2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

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, Re search, 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

The day has become duller with some ominous black clouds & a stiff breeze. Got up 11:45, dressing gown on  & a 2nd cuppa. Bin has been emptied & black bin liner still there 👏 A few pennies saved 🙂 Plan of action today - catch up on the cheerleading whilst drinking my tea - ✅; have a bath; make a soup from odds & ends - started 13:00 & now simmering - ✅; put away freshly laundered clothing; empty & clean deep drawer in kitchen (done 12:40 p.m.) ✅ & return contents more tidily - hoping that I can find a few items to declutter 🤞; then write & address April to June birthday cards. Wish me luck 🍀

donna73, your photography will definitely be a well earned respite from the stresses & strains of RL 😊Excellent work tackling frogs 👏 Reminder to myself - if I tackle tasks when they first put in an appearance, I will be dealing with tadpoles & froglets rather than frogs & cane toads 😂 Fingers crossed for a speedy resolution to the ISA situation so you can afford the new boiler 🤞 Sorry to hear that you are rehoming your ducks ☹️ No wonder you are exhausted after tackling so many frogs so I second your intention to spend time in the TLC Carriage - you have earned it 😊 

Excellent decluttering & munching of frogs GrannyKate 👏 How ‘nice’ of the decorators to keep you out of the kitchen 😉 What a good start towards your February £100 - just under an eighth of the way there & only on day 1 👏  Good luck tomorrow 🍀

Yippee to REcluttering some weight mehefin 🥳 & Great DEcluttering 👏 Sorry to say it but your council are bonkers or should that be criminal 😖 I would imagine there are many people who do not have the space to store 3 weeks of rubbish + what about the potential health hazards 😡 Surely if they are short of drivers and/or trying to save money, it should be the recycling that is every 3 weeks, with weekly collections of rubbish. Perhaps a strongly worded letter to your local MP might be in order 🤞

2Scratters, Great decluttering & tidying (+ doing inventory lists) 👏 The things we do to avoid offending our other halves 😉 Good luck with your fridge clearing & putting away ironed clothes 🍀 Wait a second, what is ‘i r o n i n g’ 😅

Good luck with your email challenge Brie - a mammoth task 🍀 When that is done, it will make decluttering clothes & persuading OH to declutter clothing seem like a piece of cake in comparison 😊

Lovely to see you TracyS66 👏 What a marvellous result of your decluttering campaign - new trainers & walking shoes by ‘shopping from your wardrobe’ 🥳 

Very pleased to hear that you are feeling a little better vulpix 😊 Great decluttering but excellent furniture restoration 👏 One Gold Star ⭐️ coming your way initially for the furniture restoration but really for having empty drawers 👏😊 The cruise aboard QM2 sounds marvellous 🤩

short_bird, at least you have a couple of weeks to stack furniture 😉 before the carpet cleaner arrives 😅

All caught up again. Off to have my bath 😉

MrsSD (a superwoman) 😇 🎖💐🤩🏅🦸🏅💐🏆 💐🍰🍾

DH Awards: 🥇 

Decluttering Target 2023: 400/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £5.00

short_bird

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger it's the stuff in the furniture that's the problem, once that's relocated out of the furniture, I can move the furniture to stack it!!!

joanie

@wort , I watch The Minimal Mom too and at the moment I am watching a lot of Erica Lucas.  I watched a couple this morning and then got stuck in to a couple of boxes on top of my wardrobe. Things that had escaped previous purges!!!

so out today is>

1 Raincoat (worn once) 🫤
3 cardigans 
1 dress (never worn) 😩
6 skirts (2 of which never worn)
12 tops (2 of which never worn) 🥴

so 23 items. 

Some of these unworn items were desperation buys, when we were going somewhere and I had nothing to wear (must have gone in the nude as they are unworn eh?)

some other stuff was work clothes but as I am no longer working😁 they can go. 

Some stuff was over 20 year old (C&A) and I was keeping until I lost weight- now I’ve lost (some of the) weight I realise that although nice to get back into them I’m not actually going to wear them! 

I’m going to drive over to the RSPCA tomorrow as they have said they will take some fleece blankets that were declared last month and I will also take all these clothes and other stuff to the charity shops on the way.

I’m now considering what to do with all the plastic boxes I’ve decluttered over the last month. I don’t think I can get rid of them, I think I’m a ‘box-a-holic’. There’s loads in the loft too! 

Tomorrow I will take a look at shoes . (I’m a ‘shoe-a-holic’ too 😬)  but might have to do some actual housework as I’ve not done any this week. 😬

keep going everyone. X

vulpix

 Back again! 

 I forgot to say thank you for the medal Mrs SD and now the gold star too. I know you like to prowl on the internet as I do! You can see a livestream from the bridge of QM2. Not so interesting on sea days but great when going into port or sailing the fjords. 

 Vx

nu1isit?

Finally caught up now 😇🙂.

Love that photo donna73, hope you enjoy the rest of your course.

Florenceem all I can think of now is proper cakes 😭, and I'm trying to be good 😂😇.

I've done a bit of quick decluttering again after work. Today's decluttered are:

33. Old box no longer needed.

34. Glass jar.

35. Bear Grylls box set

36. Bear Grylls box set

37. Glasses case

38. Glasses case

39. Wallet

40. Bath mat.

I'm pretty pleased with myself, I've decluttered just over 10% of my target 😇🎉😇.

Brie

Today's outing for the OH was to go to the Polish shop for some meats and mushrooms and bread.  Pleased that the borscht cuppa soup has only gone up 10p in the last 4 years - now £1.59 for a box they claim makes 17 servings (and I use less per cup than they say so it goes even further!!)

He had also wanted to go to the record shop to look at some vinyl and I packed up some excess LPs in case the chap would take them (for ££ or not) but OH ran out of puff so no new vinyl was purchased and excess ones have at least migrated to my car to be left at the CS.  Then to the bookshop where he got a new novel and paid for the one he'd picked up before Christmas.  I got a new paint tray but did not buy the looked for brushes (wanted a mini, round one but none in stock) and there were no water colour pan blocks so that saved space and ££ too.  Most of that is not actually a declutter (in fact the opposite) but it could have been a lot worse.

Florenceem

Been to volunteer at SA today - lunch club - our officers are away so we were cooking the meal. The three chocolate sponge puddings that I baked yesterday were in foil dishes and I could only fit two in my oven at once hence why I was baking late - they took an hour to bake at 170. Each one contained 8 eggs/16 ozs flour/baking marge/caster sugar + cocoa so heavy to carry round to the hall this morning. I was pleased with the bake - sponge rose well and one of the helpers made a yummy chocolate custard which contained cream. I cut the puddings into 20 squares and some members were absent and others diabetic so I put one whole tray of pudding in the SA freezer.
Mr F didn't get all his work done by the deadline but we will survive - it is £100 fine for each tax return that is not in. Mr F went back to bed after I left home this morning - he looked so exhausted.

2Scratters

OOh @joanie decluttering is always housework    Definition - it's in the house and needs work doing to it. It is also a job that won't need to be done again especially if its left home 
Well I too have only just got showered and dressed. Have been busy - not too much procrastination today, that's a win for me.
A tadpole had landed from DS re his vehicle insurance this morning - all done dusted staying with current provider again. Win win is no need of bank of mum & dad this year 
Was making a list of bits to purchase for house and had a declutter LBM shopped from under the sink and found a cleaning product which will serve as an air freshener in the bathroom. Also shopped a real air freshener that just needs to go into the holder. Delayed I think due to no batteries at the time. Need to get under here more often.
DH been busy sorting "scruffy" wood for the burner - this means it isn't in a nice log form.

2 Scratters xx

EnergyShifter

Well I finished the garden furniture smashing and half was taken today and the other half is in the bin for next week- I have a real sense of achievement.  I also finally got around to digging up a couple of ant hills.  I'm not much of a gardener at the best of times but I've been particularly neglectful of my garden in the last couple of years what with everything going on & I'm finally getting to grips with it.  I've just had a lovely soak in the bath and plan on spending this eve in the TLC carriage.

Tasks:
Smashing up garden furniture - part 2
digging up ant hills
invoicing - unusually prompt

IN (running total 37)
0

OUT (running total 143)
144 & 5 - 2 x folders
146.  Geraniums that sadly didn't survive the winter - I wasn't quick enough to take them in  
147 & 8 - 2 x badges
149 - scarf
150 - terracotta halloween pumpkin - haven't used it in years
151 & 2 - 2 x T.Shirts
154 & 5 - 2 x sunglasses

Thank you for my medal MrsSD !

Dfw38

Thank you @bit_by_bit, I was inspired by the first episode I watched of Nick Knowles declutter show last year and said to dh 'I wonder how many boxes we would fill if it was us?' He thought 5 per room, I estimated closer to 15 (room type depending). When dh went to b and q before the new year to get a couple of boxes for storing decorations we had one left over so I thought I would make it a challenge to see how many I could fill with stuff we didn't need. The thinking behind it is that we would in all likelihood be moving the stuff with us if we had to move now, so how much clearer can I make the house? Aiming for 100 boxes but think that might be ambitious as it would probably be 90% of our stuff! I estimate I have probably had half a box of stuff to come in since I started in January so am approx 9 boxes up on the clutter clearing!
I hope you can have some me time @bitbybit, it sounds very stressful for you. 
@Mrs_Salad_Dodger I think I will check out a photography course in the near future. Will be easier when ds starts school in 2 years! 
Hope you have a better day tomorrow @weenancyinAmerica.
Today I went for a 6 mile walk and fitted in a tip run. 
My 🐸 for the day is defrosting our small freezer (currently defrosting) and cleaning it and reorganising it.
Got to catch up on some posts, hope you all have a lovely evening.