2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

DundeeDoll

today's 23 mins was at work going through a box of paper - lots now in the recycle, some through the shredder

daisy_1571

Craving space - further to what others have said 

The fact that you think all the boxes are filled with 'junk' it might well be worth taking a look at even one of them.  Spread out the contents and ask yourself- is it genuinely junk?  Will your life be any different if you didn't hold onto any particular bit? Is it junk to you but useful to someone else? Get a box started for charity shop/ebay/fb/etc but only absolutely only if you really will sell it.  Sometimes its just more important to get it out the house and let the charity shop gain the funds.

Re the idea that who can keep one type of thing in a box it sounds like you are yet to fully embrace 'like with like' but it doesn't really matter what you keep in a box, a drawer, a cupboard, a room, a house.  Its your box, drawer, cupboard, room, house.  It only matters that it makes sense to you and hopefully those who also live in your house.  Somebody mentioned on here about the toothbrush solution.   I would imagine that in even the most unorganised house you would be likely to find a toothbrush and toothpaste beside a sink.  Its unlikely someone would keep each of these things in separate drawers far away from the sink they use at night.  That seems to make sense for most people.   So extend that idea outwards through your house. Its likely you already keep all your socks in one part of a drawer, your underwear together in another bit.  Most people dont just have one huge drawer labelled 'clothes' and rummage through it all every day.   But its up to you how far you take it.

In my craft room for example I have a box with just buttons. I like buttons, I might have more of them than some people,  I might have less than other people.   Thats not the point.   The point is I like to have my buttons in one box, I have space to keep a button box, its not in the way, if I need a button I know where to go looking.  But on another shelf I have a box labelled 'things that stick'.  That makes sense to me.  If I need something stuck, I go to that box.  To me it doesn't matter it has sellotape, fancy Xmas present tape, glue, pritt stick, craft glue dots etc. To me its all 'things that stick'.  In another box I have a variety of things, there are 3 sticky labels on it and ive just counted that I've written 17 things on the labels.  Again the 17 things might be in a different order (or completely missing) in someone else's house.  But in my head I know the category of things they all are so it makes sense to me.

Do the clutter bug quiz queen jess linked, it will help you know a wee bit better what is likely to make you happy.   At the moment you know lots of boxes with junk in each is not making you happy.  Knowing what you want to keep will influence what you need to keep them in.  Good luck, its not a sprint, keep trying things.

Daisy xxx

PS And I agree again with qj, ive found that instead of thinking Question 1: how do I store this?  Question 1 actually needs to be: do I want to store this.  As she said - there's a difference between decluttering and getting sidetracked into storing things more neatly 

Muddy_Walker

Hello!
I did the quiz and apparently I’m a perfectionist…..hmm.
RL/work/treatment has been in the forefront recently with chaos and stress again 😢 sick of it, sick of other people making me feel worse than I am already. My treatment every 4 weeks is bad enough but I was stressed through work worry on top of that.
anyway, still here, dog 2 is getting better with his claw although there was salty water everywhere the other day where I was trying to bathe it and he very stubbornly wouldn’t let me…several swear words and a head lock later I managed. Then he charged off through the dog flap straight into mud….
Dog1 is being a very brave girl and I want to thank those of you who suggested different things. The vet she will be seeing is very good at what he does as he did one of my other dogs a few years ago and as she has plenty of mountains left in her yet I want her to have the best chance possible.
Easter will be decluttering on an epic proportion - I have been keeping on top of day to day stuff so am happy with that.
Mrs SD a huge well done to Mr SD and his walking! 

April Admin - count me in for that!!

vulpix

We will deffo be doing April Admin with MIl's estate to wind up.

 I am feeling more human now. Just fetching everything of my families from my Mother's house tomorrow.sort it.distribute it to new homes then I am settling into the tlc carriage for quite some time.

 I love my new dentist. Mr V has been at the practice since he was a child. A long way to travel but worth it. I deleted a huge amount of photos and videos off my phone whilst I was waiting for Mr V to finish work. 

 The plumber has been a dervish and decluttered a bathroom,walls and all!  Just a toilet in the room.

 I am pleased to hear your positive news. We all need a lot more of it. More house guests bit by bit,go girl.

 Craving space, as others have said the biggest decision you have to make is do I need it.want it. like it ? etc rather than keeping everything but in pretty boxes. Start small one box at a time. You can always revisit in the future,and find a permanent home for things.

 Vx

 

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  

I did get dressed warmly & put shoes on but DH had decided to stop for a while & have a coffee 😉 So I did a little project for my own amusement - I compared how many pages at the end of each month between 2022 & 2023 Decluttering Threads. This year so far, we are 47 pages ahead at the end of January; 84 pages ahead for February; 136 pages ahead for March 🤩 The 2023 EDT is definitely faster than last years EDT 😉 I also updated my list of stamp prices - postage to Europe has gone up from £1.85 to £2.20 😱 DH & I then spent just over an hour in the garden. We have decided on a plan of action which started with moving the stack of 175 bricks from their current location to a temporary location in front of the shed. I did the moving & DH did the stacking 😉 This was to give easier access to the area where we are putting up a trellis & planting out a clematis. It was going to be our next job BUT we discovered that the lower shelf of the table top bed had collapsed 😔 This has now become job 2 - we need to empty the soil so that we can lay the structure on its side to make it easier to fix. So whilst DH is doing that I will start planting radish seeds, tomato seeds & possibly chard. I also need to start harvesting rhubarb 😊 DSis had ravioli for dinner. DH & I had cheesy omelettes with mushroom, pepper, ham & chorizo filling 🤤 Wudupa.

931 - 935 Kitchen recycling, paper packaging, cardboard box, drinks cans, glass bottle - recycled 

936 - 937 Kitchen & garden detritus - binned

Crazycatlady2, remember the old adage one man’s trash is another man’s treasure 😂 At least it means that you won’t have the aggravation of taking to the Tip 👏

Pleased to hear that MrF went out with you Florenceem 😊 Not sure why there was a queue at the Post Office as stamp prices went up today so everyone was too late to get stamps at the old prices 🙄 

Nice to see you Craving_Space 👋 I can see that short_bird, QueenJess, vulpix & daisy_1571 have already given you some sound advice & the benefit of their experience 😊 Hopefully you will find something to get you started 🤞

Florenceem, so pleased to hear that stroppy woman was pleasant when you spoke to her today 🙂However, shame on her for causing you stress & worry 😠 A great start to April’s decluttering 👏

Lovely post bit_by_bit 😊 Excellent work on the allotment 👏 Ooh, a bonfire 🥳 Your indoor decluttering must be going well if you are happy to have visitors staying overnight 😉😊

Brie, sending helpful vibes that OH keeps his feet firmly on the ground 🙂 Lovely comment to Florenceem 😊  Hopefully OH can be galvanised into action with his stack of stuff 🤞so that you get the clothing rack into use asap 😉

QueenJess, sounds like an interesting topic on the radio 🙂 Good luck on your mission to declutter  unimportant things from your life 🍀 Lovely reply to Craving_Space’s post 🙂

Excellent decluttering short_bird 👏

Lovely posts retiredinfrance 😊 Well done on decluttering the note cards 👏

Good use of your 23 minutes DundeeDoll 👏

Oops just nodded off & woke up after an hour 😱 Off to bed & will finish cheerleading tomorrow i.e. later today 🙂

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

DH Awards: 🥇🏅⭐️💐🏅 perseverance medal 🎖️ 🥇 🏅 

Decluttering Target 2023: 937/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £74.70

Floss

I managed to finally declutter my too-big table that has been stood blocking my cabinets since late January. A gentleman Jew & his 2 sons came to pick it up and it will be hosting their Passover feast at the weekend.

I'm still doing slow filtering for the chazzer and on Ebay, and really need to review my To-Read pile as some have been there for over a year. Digi photo decluttering is still ongoing too.

I'm on leave from work now until next Tuesday, and have plans for tidying the garden this year, starting with lots of weeding. I need to buy some bark to put down on the big bed, before everything starts to grow, strawberries need moving to a more permanent home, the new raised beds need siting, lining & filling so I can get them planted and the area under the bird feeders needs some thought. 

EnergyShifter

The penny has finally dropped that my zombie like state is probably related to my allergies kicking in ! It happens every year so you think I'd remember!  Brought the air-purifier down from the loft to see if that helps.  

I finally got all of the info / evidence back to renew my professional accreditation - so submitted it right away - 6 months ahead of time - I'm very pleased with myself as this is very unusual behaviour for me.  Just need to start doing this for my tax return rather than suffering stress every January.  

DS is due back from Europe this evening God Willing. 🙏

Tasks:
Replaced filter for air-purifier
Renewed my professional credential 

IN (running total 70)

71. Cute summer cropped cardi from CS

OUT (running total 305)

306. Used up scented candle & glass container
307. Pencil tin
308. Large bundle of papers / notes

 Sending love & hugs to all who need them  

Dfw38

Morning, feeling quite stressed today with one thing and another, main one being the doctors have messed up dad's paperwork and if it isn't sorted by Thursday we will have to delay the funeral. I feel too tired to feel angry.  Dc are argumentative and grizzly today too, they have been awake since 5am 😖
I am doing the mins game this month (1 item decluttered on first, 2 on 2nd etc) and also will join in AAIA.
AAIA 1: sort out photos for dad's order of service and for photo for frame for funeral. 
AAIA 2: defrost freezer and organise - currently defrosting and will be organised later today. I have decided that I need to simplify dinners, feels like too much effort for what the reward is (wasted food, tantrums and expense).
Looks a nice day and have a trip out to post office, will probably do some work in the garden this afternoon (sun will be round by then). Have a tip trip booked for Thursday morning and am keen to have a full boot. 
Mins (to date): 1 yoga mat, 2 items of clothing (unwanted jacket and t shirt), 3 fleece blankets, 4 dds cuddly toys 🙀👍

2Scratters

Morning Peeps,
Mrs SD thankyou for the gold medal. 
Yesterday I emptied out my work bag, it is a heavy quality leather shoulder bag. Well made english one that has already lasted decades with me. I tend to carry everything around in it, like a mobile desk. I had decided I didn't need the weight and why was I so busy looking after everyone else and neglecting myself? 
I have had another shop from from home and found another suitable leather bag to carry a  lot more reduced stuff for work. About a quarter of the size and will fit just what I need. Some bits are in the organised junk drawer at home ready to be UU.

DH did the garden weeding and trimmed the edges of the flower beds. Moved out some flowers at my request. I tidied up the dead remaining stalks from various plants and the mounted baskets that will need a refresh later. De headed the buds and a couple of seed heads trying to make progress in the rhubarb plants. Bag of garden waste into the general waste bin - oops! The strawberries in their basket are again self seeding and caring for themselves. 
We have 2 sandpits/paddling pools that our dogs just don't have any interest in. Will get them pictured and placed on MP free group along with the old work bag.

Made some LO veg soup yesterday which had some chilli placed into it - nice and warming. I had bought some kale but never used it as I had intended to buy spring cabbage!! and never plucked up the courage to use it. I have put them into double portions and warned DH we will be eating these at least once a week. Will find some crusty bread to go with it.

Sold a "stock" item on the bay - need to get that posted out.
Really need to take more pictures in readiness for uploading some more.

Today I am off to have lunch with my dad - sharing the load with my siblings of dealing with aged parents. 
Washing machine is on and that will get pegged out when done. Need to find a task today for DH to do for me....

Enjoy the sunshine all 

2 Scratters xx

TC77

@Dfw38 so sorry to hear the Dr mess up , no wonder you're stressed.  Please be kind to yourself as sounds as if you're doing so much. 
Simplifying meals sounds sensible and I always remember beans or eggs on toast is nutrionally  very good.