2021 MISSION DECLUTTER and CLEAN

Vascodakarma

I felt like an impostor in my home for the last week also because I’ve had it inspection ready for over a week and I barely dared to do anything in case I mess things up! 

They take photos of every room in the house and go looking in the cupboards!! It’s so unsettling - brought back a load of feelings I didn’t want to re-feel 😞 The only person who’s been in my house this year is the psychotherapist who was helping me deal with ‘feeling safe in my house’ so to some clerk come and ‘inspect it’ and put pictures of it on record makes me feel totally ‘not safe’.

Something else I had to endure today was a dental appointment. I’m really squeamish talking about anything medical and avoid the dentist because I gag at the thought of anyone putting their fingers in my mouth! Up until the start of Covid I had a really lovely dentist and a hygienist just down the road but they have gone back to Romania. While I was there they referred me to a private practice to have two teeth removed so I’ve gone back to the private practice and they’re going to catch up with 2 years of missed deep cleaning for £525 over 4 appointments.

 I need it done because FantasyMe is having some cosmetic work done next year!! I toyed with the idea of getting it done abroad but I’m not that brave! I’ve got one too many health complications to risk getting cheap treatment abroad! 

That’s the worst bit of the week over (I hope). Although we weren’t planning it, it looks like the whole family can get together next Sunday. If that isn’t awesome enough, I will be meeting the lady who invited me to go on a cruise with her. She is also on her way to Bristol on Saturday because she is spending the weekend visiting with her new grandchild so we are going to meet on the train and travel down together. 😃 We are wondering if we were ever going to get to meet up 😂😂

I had a great chance to try out my Icelandic gear today! I’d already worn my hiking boots around the house so I knew they were fine but I wanted to try my jacket and waterproof trousers. Really nice! I’m pretty sure it’s all up to the job. 

Spending money hand over fist at the moment! 😬 YOLO 😂😂

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 😉

4. CLEAN & EMPTY SURFACE AREAS - DAILY

Tuesday is a cold, wet (hasn’t stopped raining all day) & miserable day so needless to say I have not posted the Christmas cards 😔 The three of us have done absolutely nothing today - either watching junk TV or playing on the computer 😔 but having many hot drinks 😉 Dinner tonight will be the rest of the brisket & last of the cabbage but not sure whether to do roasties rather than mash? 

Now I will do some cheerleading 🙂

mothernerd, you had an extremely busy day yesterday - excellent decluttering 👏 Sorry to hear about your ‘random gravity test’ & I hope the bruising isn’t too interesting 🤞 However, I see that you continued decluttering from your bed - you really have caught the ‘Decluttering Bug’ 😅 Sorry to hear that you are feeling so unwell 🤒 so please take some time to care for yourself - a bit of tlc never hurts 🙂

Excellent decluttering Finstickle 👏 & fingers crossed that your Vi*ted sale progresses smoothly & efficiently 🤞No doubt in my mind that you will hit your target 👏 & you might even have to set yourself a mini target 😉😉 I see a mini target in your future 😁

Excellent work short_bird 👏 Fingers crossed that entertainment venues stay open & you don’t get pinged 🤞Unlike me, DH already knew about the tube labyrinths & apparently they are all different 🙂

I am getting so excited for you EnergyShifter 😄 Bursts of energy are so useful when decluttering and are proving very successful for you 👏 

Gem-gem, thanks for that - I just thought my DH was a bit loopy 🙄 but am now reassured that this travelling the London Underground for fun is not as bizarre as I first thought 😉 At least it will keep DH happy 😊  I think the Wetherspo*n challenge is more to my liking 😉😉

Now, now TC77 ‘wagging finger emoji’ I don’t think I am alone in thinking that dealing with and clearing frogs is a huge part of decluttering - not only are you clearing tasks, you are decluttering the stress of having them hanging over you 👏 oceanspirit’s post is succinct & marvellous in reassuring us all that dealing with frogs is important & useful & should be counted 🙂👏

Back later as I have to sort out dinner 😉

MrsSD   🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🥇🥇🏅   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Decluttering Target: 2021    2215/2021

2021 Savings Pot:  £675.00 to end of December 

bit_by_bit

MrsSD that sounds great fun with the Oyster Card.

BBB, well done on the books. Its hard to get going again when you have stopped for a while.

@vulpix. A while ago I bought a tweed glasses/pencil case from a crafter. Lovely fabric that never goes out of stye. Thought it was quiet on here  I don't have instagram. 

@ruby_eskimo. I am looking forward to the day when my house is all done in four hours and sparkling

Fab link @short_bird

Did a jigsaw yesterday, 500 pieces and it was hard. Anyway, all done and checked and ready to be sold. I was pretty tired so needed a rest day. 

I did start logging my DS's stuff yesterday. It is going away as I don't have the energy to put much more online for selling right now. DH also starting to 'comment' on the amount of stuff downstairs again.

Forgot to take bags to the CS today but did clear 2 frogs. Workind in the CS this afternoon and bought two £1.00 presents for great nieces and one for DD for when she actually goes into an office.

Right. cuppa time and a rest.

mothernerd

Today has been very busy and successful, things are moving forward. Forgot about the leggings I binned the other day. All my leggings are at least 4 years old and some are whiskery where the lycra strands have broken but this pair had two developing holes, in places with maximum potential for embarrassment.

Had an x-ray appointment this morning (my hip replacement has just had it's 7th birthday) and was unsure about going for the bus (the new timetable is a complete mystery, mostly because the drivers seem to end up running on the old schedule. Settled for booking a taxi which left more time for clearing up in here. Lots of things bagged or boxed and labelled including two new towels and two new bathmats for my house (once the bathroom is thoroughly clean), random bits of mum's paperwork (in a plastic wallet until I have time to go through her filing box again, Christmas box of gifts and other things to pass on to DS1 and DS2 (junk mail still coming to my home address, 7.5 years since he left), Christmas pile for me - I've been buying the odd book, charity, second hand or on 3 for £5 offer including latest in a few series I'm reading/ collecting. decided to put the ones I've not started on one side. My puzzle book came out last week (still have one to do in last month's yet) so will add that when I've bought it and maybe one or two bits - a bar of chocolate and some nice soap (from charity shop).

Posted empty plastic bottles out through the bedroom window, collected all the place mats on the window sill (use them to protect the wood when I'm seed growing). usual rubbish, recycling and paper bags, pots back to the kitchen, a bag for charity shop donations and my important but not urgent paperwork (have some Tessimo codes and vouchers which I keep forgetting to use - now all in one place). Went for my appointment and everyone was lovely except I couldn't go through outpatients - had to go along the main corridor, turn right to get to the back corridor and then past the theatres and recovery. Was a bit out of breath. Radiologist said they take x-rays of both legs for comparison so hoping if my left leg problems are down to arthritis they will pick up on it. i noticed my hands were beside my hips so laid my hands out flat for the second x-ray (problems with fingers as well). pity I couldn't work out how to get my shoulders in, as well.

Just missed my bus so went in the little cafe to get warm (half hour wait for next bus). Soup not yet arrived, still not solved the hot chocolate supply problem, no bacon -finally asked what they did have and had their last 2 sausage on a barm cake. Ate slowly with maximum enjoyment, then walked down to the bus stop. Still 15 minutes to wait and the metal bench was cold but some shelter from the wind. got off at the library to return my last 2 books (sat inside to read the last few pages) then across the carpark to my house.

Had a drink and a sandwich (bought at the weekend to avoid takeaways). Cleaned two shelves (normally have my spices and pulses there but they are all at the bungalow with me). Top shelf was a bit high so put a wet rag on and moved it about with a fish slice. Then moved all the clean pots from the trolley to the shelves (they can go in the cupboards when they've been cleaned). Emptied the dishwasher. Some things not properly clean (probably left hanging around for too long) so left them soaking in a bucket of strong washing up solution. clean cutlery in a mug and some utensils and pans hung from hooks.

I'd put mum's bin out before I left, so put mine out and then appropriated a neighbour's bin - they'd put the wrong things in so the binmen would not have emptied it. I emptied it, put the plastic bottles back (plus some of mine) and put the incorrect items in my black bin.

Took recycling sacks and rubble sacks with me and went upstairs (the rubble sacks were bought for holding greenery but it's been too wet and windy for cutting back ivy and weeds so using them for cardboard and paper for now (most of it will fit in the bin after it's collected next week) and can then refill with green stuff. Two broken bowls and two items which would not be separated (ramekin stuck inside a mug) wrapped in a rubble sack and binned.

Asked about the pile of card I left on the bed yesterday - Beloved had moved it onto a chair, so bagged all that and did a further sweep of the floor and under the bed. DS3 appeared so I asked about the cleaners (messaged DS3 yesterday). Not phoned so I drew the short straw. I said we needed help and described it as between a whole house deep clean and a hoarders clean - our house didn't look as bad as the hoarder houses on their website but then I've spent nearly 2 weeks picking stuff off the floor and sweeping (and running the washer and dishwasher for the past week).

So we're booked in for the 16th. It will be expensive (3 skilled workers for 8 hours) and we will get a refund if it's completed sooner. DS3 was arguing for just having the kitchen and bathroom done but to be honest there are so many things I've been unable to do thoroughly or properly for the last 4 - 5 years and everything I can do takes so long (half a day to clean one window, plates needing to be put away a single plate at a time because of the arthritis in my shoulder. Spent 3 hours yesterday and I managed to get at skirtings and cobwebs and dust and clear the floor but really only did a small part of the room.

I've never liked housework, it gives me no sense of satisfaction but I always thought that even if I won the lottery, I wouldn't feel right paying another woman to clean my house. However I've done a lot of tough cleaning jobs in my time (a church hall that was used for dance classes 6 days a week from after school until 10 pm, a double fronted shop with 4 storeys and fishing kebabs and cigarette butts from the urinals in a pub) and now I can't manage and I need help (and everyone in the house will do 15 minutes a day when we're straight).

Whilst they were both in the room I asked if they liked or used the little filing cabinets that have been posing as bedside tables. No, so dismantled the one next to me - drawer, printer shelf and the carcass - over the bed and DS3 took them downstairs. DS3 finally agreed to part with the box of playing/trading cards (roughly large shoe box size) and a few other boxes have been gone through. beloved sorted some clothes - dirty or dusty ones for washing, clean ones hung up.

I asked her if she and DS3 would ever sit and eat at the table. No - so don't need either table in the kitchen. I was over 50 before I finally got the farmhouse table I'd always wanted but it's very big and very heavy and one leg is broken and I'm not sure it can be fixed. it's currently on 2 sets of cube shelves and taking up far too much room and is mainly used as a dumping ground but it might make a rather wonderful worktop when I do my kitchen refurb. The other table is less overwhelming but has been propped up at the bottom of the stairs for several years. I do a lot of meal prep sitting down but at the moment I want as many options as possible.

Beloved has been having problems with her bed slats (I was the one who was let down by them this afternoon) and was talking about having a piece of cut to size blockboard. however we still have the solid wood (but broken) single bed downstairs and she also thinks a lot more of the clothes could be put away in drawers rather than hung up. So I've been quietly measuring and am prepared to sacrifice the bed (wanted to use it as a raised bed) and one or more of the wardrobes to make wide, strong bed slats and possibly a bed base for DS3.

I also realised how much I resent those wardrobes. Mum bought them from the parents of a friend who were moving to Australia to be near her. They went with my brother when he moved to Weston super mare and 12 years later when he died, she insisted that I brought them back. I only found out when I got home that they were to stay at my house, not hers.  They are well built, a bit shabby round the edges after 15 plus years of living with my boys, have sometimes been useful but just as often been a nuisance. They're very heavy (the older I get, the more aware I become of how much effort it takes to move stuff about), have damaged floors at times and made me cry (I once swopped rooms with DS2 only to find that he'd moved the 3 wardrobes from the larger room he was in, into the smaller room I had taken). I couldn't budge them and had to squeeze through the door and onto the bed. Anyway, lots to think about.

By the time we broke for food (DS3 paid) I'd amassed 20 rubbish bags, at least 6 plastic bottle bags and 7 sacks of paper and card. I worked my way across the bed and then worked back towards the doorway (the pile looked insurmountable from the other end). Lots more sent down for washing. I picked up pillows and bedding and put them on the bed behind me. After we'd eaten I suggested we needed to bag up any bedding Beloved did not need for sleeping tonight and pile it in the space I'd made (bagged because I haven't yet got all the mess off the floor). So we did that and I phoned for a taxi.

Just done a rough tot up and make it 86 for today, 538/ 2021 running total.

TC77

@mothernerd...wow so much done, I feel exhausted reading, and @oceanspirit thank you ... I agree about the thread. So much going on .
Staying up late as our little cat hasn't come home after running out after coming back from the vet for her vaccination around lunchtime. Both DDs are saying how irresponsible I am letting her out   hoping she's back soon. Just decluttered Xmas chocolate I'll have to replace

1  item to CS bag and then 18 xmas decorations, and 1 pack of decorations to DD1 to take home
Out of date food.
Post office money card replacement sorted, and old card and paperwork binned (2)
2 other frogs moved on
Headlight bulb replaced so decluttered that worry
Good garden chairs put in shed
Few bulbs planted (the other day)
Other receipts and bits of paper
Counting as 29
now 2208

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 😉

4. CLEAN & EMPTY SURFACE AREAS - DAILY

Tuesday it continued to rain until gone midnight. I did make roast potatoes to go with the brisket + cabbage & mashed sweet potato for DH & me 😋 Wudupa. Wrote Christmas cards for neighbours 🙂

2216 Glass bottle - recycled 

2217 - 2219 Kitchen, lr, office detritus - binned

Oops, I am a bit behind in the cheerleading 😔

Something to look forward to balabooberlies 🙂 Excellent decluttering 👏 No imposters here 😉 we are all decluttering even if it is only slowly at times 👏

Wednesday2000, perhaps a couple of day trips before you move or maybe a couple of bus trips 😉 Well done on getting DH to drop off bags to the CS 👏

vulpix, I know the Stacey Solomon programme revisits a month later. I would like to see a six month visit as well as a year later 😉 I think the decluttering in the warehouse should take at least 5 days especially as they are trying to reduce by 50% 🙂 Like I told balabooberlies, there are no imposters here ‘wagging finger emoji’ Just because your decluttering may have slowed down a bit it is not a reason to think you are suffering from Imposter Syndrome. Apologies but no Instagram or F*cebook - my online presence is MSE Old Style 🙂 What excellent crafting 👏 & yippee to more sales 🥳 Sending healing vibes to your MIL.

Great decluttering Siebrie 👏 Congratulations on receiving a bonus 🥳 should probably have been twice as Mapuche 😉😉

GrannyKate, sounds like a great break in Edinburgh 👏 I have just had a look at the rules & can understand why you would be confused 🤔 The rules are about as clear as mud 😖 Good decluttering especially writing cards on the train 👏

Thanks for the good wishes for my DSis, ruby_eskimo 👏 Excellent work on tidying & cleaning for your honoured guests 🙂👏 I am very impressed with your Sunday work 👏 sounds like it was all hands on deck & a successful result 👏 

Just realised what the time is 😱 so I am off to bed 😉 Will try to catch up on the cheerleading when I get up 🤞

MrsSD   🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅🥇🥇🏅   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Decluttering Target: 2021    2219/2021

2021 Savings Pot:  £675.00 to end of December 

Floss

I'm having to do some extreme decluttering... my boiler is dying & needs to be replaced so will be decluttering £££s and the old one!

Blackberrycurved

What a time for boiler to die Floss.
I have adopted Mrs Salad Dodgers mantra so far so good. KITCHEN WILL CONTINUE TO BE LEFT CLEAN & TIDY EVERY NIGHT
I am cheerleading MSD for cheerleading it keeps me going.
Will my cleaner turn up tomorrow who knows?

EnergyShifter

EnergyShifter said:

1041 - padded inserts from swimming costume
1042 - worn out cloth mask 

50 items to meet 2021 target

Goodness, yesterday's terrible weather really made my energy go through the floor .  Feeling much brighter today and had a good catch up of admin tasks and general tidying / washing / washing up.  I've got a few hours gap between clients so hopint my energy remains so I get more done.

From yesterday:  

1043.  Returned boots to TK Maxx  (overlooking the fact that I bought a padded jacket while I was there - it was such a bargain & my old padded jacket is on its way out!! ) 
 
(also dropped battery recycling off - this has already been counted ) 

49 items to meet 2021 target

balabooberlies

Well, my timbers are shivering again.......

It has taken 2 years of deliberation and procrastination (not mine) to decide what to do with the car that's been sorned on the drive.  It's 21 years old (my family's car that got passed around) but it was past it's expiration date, sadly.

Got the go ahead and this morning it was towed away.  Now there is room for a skip ! (And the money)......

So.....

30/104 bags

3 Piece Suite

1 X 2 year old Frog

And (drum role please).........

1 beloved CAR !



bala

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