2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

GrannyKate

Some good memories @grandmanerd.  I too grew up in a house with catering right from at least mid fifties to when I left home in 1970.  Then mum continued with the same when she moved to East Anglia.  I remember wedding cakes and huge quantities of Christmas cake mix in an old baby bath.  The morning I got married I buttered 20 loaves of bread for sandwiches - all home catering in those days.  I remember the excitement when our first ever fridge arrived about 1964 I think.  I still have nostalgic yearnings for the large shelved pantry from my early childhood home.  We didn't have a car so not sure exactly how we managed to move stuff about.  I remember in the 1960s going to a house to do a family party. This was in what was (and still is) some of the most expensive housing in the UK outside central London.  The house was total chaos and absolutely disgusting.  Mum sent me down to Woolworths (a good mile's walk) to get bleach and cleaning stuff and she scrubbed the kitchen and dining room to within and inch of their life before she would even make a cup of tea.  (Think extreme hoarders filthy).  These people were very rich and in the attic was Granny with I assume dementia who we were expected to look after while we were there as well.  A memorable day but sadly we heard many years later that the house burnt down which was hardly a surprise.

@Keiths_Mum - I too love spring and was delighted to see the daffodils lining the roads this week.  Happy memories of Mother's Day and collecting flowers for our mum and nan at church and either giving them to them in church or taking them home.  

I falsely claimed to have found the missing unused postcard box as when I checked the box out it contained the used ones (a deferred decision box) - must still be hiding with your lamp Mrs SD. 

Not too stiff from the swimming and I have lost another 1lb.  Did quite a bit of jigsaw with some assistance from DGS4 who is really good at jigsaws even one as difficult as this.  About half done now - I'll do some more in a bit.

358 Easily found 10 'I minute items' to put away.
359 Downloaded another small Amazon gift voucher (£14 credit on there now)

Working myself up to a couple of frogs.  I think I'll do 30 minutes on jigsaw whilst I drink my tea then tackle those frogs. 

QueenJess

Absolutely crawling along with these online accounts now as I'm getting to the annoying ones that don't reply.  I have about 25 accounts I am waiting to be deleted (including one that claims I haven't got any details on their system despite me still being able to login to it!).

Anyway, I am below 125 accounts now and trying to get down to 100 later today.  Some just need email changes so should be quicker.

3,023-3,028 - online accounts deleted

D123456789

Thanks @Mrs_Salad_Dodger tonight we will be having linguine with bacon garlic peas and a creamy Parmesan sauce 😁 you inspired me 😊

Crazycatlady2

Nothing out as mostly replacement items coming in 😂

got delivery this week of some school uniform, tops for me, boots for DD birthday and hopefully my mended hoover back

i have some daffodils 🌼 in my kitchen too 😁

eldest has another attempt at driving test next week…fingers crossed 

vulpix

LiverpoolAnne, I am also now having sinus pain from this everlasting lurgy. It must be a month now.

 Catering tales reminded me that years ago my neighbour made a big fruit cake for her daughters Christening. I decorated it with royal icing. It looked a treat. She set it out on her dining room table the day before. When they all went in after the service her toddler had nibbled all one side off .Hahaha.

 Didn't get as much done at home yesterday as my lovely bin monitor neighbour visited for a couple of hours. I gave her a couple of Scentsy candles that I had brought home and couldn't find a home for. I have found a home for a big amethyst geode that we had bought FIL for his 80th and a glass owl that Mr V bought his Mum from a scout jumble sale in the 60's. Unbeknown to anyone it turned out to be Lalique.

 I did sort through 2 shopping bags full and I mean to the brim of jewellery. Mil loved jewellery. Very little real jewellery unless I haven't found it yet. Mil has left me her jewellery in her will. I will keep an opal bracelet and ring and a very fancy diamond dress ring. DD2 and Step daughter I have given a ring each and DD2 has also had a gold chain with something on it,can't remember. I let them choose. I have put aside an opal necklace and bracelet for Mil's god daughter and I gave her cleaner a gold chain with diamond and emerald pendant. There is similar but amethyst I will give to the ex cleaner who was a good friend to MIL. I contacted a lady from our church shop and she came and collected the bags of stuff and some jewellery boxes. She messaged last night to say Thank you for the amazing donation (all decent stuff even though it is costume jewellery). She asked which charity I would like the proceeds to go to. I said Alzheimer's research and Mind. I did say that there would be a lot more to come in the way of bric a brac. Mil was a great collector of Hummel and faberge type eggs. Just to add, the church shop makes donations to several charities every year after their expenses and a donation to the church.

 The clothes I bagged up we dropped off at the care home in Nottingham where MIL passed. A lot of new stuff in packaging,nighties,pants etc etc. As you can imagine,a drop in the ocean. I believe DD2 and SD emptied the pantry yesterday. Most contents filled the black bin as they were out of date.

 Today I am going to start the tallboy.

 Vx

vulpix

PS When I say very little real jewellery, I mean for MIL. She was a lady of excess.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks to include MMiM - do this before I go to bed

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 ‘Urgent’ daily mail immediately & the rest at the weekend

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

Tuesday is a another overcast & chilly day & seems to have been raining ☹️ Up & dressed by 11:15. The reason I didn’t go to bed earlier or do any cheerleading was that I got engrossed in book 11 of The Shipyard Girls 😉 Now have my first cuppa & will go straight into cheerleading.

Excellent decluttering nannywindow 👏 Your under stairs cupboard must be a joy to behold 🙂Remember, no more paint brushes 😅

GrannyKate, that is the challenge with jigsaw puzzles restricting yourself to just a few pieces rather like chocolate in my case 😂 Well done on persuading yourself to go swimming 👏 Sorry to hear that ex dil is ill & very kind of you to have the children overnight 😊 I hope they were well behaved 😉 Great decluttering despite the jigsaw puzzle👏

Muddy_Walker, pleased to hear that the day got better 🙂 A very successful evening of decluttering finance issues especially working out the mortgage overpayment system 🥳👏

vulpix, yippee no more curtains & sewing machine put away at least for a while 🤞Excellent decluttering 👏 & good luck with the renovation of the tallboy 🍀

Great work decluttering online accounts QueenJess 👏 Under 150 🥳

Florenceem, I was curious & annoyed so looked it up - apparently the next round of boosters is going to be in the autumn at the same time as flu vaccines. So not quite as bad as it could be 😮‍💨 Hope you enjoyed your day indoors & gave yourself a bit of TLC 😊 By the way everything that goes out counts regardless of when it came in 😉 Well done staying ahead in your daily changing 👏

Excellent work on your daily MMiM challenge charlies_tribe 👏 & good luck with tackling older toys 🍀 I am also watching The Last of Us but am only up to episode 6 - will binge watch after the last episode is recorded. I am still not sure whether I like it or not 🤔 

Excellent decluttering short_bird 👏

Keiths_Mum, the appearance of daffodils usually heralds the arrival of spring & the warmer weather but currently rather chilly & rainy ☹️ Yes, taking out the glass recycling counts as decluttering 👏

Excellent use of the 23 minute decluttering sessions DundeeDoll 👏 Well done on your continued banishment of emails 👏

Liverpool_Anne, sorry to hear that your lurgy is still making its presence felt ☹️ hopefully the move to your sinuses heralds the last stage 🤞 Thanks for the extra information about the platypus 🙂 Not sure I would survive in Australia either - the older I get the more I get attacked by flying things 😞 Excellent decluttering 👏 

Fizz2015, pleased to hear that your Nan’s funeral service was a celebration of her life 😊 Please take care to focus on your wellbeing rather than too much decluttering 🙏 Lots of TLC and recharging your batteries is the order of the next few days 😊

grandmanerd, what a lovely & sensitive post. Thank you for sharing such delightful memories 👏 It sounds like your lovely mother was ahead of the curve when it came to catering for larger numbers 😊Not sure what I was doing at age 3 - probably eating worms - I was an annoying child 😉 Lots of useful information for not only Florenceem but also for many of our other declutterers who quite often put themselves last when it comes to taking care of their well-being 😊 You had a very busy weekend - lots of decluttering on Saturday & taking care of taxi drivers on Sunday 👏 when they should have taking care of you 😔 Monday sounds like it was just the ticket - feeling relaxed, floppy & sleepy - a good way to recover from Sundays injection 😊 

I forgot to mention that DH nipped out to pick up his tablets from the pharmacy & had a rather bemusing experience 😉 As he was waiting for his pills a chap turned up with his little girl (she was on a scooter) & she refused to go in as “the man inside looked like the man who turned children into frogs” DH realised she was referring to him & told her that he was poorly & just collecting his medicine. With her dad apologising profusely, the little girl staying firmly outside & DH thinking the whole thing was amusing - it must have been highly entertaining for the pharmacist 😅 Once DH had left she went straight in 🙂 DH came back dropped off his meds & then turned round & went straight out for his first proper walk at about 12:30. DSis is currently in the bath, no coughing so far 🤞

GrannyKate thanks for sharing your memories of large catering events 😊 I wonder if your mum & grandmanerd’s mum knew each other 😉 Shame about the house burning down but as you say probably not much of a surprise ☹️ Sorry to hear that your ‘unused postcards box’ is still hiding with my lamp. I have stopped looking at the moment, hoping that inspiration might strike 🤞Congratulations on your continued weight loss 👏 & good luck dealing with your frogs 🍀

Excellent decluttering of email accounts QueenJess 👏 Your persistence is paying off 🙂 Good luck getting to under 100 🍀

Enjoy your linguine D123456789 😊

Crazycatlady2, Good luck to your eldest on the driving test 🍀 

Sorry to hear that your lurgy has been hanging around for a month vulpix 😔 Entertaining story 😅 at least it was only the toddler eating the cake & not a pet 😮‍💨 Great decluttering to lovely neighbour 👏MrV obviously had a good eye at a young age 😊 Lalique is beautiful & a real treasure 😊 Excellent & very quick decluttering of MiL’s jewellery 👏 and very generous allocation 😊 I think I would probably still have the bags in 10 years time as I do love shiny things 😉 Shame about all the wasted food 😔Good luck with the tallboy 🍀

DH got home at 13:50 having reached over 6,000 steps & advised to wrap up warm as the drizzle is actually attempting to become snow 😉 DSis has just left for her appointment & I am just getting ready to go out.

MrsSD (a superwoman) 😇 🎖💐🤩🏅🦸🏅💐🏆 💐🍰🍾🌟⭐️🌟 💐🏅

DH Awards: 🥇 🏅

Decluttering Target 2023: 774/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £74.70

Brie

Gardener showed up 4 hours early (with permission as he's a polite lad) and has decluttered the back garden of excess grass despite the rain.  Small amount of annoyment as he left 2 trugs of cut grass sitting out where they could rained on.  Normally they sling them into the waste bin or leave them in the car port in case we want/can take them to the dump.   No matter - I shifted them to the car port as they are too heavy to heave up to bin level.  They'll have to sit there for the next couple of weeks.

Small declutter of a Easter card for my mom.  By which I mean I've written it and addressed - just need now to figure out how much the postage will be and if I actually have to go to the post office.  I know I have more than enough stamps but I hate paying more than I have to so will likely toddle off even if it's to get an extra 5p stamp.  I have 48 hours to do so else I will have to post it post hols and it won't arrive in time.

Florenceem

keith'smum - I remember coming out of Church laden with bunches of daffodils when my 6 children were young.
grandmanerd - thanks for the tips. Usually things run smoothly but there was a sudden event at another corp sprung on the officer who normally does the catering so I was asked to do it. I had a relaxing day yesterday indoors and haven't gone to SA today. I also got my first freezer and a Kenwood in the 1970s.
I was asleep until noon and got dressed 2 hours later.
I have made 3 quick Birthday cards and hope to work on some sewing. I was up late last night finishing a book - no 4 in a series by Anna Jacobs - bed was nearly 3 am.

TC77

Sorry not keeping up properly but skim reading.@Fizz2015 so glad you had a celebration of your nan's life.
Glad to hear Mr SD still doing his walks, and hugs to those in need. @Florenceem in awe of your handicrafts and creativity.
Went to see flat with DD1 - changed her mind which to see - I would have opted for the other one which is now taken. All abit stressful as given til 11am the next day to make offers. DD2 has very low iron which explains how she is low and lethargic and Dr rang me to say v low in Vit D so giving me mega dose to start me off. Hopefully we'll both have more energy soon
did some at the weekend,  excess carpet put in eaves, and hoovered rest of room, item sold and packaged, card written and posted, digital declutter, , emailed about big frog, 4 other frogs moved along. Been told I'll get a replacement dishwasher and been given a long list of options but some are the wrong size and no idea the difference so need to take time to go through. 
Off to cook proper dinner, veggie shepherds pie to help build DD2 up. 
Picked up a telephone seat (prob 60s) from someone as looked good, but needs more work than I thought and unsure quite what to do with it as have enough junk but would fit in the hall , if I get rid of small shelves/bureau of DD1 which she may take but I can put in the room of doom - or one of them.
Day off tomorrow for b'day and meeting a friend for lunch and then an exhibition. Had been going out with DDs tonight but DD2 exhausted so we're watching TV and chilling (although may swim and drop parcel off to DD1).