2021 MISSION DECLUTTER and CLEAN

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. ONCE A WEEK LEAVE THE HOUSE (e.g. Go into city centre for bank & butcher;  go to local town for cs dropping off or buying; visit the pub with DH 😉

Paid the milkman before going to bed & cancelled next weeks milk deliveries as currently have 16 pints 😬 Friday was mainly dry & sunny & the promised rain never came ☹️ I went out 🥳 just to the P.O. to send something recorded delivery to my DB in Germany. DH emptied & dismantled the small raised bed, put together the new small raised bed & I helped him line it with a J*ws’ns builders bag - DH used screws & washers to fix the bag in place, cut off the excess material & battened the top edge down so all the soil would stay in the bag. I was the general dogsbody 😉 No heat stroke this time as DH wore a hat & I kept him hydrated. Dinner was delivered - kebab for DH, fish’n’chips for me & pie & chips for DSis - the pie was horrible according to DSis ☹️ I wudupa.

Saturday was another dry day - started overcast but brightened considerably during the day. DH watched the qualifying races for MotoGP. The two of us then resumed garden work - the new raised bed is mainly filled - branches & twigs at the bottom - ‘large mesh’ sifted soil, leaf mould, a 40 kg bag of compost & then I sifted using a small mesh soil sieve. Lots of worms, plenty of small stones & the soil looks beautiful. Whilst I was doing that DH was completing the large raised bed ‘cage frame’ & covering it with chicken wire. The plan is to put hinges on so I can raise the cage rather than having to lift it off 👏 
Dinner was sausages, mash, plum tomatoes, baked beans + a fried egg for DH & me. I wudupa. I have also roasted loads of vegetables for a soup which I will make on Sunday.

1231 - 1239 Kitchen recycling x 2, drinks cans x 2, plastic bottle, 4 newspapers - recycled 
1240 - 1242 Kitchen detritus x 2, large bag of garden detritus - binned

Good plan TC77 👏 Once you have gathered all your stationery into one place it should make it far easier to decide which desk/s to keep. I am giving you a medal 🏅 for having ‘an abundance problem’ rather than a ‘clutter challenge ‘ brought a smile 😊 to my face.
Great work on the decluttering 👏

Great work short_bird 👏

GrannyKate I hope you are awol because you are having a well deserved break 🙂

Isn’t it lovely when plans start coming together 2Scratters 🙂 The shoe store sounds wonderful 👏 & you could always dispose of the empty cupboard 😉 It is always nice to celebrate successes 🥳 keeps you motivated for the next decluttering challenge 👏🙂 

Very pleased to hear that your DH is finally gaining a bit of weight which hopefully means he is getting & feeling better 🤞

What an Angel 😇 you are bit_by_bit 👏 Your sister & niece are lucky to have you & I am keeping everything crossed that they manage to sort the fabric & clothing before your next visit 🤞It must be very difficult to keep your sister on board with the decluttering - a fine line between actually decluttering & being so disheartened that nothing gets done. 

You are working very hard & it is showing in your home - 10 minutes to tidy a room is a huge win 🥇 Keep up the good work 👏 & I see that you are keeping up the good work - a Tip Trip 🥳👏🙂

Excellent work Happy_Kitties 👏

3secondmemory, I am stunned at the amount of work you have done 👏 Everything is coming together very nicely. To aid in the celebrations of your successes I am sending a Gold Star ⭐️ What lovely builders 😁 - what no biscuits 😉😉 “Domestic dopamine” I absolutely love it 😊 and thank you for sharing your successes with us 👏 it gives us all hope & encouragement to continue our decluttering 🏅

Floss, I am in the queue with you 😉😉

Nice to see you leelad 👋 I missed you last weekend but it sounds like you have been busy with work, sorting finances, taking care of both your wife & daughter & dipping your toe into the turbulent waters of online selling 👏 I do love counting money, so fingers crossed that your sealed pot will provide you with enough for the decorating & a little family treat 🤞Hopefully the attic sorting will be a lot easier this time as you have already done the hard work 🙂 40% of the way through your DH’s appointments 🥳

Hi nannywindow 👋 another person who has been busy decluttering 👏 and very successfully 🙂👏   I think there is a ‘Dust Monster’ that waits until we are asleep then opens drawers, cupboards etc & sprinkles dust over everything 😉😉

Excellent work newlywed 👏 Hopefully all these changes that you have implemented will prove successful in keeping your furry visitors away 🤞

MrsSD   🏅 🏅 🏅 🏅🏅 🏅 🏅     ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Decluttering Target: 2021    1242/2021

2021 Savings Pot:  £164.80 to end of June

TC77

Mrs SD, thank you for my medal, so motivating, and potentially embarrassed if I don't put things together. Knew I had two lined pads (DD2 got through so many with GCSEs) but found another 200 page one and piles of others so about 5, plain paper, more graph paper, exercise books (if only a few pages I take these out and keep). All on one shelf as we will work through them, and 2 pads of scrap paper made with bulldog clips (realise clips are in the wrong place). Some paper binned, bankers box and lever arch file thrown. Still lots to do but so good to feel motivated. Also all plastic wallets together and one binned. 

Just got distracted by papers on my desk so made another scrap pad, and put key documents in plastic wallets, found DD1 assessments, which may be useful as she's asked GP for another referral. Wake up call to chaos, found gardening glove in box of cables. Heard of radio 4 professional declutterer who was diagnosed with ADD in her 50s, pretty sure I have same problem. 

Happy sunday whether a relax or active day 

nearly forgot nos - counting as 10 1151 - 1160. 

bit_by_bit

Thankyou Mrs SD for your kind words. It is  a pleasure to have the time now I have retired. I was never doing anything well and always exhausted. I could never have done what I have done in the last few weeks and been able to carry on working. And nothing would have been done well.

TC77. I have several boxes and a shelf full of notebooks and paper and I was still tempted bu a pretty one in teh charity shop yesterday. I didn't get it.

Soooo.  I have had a moment of genius today.   I bought an antique high back chair earlier this month while on holiday for our 25th wedding anniversary 

It is covered in original faded rose pink damask, faded and worn on the arms  but in great shape still. I had an upholsterer come and quote me for recovering it and fixing the springs. Her quote plus the sort of fabric I want takes it beyond economic repair, plus I love it the way it is.

I have been mulling it over in my head and have found what could be an alternative plan. I have a huge wedding dress I made and hand embroidered 25 years ago and have never worn since. It is made of shot ivory silk.  It is sitting in the loft carfully packaged in acid free tissue paper. I have just emailed her to ask her to make a loose cover with it. Fingers crossed.
This frees space in the loft and the dress is used again. DD will not be wearing it as she is a lot smaller and may never get married. Big win all round.

TC77

@bit_by_bit fab idea about your wedding dress - hope the upholsterer can do it! and well done resisting in the CS.

I've added my medal but no idea how you do stars so added halos.

Hopefully back later

Sorted and general clean of fridge and freezer with ood and bits gone 1161 - 1162

elsien

Hi all, 
not been doing any decluttering for a while so today was “start on the shed” day.
Less a shed, more an old air raid shelter that’s meant to be shared with next door but I’ve never had access to.
Neighbours moved 5 or 6 years ago and they’ve rented the house out ever since. Last tenants lost the key, and after reminding the landlord the shed was half mine about 9 months ago, I’ve given up waiting, had the key cut off and have started clearing. 

No idea where the previous tenants have gone - I know they left the garden full of rubbish which landlord had to get cleared, so I’m working on the basis that if any of them had wanted any of the stuff they’d have fetched it by now. 

So today’s tally:

Large sheet of plasterboard (which is a pain as that means going to a tip further away, 
3 broken fan ceiling lights, old microwave, 2 bird cages (freegled) huge box of wires, old bar stool, metal bed frame, assorted metal poles, assorted metal pots, pans and ornaments all put out for the scrap metal man and as they’re on the pavement I’m hoping they get here before I get done for flytipping.
Bag of sawdust to local reptile rescue.
And for the tip - 2 huge boxes of rubbish, large broken mirror, tatty old pictures, old shoes, a couple of car boot covers, assorted bits of plastic tracking and a large plastic stool.
Plus a few bits I’ve brought inside to freegle as they’re too good to throw.

And two jerrycans donated to nice neighbour who cut the lock off and replaced my seatbelt when the dog ate it.

Tbh, I’ve barely touched the surface but at least I can get in the door now. Worrying signs of rat droppings that I need to keep an eye on as well. 

Time for a well earned cuppa, methinks.

Viking_mfw

Gorgeous dress @bit_by_bit! And a lovely idea. 

Having been MIA for several months (basically since my maternity leave ended and DS2 simultaneously stopped sleeping through, heavy roll of the eyes!) I'm back on the wagon. Just passed on the bedside cot and accoutrements to someone expecting a baby. Feeling sad that I won't be using it again myself, but the space is welcome! 

short_bird

Unfortunately, I'm dealing with a clothes moth infestation  They've invaded my favourite shirt. 
At the moment, I'm not quite sure where to start tackling it but earlier on bought some insect spray, closed the windows, liberally fogged the entire flat and went to sit in a coffee bar for an hour. 
I know there will be lots of laundry, lots of cleaning and vacuuming (to get the larvae) and have ordered some pheromone traps, the kind where one can't see the corpses. (And the dust containers from the vacuums will get flysprayed regularly and washed)

Perhaps I ought to take a lesson from Ripley in the film Aliens: "just nuke the entire site from orbit--it's the only way to be sure".

EnergyShifter

EnergyShifter said:

722. email to complain about dead rucksack - not holding my breath but if you don't ask.... 
723. Cxd Anxiety App - not worth the subscription fee - have found free resources which are as good
724 & 5 - 2x morning routine - days 8 & 9 /40 

725-7 - morning routine days 10,11 & 12/40
728 - an afternoon of chopping in the garden on Friday.

TC77

@short_bird sorry about the moths, I used to have them - usually start in May, I use cedar balls, and a spray called Indorex which has  worked for me.

Went to Ik*a today and bought some storage boxes ( I know that isn't the way to do it) but thought good to put all cables together - and shoe box and wicker basket I don't like aren't doing it for me.
1163 wicker basket in CS bag.
1164 emails deleted
1165 form completed, in envelope and will be posted when rain stops
1166 abit more paper sorted
1167 took DD2 to take jeans she bought back, show her how to do this - credit note as she couldn't find receipt but useful lesson.
1168 trying out small filing box to see if it works for pending, and letters etc put in there to trial. 
1169 plug new leads into retro 70s music centre brought back from my dad's (speakers now connected) and radio is fab - although still have my records. Old cables out. 
Realise I have another stash of notepads (or a couple) and lots more pens etc.  3 staplers!  every type of pastel, paint etc and I'm the least artistic person but do intend doing some painting for relaxation (when I actually do may decide not for me). 

elsien

@TC77, if you’ve managed to get out of IKEA without a trolley load of stuff that wasn’t on your list, you’re doing better than I ever do.