2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

Brie

@stellata
picture of the cutlery please!

@Liverpool_Anne
the stamps can be used for a few months yet I believe and not all will/need to be replaced in any case.  You can ask for the form online too and you should get it within a couple of days (at least I did)

OK - so I'll say myself - no tutting allowed for procrastination!!!

• Christmas decorations have finally been put away, pulled the last set of lights down, packed in box and just need to shove that in the cupboard with the rest.  The box to be taken to a charity shop is stowed in the "storage" room (supposed to be a bedroom but has stuff rather than furniture currently).
  
• Big catering box of popcorn (50 small bags for £7 at local food warehouse, yes I do like popcorn, thanks for noticing!) has been moved from the car boot, into my office/art room and decanted into a large shopping bag to allow me to put the box in recycling.  
• Recycling bin by kitchen door emptied into big bin ready for Friday collection.  Just need to move some more stuff from the garage and it will be ready to roll to the kerb later tomorrow.
• Bedroom tidied a bit, including OH's dumping ground chair.  Why does he have summer shorts on there this time of year??  And what's with the leisure ware (yoga pants? light weight sweat pants? who knows....) and jumper both with massive holes in them?  I'll point them out to him later and ask if he needs me to put them outside in the waste bin - I'd say they're impossible to mend.
• Large bag of linen that was taken for a service wash in November, fetched home early Dec has now been put away.  One can only ask that it be done so many times.  OH will be annoyed that I've put everything away wrong (is he the only one that rolls towels for storage rather than fold?) but that will be a reason to get him to sort through the cupboard and maybe do something with some of the excess in there.  There's at least one set of towels that would be appreciate by the local Dog's Trust and I could take the old duvet there at the same time.
• Oh and last evening I managed to prep all the peppers, potatoes and mushrooms that were in the kitchen.  Some mushrooms (non wrinkly) set aside for tomorrow's breakfast, some of everything roasted for dinner last night and the rest put in the freezer for future roasting.  Only thing left is about 2/3 a bag of shallots.  I had prepped some but they're tiddly and fiddly and I lost patience.  Kitchen is the coldest room in the house so things are keeping lovely and fresh.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

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

2. Commence ‘Operation Frog Tickling’ I have an acronym - I.R.I.S. being Identify, Research, Implement, Sign Off

3. Implement a new sleep/wake up regime - start going to bed earlier (target before 2:00 a.m.) get up earlier (target by 9:00 a.m.)

4. Deal with daily mail immediately 

5. Don’t put it down, put it away

6. If I spot a mini task deal with it immediately e.g. refill olive oil pourer or salt cellar, stitch up a hole in a garment etc

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

To continue Tuesday - After opening 3 of the 4 packages, DH phoned. He was enjoying his travels on the tube but was not convinced about the bus ride 😉 Apparently the bus driver thought he was in a Fast & Furious film 😬He was driving so fast that DH seems to be convinced that the back end of the bus was sliding out when they went around corners 😂 DH called again at 6:45 p.m. when he arrived at the pub venue. He then took the proverbial & didn’t get home until nearly 11:00 p.m. having told me he would only stay an hour or so 😔 About 20 old cricketers turned up & bought copies of the book. So lots of laughter & catching up + a few beers 🍻 DH had a good time & was very chatty when he got home. There is a really nice, fairly long paragraph about him in the book (150 years of Prudential Ibis Cricket) - he still holds several club records which will remain forever as there is no longer a Cricket Club. 

Meanwhile I knitted & watched TV & made dinner for DSis & me - oven chips & baked beans with cold pork for DSis & fried eggs for me. DH ended up with cold pork, lukewarm chips & hot baked beans 😉 Wudupa.

299 - 303 Kitchen recycling, large cardboard box, paper packaging, cardboard packaging & drinks cans - recycled 

304 - 305 Kitchen & lr detritus binned

Please bear with me as I try to catch up with the cheerleading 🙏 I am enjoying the various topics of conversation so much that I keep forgetting to actually post 😂

wort, excellent observations/advice for/to SecondStar 👏 Moving home is a great opportunity to declutter & start with an almost clean slate 😊 A chance to declutter both physical items & emotional/mental baggage although the second is definitely harder than the first 😔

SecondStar, so sorry to hear that it was an ‘awful relationship breakdown’ ☹️ but very impressed that within such a short space of time you are looking at it from the measured point of view that it is possible to conduct your life with the contents of one suitcase. What a lovely supportive friend - giving you time & a safe place to start the recovery process 😊 Onwards & upwards.

Dfw38, lime green (sorry - kiwi crush 😉) and blue would not make for happy bedfellows 😬 Hopefully some sort of compromise can be reached 🤞As to your medical issues, at least you are on a waiting list to see a doctor rather than on ‘a waiting list for a waiting list to see a doctor’ 😉 Keeping everything crossed that once you have seen the doctor, the next waiting list is a short one 🤞

Fingers crossed that the company have forgotten to update their records & that the bedroom furniture is actually ‘in transit’, QueenJess 🤞Well done on the decluttering - another 9 items out 👏

What a great observations re paint colours Liverpool_Anne 🙂 Thank you for sharing such a marvellous memory of your niece 👏 “next time I am getting it cut long” 😂

Congratulations on not only completing your Tax Return BUT paying it as well EnergyShifter 🥳👏 One medal 🏅 coming your way 🙂 It was frustrating & when I mentioned it to DH he related a similar story about his dealings with Santander - his response when being asked too many security questions was to threaten to shut down his account (he had just received his tax lump sum from his company pension) 😉 Needless to say he has not had a problem since & he is still receiving excellent service 😂

Excellent decluttering nu1isit? 👏 You are officially a successful declutterer 😊 & well done on finding your decluttering style so quickly 👏 The bit by bit method is a great choice 🙂

Dfw38, I think I prefer the kiwi crush 🤣 Hopefully two more changes of colour selection will see your DD picking a colour that both you & her sister can live with 😉🤞 Gorgeous wallpaper 😊 definitely more suited to a less ‘vibrant’ paint colour than kiwi crush 😉 I think your idea of painting the furniture might just get both DDs on the same page 🤞 Good luck 🍀 especially with 2nd DD & her future career choice 😉

Great work in the garden wort 👏 I was a bit taken aback at the thought that you had a huge frog residing in your garden - the noise would have been deafening 😂 See you in the TLC Carriage & remember to make use of the massage chair for your aching back 😉 Thank you for the timely reminder & I quote “We are worth the best so use it” 👏😊

Good job there is more than one massage chair Florenceem 😉

You are welcome stellata 🙂 You giving away camping gear was a two for one deal 👏- confirmation of no more camping & also another bye-bye to ex 😉

Well, hopefully that is a good start to my cheerleading 😉 but now I need to get dressed & get on with doing some decluttering 🙂 Although I think I should get dressed first on this rather dark & dreary Wednesday 😉 but first another cuppa 😂

MrsSD (a superwoman) 😇 🎖💐🤩🏅🦸🏅💐🏆 💐

DH Awards: 🥇 

Decluttering Target 2023: 305/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £5.00

Millie2008_2

I'm on a bit of a mission today- just popping in to report some successes and encourage myself further....
95- a dance bugs t shirt- outgrown- will probably pass it onto another mum
96. I sorted my bead stuff and threw away a few broken bits
97. Flip flops- Charity bag
98. Shoes- charity bag
99. Boots- charity bag
100 (whoop) 2022 calendar- 2022 was a horrible year, so I am glad to see the bag of that!
101. I decluttered DD's socks drawer and sent a few pairs and odd ones to the rag bag
102. DD's playsuit- will pass on to friend
103. t shirt - friend
104. Another t shirt- friend
105. Old t shirt- rag bag
106-113- books- charity shop
114-127- DD's ('too young') headbands- charity shop bag

I'm going to try and do a bit more, while I'm on a roll.....

QueenJess

Feeling overwhelmed with just life and everything at the moment, probably not helped by the fact that the furniture did arrive yesterday (yay!), but now I have a total mess everywhere!  Trying to just concentrate on a tiny bit at a time and hopefully I will feel better once I've got it sorted.

The wardrobe is now 50% higher than it was in DD's room and all the internal stuff repurposed from the old one.  I've put all her clothes away in it nicely (just need to do the next sizes up to be packed into two lovely looking cardboard boxes).  I did try some of the folding where you can see everything you have and it sort of worked, but it's actually harder when you don't have enough now to fill the drawers!  A nice problem to have though.  Now the wardrobe is in, 2 big pieces of furniture have been removed and are now in the library and totally in my way.  However, I have found the instructions and all the spare bits we had saved and I already have lots of interest on Buy Nothing.  Just need DH to help me carry them downstairs later and fingers crossed someone will take them away soon.  I like 1 in and 2 out furniture wise!

The other furniture storage has been built and is currently languishing in my bedroom.  I need to do some more rearranging before I can get it in and since DD goes to bed early, it is likely to not be until tomorrow now.  I will then have 3 other pieces of furniture hanging around and we need to decide if we should get rid of it or keep (I vote to get rid of at least 2, but I need DH to agree...).  That will scarily leave DD with a minimalist room, but tons of space to play.  She has a tiny bedside table, a massive wardrobe (with drawers) and an open shelving unit. That's it.  I'll have to keep her minimalist now!  I will add a bookcase when she's a bit older, but at the moment she gets overwhelmed with too many and so they will all fit in the open shelving unit with her toys and I rotate them around.

Slowly getting there, but I am not enjoying the interim mess.

781 - paper (reused and recycled)

782-817 - furniture spare bits (buy nothing)

818-819 - furniture (buy nothing)

820 - furniture instructions (buy nothing)

821 - packaging (used)

ilovetea

Good afternoon everyone.
Hugs to those that need them.
Not been on here for a few days and had an awful lot to catch up on. Unfortunately can't remember who said what. :-( 
I 've done a few bits the last few days.
300 old jumper. Very tatty - bin.
 301-304. Small boxes -recycled. thought they might come in handy. They didn't.
305 Button tin. filled up another button tin with the contents so smaller tin in recycling.
306-316. Cross stitch booklets - recycling.
317 Empty egg to neighbour who has chickens.
318Magazine to a neighbour.
319-340  Items sold on e-bay posted.
341-342 Kitchen waste out and lots of e-mails recycled. 
Going to see if I can get rid of some more crafty stuff.Seems to be growing!!!!!

 Take care.
          ilovetea.xx

nannywindow

MrsSD glad your DH had a good time and well done to him in making a few records at the club. Proper royalty that ! (along with you of course for your cheerleading 😁, I don't know how you keep up with us all, I'm sure as heck I couldn't )
I washed 3 loads yesterday including the bedding from the weekend and it almost dried outside on the line in the lovely sunshine that we had. Some thicker items were put on the airer overnight and all put away this morning. 
Today we have the freezing fog so I got DH to go through the 7 bags of stuff we took out of the old desk and cabinet, now he has only 3 bags of sorted stuff destined for the office including a scanner and his old laptop, which are still working and used occasionally. He will have to go through the office again and declutter as you can't squeeze a quart into a pint pot, bet he'll still try though 🙄
Out went lots of booklets relating to items he no longer has, a carrier bag of assorted wires for gadgets, phones and computers that we also no longer have, 4 torn cardboard hanging folders, 4 pens with no ink and 2 dry highlighter pens. A bag of old papers and also some papers to be added to the shredding pile, an unloved/ unwanted old table lamp minus it's switch and plug ( well I had to let him keep something 😂 ). 3 floppy discs, several computer cd's, some printed photos that he had taken but aren't quite right because of lighting/ focus issues etc and a caravan magazine. The remnants of my scented candle and container and 48 emails which I deleted last night. 
Take care all, happy decluttering and remember only one thing out will still be a win. The hug bucket is full so please help yourselves should you be in need ((( Hugs)))
nan

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, had a good day so far. I had started another bag for hard plastics to go to the tip and hung it on the back door handle so OH could find it. It had some small bits in but it was annoying me just hanging there so I looked around and sneaked in 3 take away containers plus lids then went into the conservatory and picked up some more washing pod containers, all that I could reach with a stretch without moving too much stuff and voila bag full to the top . There are more containers out there and I will be on a bit of a mission to get to them soon . Put the bag in the car and off to the tip . On the way home picked up meds from the chemist and when I parked up I used the container bag to clear the most obvious carp from the car, empty coffee cups, sweetie wrappers and other things OH had stuffed in the door pocket, old parking tickets etc and the bag went into the bin . The car still needs a hoover, all that fake snow but as it was raining it will have to wait for another day. Going to have some lunch now and watch either NK or SS decluttering someone elses house  
So 
186 - 212 hard plastics to the tip
213 meds collected
214 car carp emptied
Hopefully back with a bit more later
Take care everyone
214/2023

nu1isit?

Hello everyone. Busy day today, so don't have much time for decluttering 😬. Today's item is my wedding suit. It felt weird getting rid of it. Even though it doesn't fit properly anymore, and is a fair few years old. That's the last of my, 'Matches and Dispatches' clothes gone now...
On a different note, you've all got me watching that Nick Knowles programme now. I've even roped the youngest DD into watching it with me. 😂😂😂

Florenceem

Mr F took 4 bags of stuff to the charity shop - all that he could manage - walking/carrying. I have 2 more full bags and a started one in the hall.
Been to SA today - came home with a carrier bag of bits - I will sort through it when sitting in my rocking chair. It is card making stuff - I expect most of it will be bagged up for the charity shop.
Today will be a non decluttering day apart from some emails - very old ones.

Dfw38

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger it is quite a colour! Definitely more subtle colour needed to go alongside the wallpaper. I think your screen is tempering the colour Liverpool_Anne! It is bright! The only time it isn't bright is with the curtains closed and the lights off 🤣.
I think wee Nancy is right and with white etc it could tone it down but as youngest dd is a non-negotiating tyrant (said with love of course!) There is no way kiwi crush is going to make it into their walls. I have told eldest dd that when we move house (when the time is right) we will be hoping for a 4 bed house (figured the dc are likely to live with us as adults for a considerable while). Then she can have any colour she likes, no negotiating with anyone. For now she is happy to have the colour on a piece of furniture......
Will be back when caught up on reading everyone's progress on the quest of ultimate freedom of stuff!