2022 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

grandmanerd

TC77 said:

@Floss and others I think it's hard getting any work balance. I'm similar age (maybe a tad older) but had DD2 later and DD1 with her mental health problems so debate about reducing hours, but as I don't manage to take my leave clearly not good at managing any balance. 
Returned one item.
talking to a friend/decorator about getting kitchen painted and said the ceiling didn't need doing, then looked up - exploded egg all over the ceiling. I'd left eggs on while working at home, as I heard explosion after explosion, went to the front door to check what was going on but didn't think to go in the kitchen. Evenutally I realised and cleared up mess from walls and floors but not idea reached the ceiling (high ceilings). Abit embarrassing! He's going to do the work hopefully in new year and setting target of trying to get things sorted. didn't know he was going to pop round! Electrican coming on Sat to check the extractor fan so have to tidy the bathroom

My grandma did her own pickled red cabbage in the rather temperamental pressure cooker and it exploded all over the newly painted pale yellow ceiling and walls. Mum wasn't pleased as she'd done the decorating.

A very belated Happy Birthday Mrs SD.

Not a lot happening here. Sunday was wonderful but I've been sleepy and then just tired (aching legs, knees don't want to do anything at all) ever since. At least 12 bags of rubbish and recycling have gone out (I know there were 4 paper bags early in the week and I took 3 smaller but smelly bin bags out on Tuesday but then yesterday 2 huge bin bags appeared  in the kitchen - I think there was a lot of paper recycling mixed in but I didn't have the energy to rip them open and re-sort so they just went in as they were.

On Monday when I went downstairs for food I found the door of my freezer was slightly open and had been for some time. I didn't go in the kitchen when I returned on Sunday evening. It may have been caught in passing, wouldn't have been noticed except by someone holding onto the top to rest for a minute before launching themself across the kitchen. So i sat beside it and went through the contents. The ice lollies were little puddles (not many as I've been using them to ease my sore throat), the ice cream looked firm but wasn't but it had saved all the fish underneath it, which were transferred to their freezer. All the soft fish and the bags of veg went into my fridge for eating/ using up.

Yesterday I mixed a bag of onions with 3 tins of chopped tomatoes and added herbs, 2 sachets of tomato paste, garlic and herb pots from DS3's takeaways and some previously chopped fresh chillies which had been frozen. After it had simmered for a while I added most of a bag of sweetcorn and nearly a full bag of pea, green bean and broad bean mixture and cooked on a while longer. i split them into 2 pans and added 2 cans of kidney beans and the remainder of the chillies. The first pan will be a pasta bake and the second is veggie chilli. I intended doing the pasta bake alongside the things that needed oven cooking but the wedges, spicy bean burgers and veggie fingers took all the space (the fingers especially were soft and breaking up so no point saving some from another day) - I will have the leftovers with a can of beans today.

I had the beefburgers and most of the wedges (already eaten half the packet) as I was most afraid of those going off (eat the most expensive stuff first) and yesterday lunch was a sad and lonely fish (the others were soft but okay as there were several in the same pack, accompanied by the only hm ready meal in the freezer - a lovely veggie chilli. I have a cauli and macaroni cheese sauce rm (did a small same day delivery last Thursday and they had a few short- dated bits at half price. The moussaka did me 3 meals (very rich) so I'll bake this alongside the pasta bake (I'll use a jar of vegan cheese sauce with that, another use up off the list) and then divide into portions. I'm hoping some of the newly made meals can go back in the freezer. The fridge and freezer needed emptying and cleaning anyway, I'm just doing it sooner rather than later, like the bed making. If I get the chance I'll do it again before Christmas (the sheets will be changed it's getting everything off and redoing the mattress spots which might take a whole day) but if not it's been done.

So I've managed some cooking - it had to be very simple because I had to sit down to open the cans. DS3 was in bed on Wednesday morning but I saw his leg move so asked quietly whether he'd put the bin out on Tuesday night. He said no, but added that he could do it 'now' (Wednesday) and I was so relieved - getting down the stairs was a real chore, don't know what taking the bin would have done to me.

The trees I ordered arrived over the weekend (and the incinerators). I opened the boxes up on Tuesday and the tall ones I'd put outside were the orange trees - it was lovely weather yesterday but they'll need more shelter. The small ones I thought were the orange trees were the nut trees - I've weeded the pots that have had tomatoes in them, so I might put the nut trees in those pots and put them back on the front room window sill.

Yesterday I reviewed my list of jobs for the week and about half were totally beyond me (I've been doing leg and ankle exercises on the bed to improve things - I can't do much but that's all the more reason to keep doing the things I can). I decluttered about 600 e-mails and a load of messages from my phone (mostly appointment reminders and 'your taxi is arriving at') - I'll give myself 10 points for those as it took nearly all morning. I'm going to gather my stuff and go downstairs soon. I haven't had a message to say my prescription is out for delivery today but I want it to.

So I'll arrange myself on the couch with some paperwork and work on the front room and kitchen as and when I can - took a whole bucketful of rinsed out cans out yesterday. If I can load the DW I think I'll nearly have caught up (I'm ignoring whatever might be in their room - if I keep packing my plates and stuff away, they'll be forced to bring the rest down and deal with it). i might even treat myself to a pack of paper plates and keep them in my room for emergencies. I read another declutter strategy article yesterday which advocated doing all the 15 minute jobs (setting a timer and doing one a day or several 15 minute tasks a day). Fine but I'm going wobbly after a minute and reach breaking point after five.

Good news, Mrs Builder messaged to say Mr Builder is coming round next week (she had a bad COVID attack and it keeps coming back). That's the back wall repair and new fence and gateway.  So 12 rubbish and recycling, 10 for emails and phone messages, previous total was 739 so new total is 761/ 2022. Hopefully there will be lots more to report later - I ahve cleared the 17 bags that were around the kitchen and elsewhere and I can see at least 6 empty bags for life (they've been filled to bring things upstairs, refilled to take things downstairs, repeat as necessary.

nannywindow

Another sending belated happy birthday wishes to MrsSD. I have been a busy bee this week and finally made it into DH's shed for just over an hour. In that time, we filled 3 large sacks consisting of wires, screws, nails, bits of wood, sawdust, stiff paintbrushes, empty tins, paint cans and much more, so all have now left the building. It's a big shed that has had 2 extensions over the years so contains a lot as he hoards for Justin.
Lots of plastic pots and tubs have been put into the recycling. Out too, a broken paint sprayer and the padded part of our old caravan awning which he was going to do something with (he has never taken it out of it's bag 🙄). A non-working electric fire is ready for the scrappy man. Quite a few cardboard boxes have been recycled too. Several old tops which he wears while working in the shed, have been binned as they have been a lovely nesting place for a family, or two, of mice 🐭. Sadly that's only the tip of the iceberg and he has the cheek to say he's the tidy one 😂
Yesterday we took Dad shopping to the new Ald*s and went back to his house for coffee where I did more decluttering. Why did he feel the need to keep 7 empty ice cream tubs and piles of cardboard in the conservatory when the bins are just outside the door. I find it baffling, but once I started decluttering he got on board too and we cleared some of the junk he was keeping👏
Hope everyone is well, hugs if not.
nan

roundtuit

Sewing by DS at Primary School x 2 - keep

Rxx

grandmanerd

Thursday 10th November 2022
Round one: At least 10 pizza boxes taken to  the bin and weighed down with 4 bricks (2 bin bags already in there that were bulky but not much in them so I want to squash it), 10 bricks tossed back into next door (1 point for 10 bricks), 6 boxes broken down and put in recycling, tackled the box with the incinerators in - top and bottom were wet but cut out the four large panel sides and added them to the bin, then looked through the 3 boxes the orange trees came in - dry cardboard folded and in bin, all tape to rubbish bin, wet cardboard left to dry out (now decided I may add a mulch layer to the incinerator planters). Cans gathered from here there and everywhere and collected the bag of cans I'd brought from upstairs, Brought one mostly dry (but dirty) towel in from the yard and added other items to the wash. Put food to cook in the oven and had the bean burgers with a can of baked beans. 14 points.

Round two. After eating I went upstairs to the bathroom, took a box of pots for packing away up with me and left them in my room, collected my phone charger, a bag of items to go back in the cupboard  and a mixed bag of washing up and recycling. Sweating heavily so back to the couch and my book. Collected yet more recycling, planted the 3 nut trees in 10 l pots (they came in 4" pots) using the soil from 4 plant pots, another box and another pile of tape into recycling/ rubbish. Pulled the clean washing out of the machine and put in a tablet for the next load. 15 more bricks into next door and gathered a large armful of ivy 11.5 points

Round three. Another bag taken upstairs (bathroom break) and a pair of curtains thrown down for washing. Took my secateurs and cut the ivy that I wasn't able to pull down. Very tired by now so watching a serial and writing a long overdue letter to my cousin. If DS3 comes down now and wants the couch, I'll be quite happy to go upstairs and stretch out on the bed. Got to 4 pm and not done anything about food (noticed some things I needed when putting away, so did a small order which was delivered between 6 pm and 8 pm. Drinks cans from last order put away in the cube shelves, some to come upstairs plus a 10 l box of water (United Utilities warned us about some works they were doing which might mean the water would go off. Didn't need them but now adding them to the use up  pile and bringing one upstairs. 4 more bags - 1 rubbish, 2 paper and one cans and four more boxes out. Rubbish gathered from all over the floor and swept out bits from corners, moved to other couch and repeated with anything I could reach from there.  14 points

DS3 still not down so doing what I can. pile of small plates into cupboard (surplus to requirements so will use and hope they break, some clean items from the DW into the cupboards, 4 bags of their shopping into the kitchen (trying to get stuff away from the front door), crafty bits and trolley accessories into one of my cube shelves, chinchilla food into the 3 drawer filing cabinet I gave them, 2 storage jars and a spice mixture into the kitchen to clear another cube cubby - rest of the chinchilla food and hay into that and another box broken down and out to recycling. 3 bath sheets and a bathmat packed in bags to come upstairs. Absolutely fifthy towel peeled from the kitchen floor - it's been there the longest and has coped with several overspills from the sink leak a couple of freezer defrosts and the excess from when the washer was playing up. Was going to chuck it outside but it was nearly dry so into the WM with 2 tablets to make the 3rd load of the day. DS3 came down so packed all my bits up and moved to the small couch. Asked him to be alert for my food delivery arriving and made several trips to the bins with all the bagged rubbish and recycling. Once the food arrived (7 pm) I brought some things upstairs with me and asked DS3 to bring 2 heavy bags later (now done).  15 points

I'm rounding it up to 55 points (will not count the first 5 bricks I do tomorrow) 816/ 2022 

TC77

@grandmanerd... your poor grandma! luckily I haven't decorated yet (but wouldn't have had to do the ceiling!)
DD1 diagnosed with ADHD and being prescribed medication... clearly a chip off the old block although I've never been diagnosed but don't think I need a test.  I know that part of the solution is having less stuff. Talking to my cousin we agreed when we grew up late 60s/70s there was fewer of everything (clothes/toys/furniture/ tv programmes) so less overwhelming. Going to have to rethink how I manage and organise the house and life   I have a feeling I may not be alone in this, or some have already been down this road.  I'm fed up of climbing over things and feeling I spend forever tidying.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks

2. Deal with Old Frogs & potential frogs ASAP but at least one on FROG Fridays.

3. Reduce/Restrict time watching TV during daylight hours 😉 AB2 playing zero - 20/9/2022

4. Declutter/Relocate one item every time I stand up.

5. Don’t put it down, put it away

6. Continue to keep kitchen clean & tidy - before going to bed

Getting a bit lazy with my posting 😔 Wednesday afternoon I went out to sm - picked up some ciggies, monthly magazine & a loaf of bread + posted letters/cards. DSis popped out & posted a cheque to her son. DH feeling a bit better so reheated his steak dinner, DSis had fish fingers, chips & beans and I had beans on toast with a sprinkling of blue cheese 😋 Wudupa.

Thursday was a drier day. DH got up early to take the Goldwing for its MOT - the other side of London. A major service this year translates to expensive 😱 Took 2 hours to ride to garage & 2 hours 20 minutes to get home by public transport 😔 He is definitely on the mend. DSis went out to sm - very crowded, long queues at the only 2 manned checkouts & when DDis asked for a complaint form the staff were not only rude but only provided a ‘book’ to complain there & then & she even had to queue for that. Another exceedingly lazy day for me, watching tv & knitting 😔 Received another birthday card 🙂 Dinner was pork steaks, mash & a mix of spring greens & cabbage. Wudupa. A very unexpected occurrence today - DH received a message from his DSis that she had received the postcard we sent from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in January 2020 i.e. 1028 days ago 🤣 Talk about snail mail 😂 Then got a message from DH’s niece - her card arrived as well & finally a message saying that the card addressed to DH’s DSisiL (who died in February 😢) had been received by her grandson who bought her house. Rather distressing all round. 

1926 - 1934 Kitchen recycling x 2, drinks cans x 2, magazines x 3, newspapers x 2 - recycled 

1935 - 1936 Kitchen detritus x 2 - binned

Floss, everything crossed that the new work arrangement can be put in place 🤞Sorry to hear that the ex was a complete waste of space 😖 

Thanks for the birthday wishes retiredinfrance 🙂 Nowadays anything that makes us smile is a real bonus - a sunny day, a rainbow, a smile from a stranger even a bus turning up on time 😊 Anything that can lift our mood & keep us positive in the face of almost unrelenting doom & gloom. Excellent decluttering - almost there 👏

TC77, sounds like circumstances have conspired against you taking your annual leave 😔 Perhaps 2023 can be the year that you make a concerted effort to use up your leave 😉 🤞 I do understand though - when I worked I regularly failed to fully use up my annual leave 😔 Although we were allowed to carry 5 days over up to 31st March but that just compounded the problem 😉 Sorry but I have to admit to a wry smile at the egg decorated ceiling 🙂 😞  

Well done roundtuit - catching up on sleep & still keeping up with daily decluttering plus one 👏 

Thanks for the birthday wishes grandmanerd 🙂 Your grandma must have been pleased she wasn’t pickling beetroot 😉🙃  I have never owned a pressure cooker as have always been afraid of an explosion 🙁 You were very busy on Sunday so no wonder you were tired 🥱 Well done on all the intentional decluttering 👏  Shame about the freezer door being slightly open but you appear to have been quite fortunate in only losing lollies & ice cream 😮‍💨 Great work on all the cooking & using up of defrosted food stuffs. Menu plan out of the window but at least you get to clean the fridge & freezer - every cloud has a silver lining 🙂 Orange trees & nut trees - will you get a harvest next year or will it be 2024? As to your list of jobs you can only do what you can do 🙂 You are still doing really well on your decluttering but please, please do not overtire yourself 🙏 Excellent news about the builder 🥳 All praise to you for clearing so many bags - you must be so pleased to see floor space 👏 

Thanks for the birthday wishes nannywindow 🙂  What  a stupendous amount of decluttering 👏 One Gold Star ⭐️ on its way not just for the decluttering but also getting your Dad on board for at least a little while when decluttering at his house 😉 

Good work roundtuit 👏

What a very busy Thursday you have had grandmanerd - excellent decluttering 👏 Very proud of you breaking it down into 3 sessions & resting in between 😊 I hope DS3 got up eventually & was able to help with a bit of heavy lifting 🤞 - I see he did get up & help a little😉

So true TC77 - I am still struggling to manage & organise myself to declutter properly 😔 I have periods of clarity when it comes to decluttering but sadly there are far more periods of sheer laziness 🤣 Fortunately with so many fellow declutterers on this thread, we can take inspiration & encouragement from each other & know that all our successes will eventually merge & we will all end up only having to do maintenance decluttering  🙂

MrsSD  🏅🏅🏅🏅🥇 🌟 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I AM A STAR 🌟 

Decluttering Target: 1936/2022

2022 - 1p Savings Challenge: Running Total £469.22

2Scratters

Well today saw 2 bags loaded go off to the CS. Got pressies for DS birthday tomorrow and will be gone tomorrow too. Needed to go into the loft for MIL death certificate details and down came some winter dresses in readiness.
 Just need to return some ankle boots that are faulty that includes a trip to Lidl to post them? It's all new to me this one, hope it all works out ok.
2 Scratters xx

oops forgot to press to send button yesterda y

grandmanerd

I came downstairs in plenty of time to wait for my prescription pills delivery. Collected and brought down a bag of rubbish, paper and brown bin recycling and a heavy bag of all the things I need. Closed the laptop but had not put it in the bag but am quite happy sitting/ stretching out on the couch. Still barefoot and reading my book. Rather a gloomy day so have set up a scented candle (wild jasmine) and 2 tealights on the little table DS3 uses to hold more of his work stuff. Pills arrived and one item has been missed off, so back to phoning the pharmacy every 5 minutes until I got through. They had ordered the item, the mistake is with the gp so getting through to them is going to be fun.

Lots to do outside the house but most of it requires finding extra paperwork (getting all my ducks in a row before I go and try to explain it to someone who needs to sort it out). And finding the energy and willpower to actually leave the house. I'll wait a bit longer. Last night's food delivery filled all the space I'd cleared but one bag has already gone to the fridge when I went to get matches for the candles. DS3 had helpfully rearranged the bags They had an Indian takeaway meal deal (any two curries and lots of sides and extras) which came in one of the 'lettuce' boxes so I think the door needed to open wide to get that in. He's also moved the heaviest item away from the door but put it on my space on the little couch (thanks DS3). It's actually mine (two trolleys which are clones of I - Kia  Raskog) but they sent them sellotaped together which made them 2 heavy for me to lift.

I'm not budging from the couch for now and no-one can make me. Chilling for now then will tackle things in a calm manner and a logical order.

vulpix

 Gosh Mrs SD that is shocking about the post cards, and sad that it was too late for your lovely SIL. 

  

 I can’t begin to say how much better I feel. I think that my blood pressure had been very high long before I started with the headaches. I feel better and more energised than I have for months. 

 TC, I have never considered that I could have ADHD but your posts resonate with me. Like you it doesn’t matter as it’s how I am. I know what you mean about less choice. I shop at Aldi for the reason that they have less choice. I feel more peaceful now that I am responsible for a manageable quantity of stuff. It is one of my greatest achievements to have reduced the contents of the house. It made me anxious with stuff every where. Even though it was tidy I was still on edge. I seem to have passed on the decluttering urge to Mr V, he is in one of the sheds now “tidying up “. Keep chipping away at it TC and you will feel the benefits. It is like the Forth Bridge painting with decluttering. Once you reach the level of belongings that you are comfortable with, the trick is to constantly oust stuff as you come across it and bring far less in. 

 With exploding things, when I was a kid I was at my cousins house and there was a mighty explosion in the kitchen. A bottle of elderberry wine had exploded in the cupboard under the sink. That pushed the door open and set off the other 11 bottles of elderberry home brew like cannons. It was spectacular. My Auntie cried. 

 Vx 

 

 

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks

2. Deal with Old Frogs & potential frogs ASAP but at least one on FROG Fridays.

3. Reduce/Restrict time watching TV during daylight hours 😉 AB2 playing zero - 20/9/2022

4. Declutter/Relocate one item every time I stand up.

5. Don’t put it down, put it away

6. Continue to keep kitchen clean & tidy - before going to bed

Friday is a dry, breezy day & there is even some blue sky. I have sorted the washing - one full load which is currently swishing away in the wm & 3 items returned to the laundry bag as they should only be washed at 30C. I am still old fashioned or is that eco unfriendly & wash undies & dirtier clothes at 40C 😉 If it stays dry I will use the whirligig 🤞 I have also started prepping ingredients for an hm soup which I will make this p.m. & dealt with today’s mail. The tale of the errant postcards continues - our friends received theirs this morning 🤣 DH has just received a call to say that the Goldwing has passed its MOT 🥳 He now has the unenviable task of getting to the garage by public transport 😔 Currently watching the missing Game of Thrones episode from series 6 & finishing 7th scarf. Then I will play hunt the ‘beanie’ pattern 🥲
13:00 DH has just left, soup now on (los from fridge, grated carrot, fried onions & peppers & roasted veg from freezer with a beef stockpot) & am descaling the kettle which counts as a froglet as I should have done it two weeks ago 😔

1937 Disintegrating flannel binned

Great work 2Scratters 👏 Sounds like a successful foray into the loft 🙂 Good luck with Li*l postal service 🍀 it’s a changing world 😞

Excellent work grandmanerd 👏 So well organised & I think leaving the laptop upstairs was subconsciously intentional 😉 What a pain - missing pills & you having the stress of sorting it out 😖 Good luck with locating the paperwork for the outside work 🍀 Hopefully treating yourself to some TLC will put you in the mood for leaving the house in the not too distant future 🤞 Enjoy chilling on the couch - you have earned it 😊

vulpix I must admit that apart from SIL’s postcard, the delivery of the other postcards after such a long time quite amused me 😉 I am so pleased to hear that you are feeling so much better 😊 

Apologies for quoting such a large chunk of your post but the section about “less choice” really resonated with me & I think it applies to everything but especially with food & groceries when I am choosing something new 🙂

“TC, I have never considered that I could have ADHD but your posts resonate with me. Like you it doesn’t matter as it’s how I am. I know what you mean about less choice. I shop at Aldi for the reason that they have less choice. I feel more peaceful now that I am responsible for a manageable quantity of stuff. It is one of my greatest achievements to have reduced the contents of the house. It made me anxious with stuff every where. Even though it was tidy I was still on edge. I seem to have passed on the decluttering urge to Mr V, he is in one of the sheds now “tidying up “. Keep chipping away at it TC and you will feel the benefits. It is like the Forth Bridge painting with decluttering. Once you reach the level of belongings that you are comfortable with, the trick is to constantly oust stuff as you come across it and bring far less in”
Sounds like Bonfire Night in your cousin’s kitchen with attendant noise & colour 😉 no wonder your Auntie cried 😭 

P.S. Just put the washing out as it is still dry outside although the wind appears to have dropped 😔 The kettle is descaled 👏 just in time for DSis to make a cuppa 😉

MrsSD  🏅🏅🏅🏅🥇 🌟 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I AM A STAR 🌟 

Decluttering Target: 1937/2022

2022 - 1p Savings Challenge: Running Total £469.22