe moving in the next couple of years and I keep finding myself looking at bigger houses.  There are 2 of us, with the rare visitor to stay so why on earth would we need a 4 bedroom house?  It would be nice to have a separate office from DH sometimes but it's also nice having someone else to bounce ideas off of when you're working from home so you don't feel quite so cut off from everyone!  Think once we've decluttered a bit more, we'll be happier to stay put for a while longer.

Not a lot of decluttering done over the past couple of days but I am going to be dropping off my parents Christmas presents tomorrow (which will be a surprise for them!) so that's one massive bag of stuff out of the house.  We're going away for a few days and for once I'm pleased that I'm not leaving the house in a complete state like it usually is.  Maybe the new habits are sticking slightly!

short_bird

536-538: items unearthed while defrosting the freezer jettisoned...
539: another bag of rubbish out.
540-577: 37 carriers returned to the supermarket delivery driver. 

Having a bit of a sort out as it's second jab time on Friday afternoon: lots of uncomplicated food in the fridge.