2021 MISSION DECLUTTER and CLEAN

mothernerd

Love your post Vulpix. I find I get a bit 'scratchy' (not quite the right word) if the house is absolutely perfect - must be that I'm the scruffy mess that doesn't belong then. I need a nest, I want a pile of books next to me, my sewing near at hand, the remote when we have had a tv (not had one for 10 years now but will be taking one back home with me - analogue only so can't get tv reception but have a code for DS2's Netflix).

Then there's all the stuff I carry around with me - glasses, purse, keys, other glasses, the laptop, hanky/ tissues/ kitchen roll, pills, hand cream and lip balm (very dry skin), address book, current notebook (or 3), lists. I spent some time using the attic bedroom and it concentrates the mind wonderfully if you have to go back up two (slow painful) flights of stairs if you forget something.

There have been times when I've found myself living out of bags (one for clothes, one for work, one for stuff listed above) when work needing done on the house has caused me to camp out in a corner of a room that wasn't being 'done' and I frequently ended up sleeping in the tiny box room because my sons said I was the only one who could fit - DS2 is 6'4", DS3 is currently 6' 7" or 8 (catches his head on door frames) and DS1 is not quite so tall but several inches above me. They also go on about my freakishly small feet (or my 'little hairy hobbit feet' when hairs sprouted on my toes shortly after my 40th birthday) as they all passed my in their teens (DS1 needed new school shoes 3 times in one year).

I'm avoiding work but think I need to take a break. I was awake soon after 2 am and have packed a bag for life with flour (mum can't use wholemeal, let alone gram flour) and one with flour and sugar - all in storage jars). Have taken my spice jars out of the cupboard but not yet packed. two very heavy bags so looking for some lighter items (going to aim for 6 bags worth in the taxi with me every time I go back to my house).

I've (partly) done a flow chart for the week eg if I complete the emptying of the tall freezer, clean it out then turn it back on again, tomorrow I can move across all the contents of the fridge freezer here which can then be turned off in preparation for moving. Man and van doesn't 'have to' happen this week, could be next week or even New Year. I'm running out of money (I've been near enough to poverty enough times to want a good buffer) and bits of me are hurting quite a lot (there's a 7' bookcase that would need to be emptied as well) so may wait and see with that one. But I do want the food moving and I have empty shelves to arrange all my storage jars on (spent most of last year's present money on jars - half price in the sale of course).

I did a shuffle in this bedroom yesterday (two dining chairs out of here and back in the living room - brought in last week so I could move anything that might be in the cleaner's way) so I have space to get in the fridge- freezer. Can get to it but have twice struggled to get back (straddling over some more bags of stuff and Henry hoover) so need more shuffling (will get easier once the packed food boxes go but my back's hurting too much to do those today - could stack them and get rid of the 3rd chair.

Going to rest awhile, have Sunday dinner with mum (lamb and brisket both cooked last night so will slice and portion - should be 2 - 3 dinners off each) and do some gentle clearing and organising with maybe quick trip home later (and bring more rubbish back to fill the space in mum's bins - one of these will be emptied on Wednesday. Yes tomorrow is waste wizard day and Tuesday the new to us bed is coming so take it easy day today (mum's just offered my the 4 shoeboxes from her new slippers - just the right size for spice jars, and maybe jam/ mint sauce).

I have gathered my jottings and have another 65 to add to my total (still not including the bags in my yard at home). I have also packed numbers 23/ 20/ 18/ 4 to my reverse advent calendar to be delivered to the food bank tomorrow (still keeping those figures separate but this may change if today goes badly (might be time for more painkillers)

I also did food orders for delivery on the 29th for both here and my home (love Tessimo because they're the only ones that let me have 2 addresses on one account, much simpler than having two lots of account details, log ins etc). I tried to do a small Icyland delivery for mum but looked in her freezer and she hadn't room for all the potato products she wanted. Will try later in the week and fill in any gaps (basic salads, pasta and dips). Christmas dinner will be lamb or brisket (New year too). have enough basic meal stuff, festive bits (mostly tucked into corners of the freezer but chocolate biscuits and cake in a cupboard) plus lots of tinned soup, fruit and rice pudding for if we continue to be poorly or get worse (and more easy to do bits for mum to encourage healthy eating). I'm not abandoning her but at least can give her the 'feeling' that she is independent

65 added to total, 894/2021. Reverse Advent calendar 143, including items already packed for delivery tomorrow

Gem-gem

Washing machine decided that it was going to add its own smell - burning to my newly washed clothes. So this will be Decluttered on Wednesday when the new one comes. JL are paying me £140 to take the machine away!!!!!

I was hoping that this will be the last for a while as, both the tumble dryer and iron have also been replaced in the last few months. Then today, my food processor stopped working - two small screws have come out and only turn if screwed back in- so the safety feature is stopping it from working - so when I next visit my aunt - I will pop into Kenwood factory and hope they can repair it - or it will mean a new lid. 

Baked today:
Whole roast chicken (ys £1.25)
pear and blackberry crumble
Sausage meat and egg pie for tomorrow. 

Jam tart with pastry leftovers 

iced Christmas cake
With leftover icing - incorporated almond flavouring and the dipped in melted chocolate - DH will enjoy these. 

Binned:
bathroom bits

recycled:
lateral flow box
toilet roll middles
foundation box
empty flour sack

Hope you all have a good few days. 

Hugs to all those who need them (and those who don't - but want one). 

EnergyShifter

EnergyShifter said:

1068. bikini top
1069 & 70 - 2 x pairs sports bra inserts
1071 - hand blender (bought it when DS was being weaned (he's now 21 )
1072 - chair

20 items to meet 2021 target

1073. dead pants
1074. Xmas cards written & hand-delivered
1075. enamel sign
1076. Top 

16 items to meet 2021 target

Floss

Gem-gem said:

Washing machine decided that it was going to add its own smell - burning to my newly washed clothes. So this will be Decluttered on Wednesday when the new one comes. JL are paying me £140 to take the machine away!!!!!

How did you manage that?!

balabooberlies

Floss said:

Gem-gem said:

Washing machine decided that it was going to add its own smell - burning to my newly washed clothes. So this will be Decluttered on Wednesday when the new one comes. JL are paying me £140 to take the machine away!!!!!

How did you manage that?!

Ditto !

  

Gem-gem

Floss said:

Gem-gem said:

Washing machine decided that it was going to add its own smell - burning to my newly washed clothes. So this will be Decluttered on Wednesday when the new one comes. JL are paying me £140 to take the machine away!!!!!

How did you manage that?!

Several machines have an offer at the moment £120 to recycle your machine plus they are crediting the £20 that they normally charge. 

Last time we bought the cheapest of a make that I have confidence in. This time because of the discount, we went for a more expensive make/model - that takes more weight and has the feature that you can open a small window up and pop a dropped sock through. With the discount there wasn't much difference in the price for the added extras. 

Liverpool_Anne

@vulpix, I love your posts and aspire to be at the stage you are at
@Gem-gem, great work with the washing machine next time mine dies irreparably I'll look out for a deal that includes recycling the old one. I have always had to pay the council to take away my old one, they are just too heavy for me to get them to the tip.
Take care everyone

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Just lost my post - but will say there is a new scam text/email doing the rounds - DSis has just received a text/email purportedly from the NHS stating that she “is eligible to apply for a Covid Pass. Failure to apply could lead to a fine”😡😖
Will try again tomorrow to do my usual post 😉

mothernerd

Just a quick check in. Things that were done yesterday will be added to today's total as most of them did not get written down (but are bagged/ boxed and labelled). I have a list of the last 65 items added so will not double count.

Didn't feel great yesterday but had a plan. Made a quick dinner for me and mum (lamb and brisket had been cooked on Saturday evening and mum wanted some of the lamb with the potatoes and carrots cooked alongside the brisket. I had 'Sunday dinner' on the plates in under 10 minutes and it was lovely and what we both needed. Did a little organising but then got a mid-afternoon message from DS3 which upset me.

I tried hard because I've already got one son not talking to me but had a little meltdown after the exchange. I wasn't well (not been since the beginning of August but the horrible bug has cycles and I was struggling to do anything) very tired and know I've been doing too much (but really want to be settled in one place with my things arranged around me - I love and need to have all my storage jars and spices in alphabetical order). 

So I had a mental health wobble, thought some bad thoughts (my logical brain recognised this immediately and was fighting to take back control, but I have numbers to phone if it happens again and I need someone to talk me back down). Had a good cry and a little lie down, did feel good activities (Christmas songs, a good book with fictional Yorkshire W.I. members and their friendly dragons, easy puzzles, toast for tea - some days are just toast days), whilst mum watched children's/ Christmas films - I saw part of one with a unicorn).

Equilibrium restored, continued to rest and packed some boxes in between. I will do things in stages but I want to get to my house before lunch (so that I can get more stuff to the food bank - some is ready to go but I still have some things at the bottom of one wardrobe to go through, so that all the tins that are staying can be neatly stacked).

I know I've said it before but I do worry that people will think I'm stealing food that mum's paid for. When I moved in at the start of the pandemic I brought all the food from my house that DS3 and Beloved would not use - mainly a variety of tinned beans and frozen and tinned fish, plus all my 'ingredients' that mum did not have (she's a jar of ready sauce person, if she bothers at all and I'm a 'cook from scratch' whenever I can).

Mum loves my bean salad and has happily eaten butterbean casserole but would never think to open a can of 5 bean salad with vinaigrette as the base for a meal (bit of an indulgence so I only buy them when on offer but good for healthy eating when I'm ill). When she started to get over this bug (kindly passed it on to me) and decided she could 'look after herself' she made herself some 'ready meals' to freeze. They are all bland and white, the only vegetable is the cauliflower in cauliflower cheese (lots of packet sauce and no pasta in the mix to make it complete) and this was reflected in her last blood tests. 

But I can only fight/ argue on so many fronts and I've been picking my fights (so she let all her former partner's relatives in the house and believed them when they said they needn't wear a mask - until the official letter came which said she should ask them to wear masks or meet in the garden and make sure they'd had all their jabs). I've worked so hard to keep her safe, voluntarily putting myself into complete isolation from the first lockdown but because I protected her she hasn't learned safe behaviours - so when we finally started going out (to appointments from this summer) she would ask loudly "why are we waiting here?" (I'd asked her to stop in the hospital corridor at a safe distance from the old man in front of us - not sure if he was waiting for a relative to bring the car round to pick him up or just needed to rest for a while before carrying on).

Anyway, I must get on (been awake on and off since 5 am - I am clean but haven't had my pills or breakfast). Will do my best to take it slowly and look after myself (breakfast may be two little trifles - well I have empty the fridge/ freezer so it can be moved across to my house and I brought a spoon from the kitchen but can't face going back for yoghurt until the house warms up a bit).

ruby_eskimo

Morning all.  @mothernerd I'm sending you lots of gentle hugs, I'm exhausted just reading about your progress, but you're doing so well.  Sounds like the CBT is helping (e.g. acknowledging intrusive thoughts etc.), it really helped me a few years ago to realise when I'm "spiralling" into a thought pattern that's totally ridiculous and usually brought on by something very very minor.

Managed to sold another item on Vinted so that's another item out of the house and I've managed to reduce my Christmas candle stash by 7 so far, with another 3 to go.  Have also managed to post the Christmas cards finally and I even had a mad moment at the weekend and cleaned the oven and washing machine and descaled the kettle 😲  DH tidied up the garden a bit and trimmed back the last of the stuff that needed it, although our rose bush still has a couple of buds with obvious petals creeping through so guessing the repotting earlier on this year did it the world of good!

Definitely don't think we're going to hit the 2021 target I set myself (but probably have if I counted every individual bit of paper that's left the house and the recycling - so much recycling!).  Want to join in again next year Mrs_SD, with a more realistic target of 365 I think.