2021 MISSION DECLUTTER and CLEAN

short_bird

The only suggestion I have for Blackberrycurved is, if you're not ready to make a decision about his stuff, at least go and check it's safe from moths. Sadly, there's nothing they like more than undisturbed textiles so you might need to go in and give everything a shake every month.     

Floss

@Blackberrycurved I recently had my hall/ stairs/ landing & both bedrooms decorated and have only put a few of the previous pictures & photos back up, I'm living with it until I decide what will be right on the walls and some have already left as they were only giving colour but not joy.

Can i just ask, do any of your OHs posters have particular meaning or attraction for you? If so, then get those framed (if only for the downstairs loo - I have my gig posters & flyers up on the wall in mine) and maybe store the others for a little longer until you can decide. Some of my gig flyers were tickets bought for my ex-h so wouldn't have been my choice, but if I enjoyed the gig then they are framed & hung.

Floss

I still have a few more to go up... the Elbow & Take That ones are on the door wall as reading matter 😂

florianatwobob

Floss said:

I still have a few more to go up... the Elbow & Take That ones are on the door wall as reading matter 😂

Floss said:

I still have a few more to go up... the Elbow & Take That ones are on the door wall as reading matter 😂

What a great idea! 

bit_by_bit

Thankyou for my star @Mrs_Salad_Dodger. It is most gratefully received. The money would be nice from all that stuff but when it stops being enjoyable I will be having another clearout. 

Four binliners of blankets passed on to my Malawian friend. She is going at Christmas and will take them with her luggage and take to the hospital herself.

Also gone: two bags of tombola prizes for my MiL church Christmas fair and another bag containing a young rhubarb plant.

I managed to start work clearing in the Room of Doom today. I put away several bags of wool in emptied draws and found another bag of book to sell. That is now 36 'boxes' There may be more to add to the count yet 

Blackberrycurved

Hi Floss my fellah was an actor so I’ve kept posters from some theatre shows, stills from a few tv and films radio times front covers that sort of thing. I need to organise properly. I’d decided to decorate then the decorator couldn’t come, he was 4 months late by which time I’d started emptying cupboards to declutter. Then the decorator turned up and put things he needed moving on top of stuff that was decluttering. So slightly overwhelmed then decided to clear downstairs first and put everything else in spare room. Tonight I get a text asking if I want to rent my spare room out to a Phd student I do need the money, she wants to view on Sunday. I have taken to my bed to rethink 😂🤣😅

chirpycheap

Thank you everyone for being so welcoming. I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts.

I have finally started the mammoth challenge of putting all of my photographs into the albums that I purchased a couple of years ago. I have a huge box of photos. All from the pre digital era so precious memories as there is no copy online.  Some are in packets and some are loose ones that I took out of those old fashioned sticky plastic albums that we used to use but aren't good for photos. This job may take some time!!

I went to visit mum today and she got so excited telling me about her own decluttering that she knocked her best cup and saucer off the table and smashed them. Luckily she was able to smile about it and say that she now how two fewer things to declutter. Hopefully next time she does some Greek style plate smashing decluttering it's not the best stuff!

Liverpool_Anne

@Blackberrycurved, I can understand your dilemma. I'm in the middle of the dakar rally, as Mrs SD calls it I reached a point when I was so overwhelmed I couldn't make a decision about anything. With the inspiration of people here I made a start on my bedroom and got it right for me, probably needs a bit more work but it is somewhere I feel calm and it is easy to tidy and clean etc. Having that calm space means I can face the rest knowing it is possible to sort it all out even if outside factors like decorators delay and muddle things.
As for the PhD student, didn't you say you have 4 bedrooms? Could you offer one of the other rooms for rent, or move the boxes into another room? Maybe with a little less financial stress you would feel more able to tackle the physical decluttering and give yourself a bit more head space to deal with the emotions connected to some of the things you have. Most of all I would say be kind to yourself.
Take care everyone

Vascodakarma

6hrs. The countdown clock is ticking away! 

I’m checking and over checking. Some memories of moving and the horrible  feeling not knowing where I was going to live or who I was going to live with. Also being told that if I couldn’t take it in my suitcase, I wasn’t allowed to take it. No wonder I have hangups about going anywhere and possessing ‘stuff’!   😂😂

anyway that’s an old grave that doesn’t need to be disturbed, just marking.  I’m screenshotting this post because I want a reminder that i’ve connected some of the pieces and it’s not as scary as I thought it was, it was just that I couldn’t process it at the time. Now I can move on – especially if I have a successful trip today. 

It’s doomed already – I’ve only just been allocated my cabin number and it’s not what I paid for! Because I’m a solo traveller they’ve put me in an interior. I don’t think I’m going to be able to cope. Emails were flying around all yesterday afternoon but the ship is full. I can only pray that there is a no-show!  I’m on the priority list to be upgraded and, it’s been brought to the attention of one of the managers (not by me, I just accept it) how much extra I’ve paid as a single passenger just to be shoved in a windowless room at the back of the ship! It’s a type of discrimination! 

I did manage to get a haircut in the end – really pleased with it. Sad that I didn’t find a manageable style that suited me until now but my menopause hair is the best it’s ever been!
I paid a bit extra this year and got high end shampoo, conditioner and heat protector. trying to be conscientious in all my purchasing. Who are we kidding when we buy a litre of shampoo in home bargains for £1.50. Someone on the way is not getting paid a liveable wage 🤷‍♀️

I’m also really excited about my beauty box from The Last Object. I’ll try to keep it short but people moan about cruise liners and the amount of rubbish they dump in the oceans. There are actually very strict controls but that’s not the point, I’m trying to cut down on everything – that includes cotton wool pads, tissues and Q-Tips.

That’s exactly what is in this kit, reusable wipes, reusable cotton pad and reusable Q-Tip. Before anyone says anything, I use Q-Tips for desmudging badly applied make up - anything else sets off my contamination phobia so no one comment about ear cleaning please 🤢 it’s come with a nice little bag to put the dirty ones in and then you just shove the whole thing in the wash. It’s give me an idea about crocheting bags like this as gifts. 

Clothes-wise, everything is laid out on my bed. Four days worth of smart casual daywear, smart evening wear , 2 alternates, my first non-black, non-regulation swimsuit!! , one sports outfit for yoga , two pairs of comfy shoes, 2 pairs smart shoes, 2 formal outfits. Can’t put it into my suitcase until I’m nearly ready to go because I won’t be able to remember what I’ve packed!

Revelations are flooding back to me so I’m going to make a coffee and focus on being on board that ship this afternoon. 

Have a good day everyone 😃

TC77

@Vascodakarma  I do hope you have a wonderful trip, travel is so often unfair on solo travellers,  the haircut and beauty box sound great, and your outfits....fingers crossed you are upgraded quickly and get to relax and have fun.
@Blackberrycurved , others have given great suggestions, mine is only to take care of your mental health and if you start one way and its not for you, then change and nothing is failure, just a different route or learning lesson. Do you know much about the Phd student?  can you have them for a short period initially to see how it goes?
@Floss love your display of posters and the bright yellow. I have to redecorate and after thinking of lots of colour swinging between this and white! colour can really lift our mood.

Stayed calm with DD1, and van and men came and took mattresses, large mirror, 12 boxes and 7 plants. DD1 doesn't like the bed that arrived from I*ea so may ask men to take back so she took 2 mattresses in the meantime (had 3 spare). Took her kitchen/homeware shopping and back home for her to tidy up - all stayed in the car. I swam to declutter stress and then took her and then another 6 boxes/bags of things to flat. - counting as 28. 
3 bags of rubbish - black bin now full and lots of recycling.

1803 - 1834

Booked cleaner to do space DD1 vacated on Monday but not tidy enough (she is coming back) but will get downstairs nice for DD2 and me. 

Just checked bathroom, bowl, hairdye stuff, rubbish, old bottles etc out (7)
Old card, exercise thing and bowl (3)

1834

1835 friday frog done

Really focusing on what the house may look like at end of Nov , and then end Dec rather than now! anything out is progress. Have several bags for CS (DD1 mainly) checked but not collecting so will take gradually to CS..

Going to my dad's with DD2 to see him in home and check his house.

Hope everyone is kind to themselves, going to be my phrase to the weekend, and think what is kind to me not just in the immediate moment.