2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

donna73

Morning all, just popping on to quickly update my decluttering list. Hope you all have a good Monday. 😀

Appointment with BG about boiler 🐸

Call about withdrawing money 🐸

Research Rehoming ducks 🐸

6 x receipts from handbag 

Magazine- recycling 

14 items to charity shop 

4x apps deleted from phone (counting as 1 item as not physical)

Packaging reused as bin liners x2 

Planted up succulents 🐸

Box lid - recycling 

Old socks / nightwear x 7

Random tat from utility room x 5 binned 

Paperwork x 4

Cobwebs!! From behind cupboard 😱

Packaging x 2

146 photos deleted on phone (counting as 1 item as not physical)

2x app deleted from phone (counting as 1 item as not physical)

3 x past best apples given to the chickens 

20x jars recycling 

6 x magazines recycling 

50 documents shredded 

65 random bits of tat from loft - binned / recycled 

Decluttering total so far 588/2023

🤔not sure why my lists look ok when I copy and paste from my phone to here , but then when I click post , each line has a space between it, so it takes up loads of room???

QueenJess

Did a bit of tidying last night and some digital decluttering in front of the TV to report. Today will be tidying mainly and will see if I come across anything to be decluttered or just some decluttering inspiration.

1550-51 - cloths that have gone mouldy (binned)
1552-54 - photos deleted
1555-86 - bookmarks deleted (broken links/duplicates)
1587-88 - plastic bags (recycled)
1589 - 1 box recycled
1590-91 - eBay wish list items deleted
1592-96 - photos deleted

Siebrie

2 frogs dealt with this weekend: all dds' bedroom walls and ceilings have been hoovered (husband first painted the walls and ceilings, and only then sanded and painted the beams....), and we have added the strips of LED lights to their mezzanine ceilings. It looks wonderful and dds are very happy.

Husband has found a shop which sells cheap furniture that still looks decent, so we will go there soon to buy wardrobes for dds.

SecondStar

Back to the house for more packing and decluttering yesterday.

3 more bin liners of rubbish out, and 6 storage boxes of things for the freecycle page.

So that’s my whole art studio either packed, binned, or decluttered for the free page. 

About 8 hours work in total, and out of the entire room I have 2 medium boxes, 1 small box, and 3 bin liners of fabric that I’m bringing with me.

I’m sure that once I’m moved in, all of that will be gone over again to get rid of more things, but for now this is what I’m happy bringing along.

Next up will listing the furniture pieces from the studio which I know won’t fit in my new home onto the freecycle page; and then into the eaves storage in that room - I’m not excited about that one.

QueenJess

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger I will have a think about vacuum packed bags.  I want to open the cupboard without it looking rammed or messy and I think I need to continue the decluttering first before I decide how to store what is left.

I wish I could remember the website, but there used to be an organisation site which had some manuals to download.  One was if you were starting your decluttering journey and the other one is if you had already done the easy stuff.  On the latter one it asked questions to make you think about your house and what bits you were happy/unhappy with and why.  It was asking the right questions to get you to figure out what bits needed a sort out because you know which bits they are. 

Their manual said it better than I can here, but off the top of my head I know the bits in my house that are the worst:

• Under beds has random carpet cut offs under them... need to go through and be realistic about which ones will end up as mats and ditch the rest.  Then the spare bed will actually fit under DS's bed.
  
• Upstairs scary cupboard - to do in bits as too overwhelming.  Medical box is done and the holiday nappy box that seemed to have acquired some random items (we use reusable ones, but some disposable on holiday).  Also got rid of some random bits and pieces that were living in there.
  
• Downstairs coat/shoe cupboard - to do in bits as too overwhelming.  Currently just done my gym bag.  DH still says he "needs" and will wear all the shoes in a box in there, despite not actually opening it or using any shoes in it for 6 years.
  
• Kitchen - lots of food to use up , need to clear out cleaning cupboard
• DS's room - need to tidy up the last bits from the reorganisation (the last 10% always takes 80% of the time!)
• Library - tidy up and eventually move my book catalogue onto a better app so I know what I have when out charity shopping

Hopefully that is achievable this year.  It'll be nice to get it all sorted

Edit: I forgot the attic... it is 40% DH's stuff though... I'll lie in wait for an opportune moment one day and in the meantime continue to try to always declutter one thing everytime I need to go up there (which is fairly often as it has the kids toy rotation boxes up there).

Brie

Just off to get the OH to help me sort the linen cupboard.  Towels to go to Dog's Trust etc.  Need also to ask about his pillows - he has a progression of them and the current one on the bed is flatter than a french pancake.  No wonder he complains about his neck hurting!!  I'm not in love with my current pillow but it's better than his and I'll happily go out and get myself a new one if he will throw a couple of his out!!  (more to Dog's Trust, including FiL's old duvet that I will otherwise be taking to the dump)

Also need to ask him what he's planning on doing with the box in the hallway (turned out it wasn't needed to return shoes he'd bought) and also the honking big bag of clothing he's unearthed and left in front of the dresser in the bedroom.  I think he's lost an inch around the waist (hurrah!!) so is unearthing old/tighter trousers & jumpers but he needs to find a place to put them.

For myself - I've decluttered a piece of salmon from the freezer for my breakfast as well as raspberries, some of which were eaten today and will be finished in the next day or two.  Then I need to decide if the painting I finished yesterday should be used as scrap as it's really not worth saving let alone handing on a wall.  I have decided that the paint brush I used for it is absolutely dire (cheap set a friend bought me for Christmas a couple of years back) so need to offload that  - given the number of bristles it shed with each stroke I think the entire set needs to go rather than try to save them for something else.  

Soontobeoap

Siebrie said:

2 frogs dealt with this weekend: all dds' bedroom walls and ceilings have been hoovered (husband first painted the walls and ceilings, and only then sanded and painted the beams....), and we have added the strips of LED lights to their mezzanine ceilings. It looks wonderful and dds are very happy.

Husband has found a shop which sells cheap furniture that still looks decent, so we will go there soon to buy wardrobes for dds.

Your dds bedroom sounds beautiful. We have a 2 bedroom house and the front bedroom is very big. As Granchildren are growing bigger by the minute we had wondered whether putting a mezzanine up into the eves would add value to the hiuse whilst housing the whole family to stay. I dont suppose you have any pics that you would be willing to share. 

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

Woke up at 7:45 a.m. for a bathroom visit & thought I would get up & finish cheerleading 😉 Nope, had a cold drink & went back to bed until waking up again at 11:15, washed & got dressed & am now having my first cuppa. At least I managed 2 x three hour sleeps 🙂

Keiths_Mum, love the image of the cat patting your face to wake you up because he wanted breakfast 😉 Pretty certain that if it had been me, I would have gone back to bed after feeding him 😂 However you made good use of your early morning & decluttered paperwork 👏 Excellent 2nd round - just 1.5 boxes left out of 6 🤩 Great decluttering of the coat cupboard - 2 bags of rubbish AND donations for the cs 👏 Not quite sure I understand how batch cooking can be equated to leftovers  surely it is the same principle as buying ready meals 🤔 I think your partner needs re-educating 🤣🙃 Excellent weight loss 👏

Excellent decluttering Florenceem 👏 & I see you are now ahead on February’s challenge 🙂 Sorry to hear that 2 church members have had falls/trips ☹️ A relief all round that you & MrF were able to assist & that both the gentlemen will be OK even though battered & bruised 😮‍💨 

daisy_1571, sorry to hear that Mr Sandman was so elusive last night ☹️ I did eventually go to bed 😉 so thanks for the reminder 👏

Thanks for sharing memories of Croydon diminua 👏 I went down a little rabbit hole about the pool & the airport - very interesting 😊Great decluttering of books 👏

Yes vulpix 🙂

Yes Liverpool_Anne 🙂 A good result re the 2GTG box 🙂 Did OH find the missing glove? I imagine you will be inspecting the contents of the recycling bag just to confirm OH followed instructions 😉😉 Very brave dealing with your problem thumb nail 😓 Good decluttering 👏

Fizz2015, are you sure your DD & Keiths_Mum’s cat aren’t in contact 😅 as 5:00 a.m. is a tad early 😉Sorry to hear that work was so stressful & that your MiL broke her wrist 🤕 Fingers crossed that it was her non dominant hand 🤞Very pleased to hear that you are focusing on your wellbeing 😊 Good luck with saying NO - it will be difficult at first but please stay firm 🙏 

Apologies GrannyKate 😔 Hopefully just a blip in your almost certainly sensible bedtime habits 🤞Hopefully DS2 can get your home phone working but if not I hope you can get an engineer out quickly 🤞 Well done on getting almost everything out that you have decluttered 👏 Ashamed to say that I have several of those small frogs that I frequently put off so I will try to follow your lead & complete one 😉 Seems we live in a small world judging by the reminiscences of the Croydon pool 🙂 More great decluttering 👏 A holiday to look forward to should make the cold weather easier to bear 😊 I definitely did better today - at least I was up before midday 😉

Excellent decluttering donna73 👏 I have the same spacing problem copying from iPad Notes 🤔 

Excellent decluttering QueenJess 👏 Hope inspiration strikes 🤞

Siebrie, Well done dealing with a couple of frogs over the weekend 👏 Any chance of a photo of one of the bedrooms? 🤔 maybe not such a good idea as I might want to move in 😂 (I see from reading Soontobeoap’s post that photos have already been requested 😉) Good luck with the wardrobe hunt 🍀

Excellent work SecondStar 👏 Please remember you are doing a brilliant job as you picked the most difficult room to sort first 🙏 I am sending a medal 🏅 to reward you for 8 hours of hard graft 😊Fingers crossed that your free cycle listings are successful 🤞 Perhaps another way to look at the ‘eaves decluttering is that you could find some treasure that you had forgotten about😊

QueenJess, I think you are right as although vacuum bags can be useful it might just delay the decluttering process 😉 That website sounds very interesting & useful QueenJess 🙂👏 Thank you for sharing what you remember & well done on decluttering one item every time you visit the attic 👏

Brie, good luck with your mission to persuade OH to finish all those decluttering projects that have been started 🍀Well done to OH for the weight loss - one medal 🏅 coming his way 🙂 Be brave with the paint brushes - all out - you know it makes sense 😅

Soontobeoap, fingers crossed that Siebrie will be willing to share a couple of photos 🤞

All caught up & the frog I have selected is to clear, clean & organise the bathroom shelves 🙂

MrsSD (a superwoman) 😇 🎖💐🤩🏅🦸🏅💐🏆 💐🍰🍾🌟

DH Awards: 🥇 🏅

Decluttering Target 2023: 458/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £5.00

vulpix

Hi, good work folks. ❤️ Great photos too. 

 I spent a couple of hours at my Mother’s house yesterday. Holy moly. I was just collecting stuff she needed. A lot needs to be done before her relative can move in. I will go later in the week and clear the bathroom and airing cupboard at the very least. 

 My brother is sorting out the tenant. 

 It has made me so grateful that we have decluttered as much as we have at our house. 

 I was inspired to go through my bedside drawers again and found a little more to go. The rich pickings will be the pantry but I am just enjoying a tidy house for a bit. 

 I did 4 applications of paint stripper on the hearth stone. It has come up well. I also gave the chimney breast a coat of paint. New plaster is very thirsty. 

 72. Santa soap dispenser broken  
 73. Jam jars saved for?
 74. Salad bowl
 75. Water bottle given to Mum
 76. New socks unwanted gift  
 77. Bag of Xmas paper  
 78. Bag of ribbons  
 79. Bag of bows
 80. Bag of cellophane   
 81. Pencil
 82. Medical thing from glue ear
 83. Resistance band
 84. Old birthday cards

 Vx 

Crazycatlady2

Someone mentioned shoes not worn for several years, not sure who but I have a story for you.

hubby went to a funeral recently and took some shoes from top of the wardrobe to put on when he got there as wanted to wear trainers for the 2 hour drive. By the time he was at the funeral and ate after his shoe bottoms had dropped to bits 😱 he drove home in them and I had to take the hoover out to hoover in the footwell it was a nightmare. 

Just wanted to make aware that they might not even be wearable after all this time x