2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

QueenJess

Sorted out a couple of tidying up frogs I've been putting off for ages.  I also am sick of looking at the pile of jiffy bags in my room and decided I've already learned my lesson and don't need further lessons.  So I put them on Buy Nothing and have a few people interested already!  That will leave me with only 1 single bag for packaging which I'm sure I will use for Buy Nothing soon (plus some bubble wrap which will go once I have packaged up a few things for charity etc).  So the packaging box is empty and destined for the loft and I can think about rearranging the cupboard upstairs now I have more space.

10 things already decluttered for today, so will just continue doing tidying bits and pieces throughout the day.  I will remove some more tops out of DD's drawer whilst she is out with DH.

13,540 - kids stuff (Buy Nothing)
13,541 - packaging (reused)
13,542-13,553 - packaging (Buy Nothing)

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

Saturday is currently still overcast but dry. Shame on me I didn’t get up until 12:20 😔 I really need to start working on No.3 of my daily mantras 😔 DH received a message from my DB that he has booked his flights in order to attend our uncle’s funeral. DH has been up a while watching MotoGP practices & now the qualifying races. I am about to try catching up on the cheerleading, wish me luck 🍀 & concentration  😉

Muddy_Walker, sorry to hear that you had an ‘odd’ week off 😔 crossing everything that OH’s job situation is resolved & that the new job involves less travelling time 🤞Excellent decluttering & munching of frogs 👏 Very pleased to hear that dog 1 no longer has to wear the cone 🙂

Excellent decluttering of both physical items & tasks Liverpool_Anne 👏 You had a very busy Thursday 🤩 Well done on sorting out the season tickets online 😊

Florenceem, thank you for sharing the cause of MrF’s troubles. Hopefully MrF has realised that ‘stiff upper lip syndrome’ is not conducive to getting well & will accept the help offered by the Psychiatry Department 🤞 Definitely not the way I would have wanted your decluttering journey to go Florenceem but you have made the most of the situation & are making your home a stress free & safe place for both you & MrF 😊 Fingers crossed that the weather stayed fine for DGS J 🤞

weenancy, a very busy Thursday what with cat care, cleaning & research successes + dealing with important emails 👏  Excellent breakthrough re decluttering DVDs & CDs 🥳 With all the decluttering & the work you do each & every day I am awarding you a Gold Star ⭐️ 

stellata, you did have a quiet Coronation weekend 😥 Sorry to hear that you overdid the gardening on Saturday but really good that you rested & slept enough to recover 😊 Excellent decluttering of clothing & cardboard boxes 👏 

Fizz2015, do remember that doing the laundry from start to finish counts as decluttering - so you are blip free 😉 What a lovely way to be treated when picking up OH’s FB purchase 😊 Good luck to OH on his new venture 🍀 Hopefully excitement is the overwhelming feeling 🤞 Wishing you good weather for your hike today 🙂

roundtuit, great idea to switch off the TV & read magazines instead 😊 I wish my DSis would do that once in a while 😉 There are piles of magazines in both the lr & bathroom (about 2 dozen of them) passed on from me & she doesn’t ever read one from cover to cover so it can be recycled 😔 I have taken to secretly adding one magazine to the bottom of a pile & recycling 2 unstarted ones from the top of the pile 😉😅 Excellent work in the kitchen & well done on sorting the last of the PS electronics 👏  Very pleased to hear that each success is spurring you on to more decluttering which you now know will be successful 🥳 Hopefully you will find even more long lost treasures apart from the cat & the sewing basket 🤞😊 Good luck 🍀

Lovely post retiredinfrance 😊 Decluttering can be a great stress reliever once you get past the feeling of overwhelm & get started 🙂 Hope the work that you & DH are doing in the garage is successful 🤞By the way, you are still depriving yourself in your numbering 😉 With the pile of rubbish from the car mentioned on page 430 you are now on 261/365 👏

roundtuit, when DS picks up all his ‘stuff’ I think you should take a discreet photo of GF’s reaction 😉😉I like the P.S. - does that mean all the electronic items are accounted for?

Florenceem, fingers crossed that the Pharmacy has now supplied the anti depressants🤞Sounds like MrF is getting back to his old self - I rather like the idea that he didn’t oblige the Consultant but then proved that he could do what had been asked 😉 Excellent decluttering of the office 👏 & how marvellous that with your garage clearance you were able to file away to deal with at a later date 🥳

Brie, that was so funny 😂 “The vigilante branch of cats protection” - I fell off the sofa 🤣

EnergyShifter, I am still amazed at how fast the EDT is moving (halfway through October when comparing to 2022 😱) so I can understand not being able to keep up 😉 Very pleased to hear that things are improving & normal levels of grumpiness have been resumed 😉 only joking of course 🙃Excellent work cleaning the house & I see you are still maintaining your in/out ratio 👏 Your holiday in Spain sounds just the ticket 😊 Good luck with the complaint 🍀

I am at the end of another page, so will post this 😉 DH is now having a 2nd attempt at fixing the top-box lid so I am putting in ear plugs as I foresee lots of bad language 😂

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1152/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £116.90

Blue_Doggy

I’ve not posted for a while, not a lot done as I overdid things in the garden and my muscles went on strike. Then I looked around and it was all so overwhelming I sat down and read for a while instead. The mess and muddle is still there. This time last year 

I’d got so organised that I could do my basic housework, including mopping the kitchen floor, in an hour before walking my dog. Then in July I got COVID, and it all fell apart. 

What I’ve done since my last post:

• Pulled or dug up more weeds - mostly ivy and bindweed - in front garden (it comes through from the council’s land over the fence) (it is very tedious to have to unwind bindweed from honeysuckle! Could be worse, it could be infesting the climbing roses.)
• Tidied two saggy timber plank flowerbed edgings
• Binned one rotten timber flowerbed edging and replaced with recycled rubber edgings
• Noted more rotten edgings and estimated how much new I will need
• More garden tidying

• soft plastic to supermarket
• Garden bin emptied into garden waste wheelie bin
• 2 dead houseplants binned
• Domestic waste to bin
• Old pillowcase to bin 
• Pair of holed Marigolds to gardening box
• Pair of new but wrong size Marigolds to charity shop bag

• 115 emails deleted

Best wishes to all, especially those with health concerns for themselves or their loved ones.

florianatwobob

2 bags of  DBro’s ‘treasured belongings’ off to the charity shop. The last of the Ziffit parcels has landed with Ziffit with money winging its way this way. DBro still has lots of things to review….we have kept a large box for this very purpose……..

Despite things leaving the house I still feel like I’m in a warehouse. Things need to be addressed…..

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 forewent the earplugs & instead I went out to assist DH as he did need an extra hand 🙂 Unfortunately the whole thing has turned into a ‘comedy of errors’ & I am using that term very loosely to avoid being banned from the Forum 😉 Connecting the electrical wiring for the additional handle & putting the inner top box lid went pretty well. However when it came to attaching the handle & the locking catches it all started to descend into chaos 😔 DH dropped a bolt into a space behind one of the little cubby holes on the side of the bike & we couldn’t retrieve it 😖 ONE & A HALF HOURS LATER, having dismantled various other bits of the bike we finally retrieved it. This of course meant that all those other dismantled bits had to be put back together first before resuming the original task. As DSis has appeared I have left her to assist DH & I have retired from the fray 😅 DH & DSis took 15 minutes to get the handle & locking catches with no further mishaps 🙂 Yippee the top box now locks & all the electronic components work 🥳 I replaced DSis as the assistant & everything else is back together & all tools etc have been returned to the garage 🥳

1153 - 1154 Broken glasses, small bag of broken bits - binned

1155 - 1156 Small cardboard box, instruction leaflets - recycled

Needless to say, but I will anyway,  the planned visit to sm has been cancelled as it is gone 17:00 😂 I will now try to catch up on a bit more cheerleading 🤞

roundtuit, very pleased to hear that Brie doesn’t have to inform on you 😅

Brie, brilliant photo I am still howling with laughter 😂 & have taken a copy 😉

Dfw38, the last ones will be the special invitations as the recipients will think how clever your daughter is 😂

GrannyKate, sounds like you need to pop into the TLC Carriage for a while 😉 Shame about your curtailed swimming session but at least you saved money on your water bill 🥳 Excellent decluttering 👏

Florenceem, lucky Freeglers 😊 You have been decluttering some beautiful & useful items 👏 Excellent work decluttering the shredding pile 👏

Brie, I think home shredders get too hot & need lots of mini breaks 😂

QueenJess, your employer is very badly organised if you are the only one who can do certain tasks/projects 😔 What on earth do they do when you are ill or on holiday? Oh, I have just answered my own question………..they keep it all for your return to work 😖 I see your point about decluttering versus tidying 😊 but (said as a long drawn out word) the less you have, the easier it is to tidy 😉 You had a very busy Friday - more than a day’s work, lots of decluttering & tidying + playing with DD 🤩👏 No wonder you needed to sit down with a glass of wine 😊 I take it DH made the children’s dinner & then ordered in for the two of you OR am I misunderstanding? DH’s list will just have to be twice as long on his next day off 🤣 A successful tactic then QueenJess 🥳 

Good work roundtuit 👏

Nice to see you back bit_by_bit 👋 Sorry to hear that DD was admitted to hospital 😔 & fingers crossed that she is on the mend 🤞Hopefully further investigations will find a cause that can be remedied 🙂 Your great work in cleaning & tidying her flat will definitely aid her recovery 😊

One more page caught up 🥳

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1156/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £116.90

Florenceem

DGS J finished the back garden - I mentioned that the side alley will need to be done - I meant another time - but he did it.
The three Freeglers turned up and my phone arrived so I went shopping. There was a hen party on the bus coming home - so noisy.
Photos of one side of the back garden - looks bigger with the greenery gone.

QueenJess

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger DD has dinner at nursery in the week. We eat together with DS so DH cooked for all of us. I prefer it this way than do kids meals separately and us eat later. We just eat a bit earlier and have dessert after the kids are in bed.

I’m with you in the less you have the less there is to tidy stakes, but it wasn’t quite working as I was decluttering things, but the general stuff like clothes etc weren’t being put away. Hopefully this new method gives me the best of both worlds.

As for work, I’m the only one with the skill set. It was a mess after I was on maternity leave!

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

TC77, shame the posh tops didn’t sell but they had their chance on f*Bay 😔 However well done on having this system in place 👏

Liverpool_Anne, blood test results in a day & prescription available for pick up 🤩 Now that is what I call the NHS at its very best 😊👏 Hope you got off on time & that you have a lovely break with really good weather 😊

Florenceem, I hope you are getting enough sleep 🙏 I can see from your later post that the weather stayed dry & sunny for your DGS J 🥳 Re the trousers does MrF own any braces as a temporary solution until you can get new trousers? 

retiredinfrance, don’t forget the detritus from the car 😉 Takes you up to 266/365 🥳 Even more encouraging as only 99 items to go before reaching your target 👏 No need to apologise retiredinfrance - with so many posts it is quite difficult to keep track 😊 Another reason that I type in Notes so that I can flit back & forth between Notes & the Thread 😉 

Florenceem, sounds like DGS J is an early riser too 😊 The office sounds like a bit of a nightmare 😬 so very well done on tackling the mountains of shredding, recycling & filing 👏 Sounds like four ‘red paper recycling bags’ are proving to be useful - so one small benefit of MrF’s ‘collecting’ tendencies 😉 

Deni_debt-free_dreamer, well done on taking advantage of a nice day👏 Great work dealing with both your home & work recycling 👏 Stage 2 of your work recycling project sounds quite formidable 😬 but with 2 of you dealing with it I am looking forward to reading about your success 😊

roundtuit, DS’s pile of items is getting bigger by the day 😅 

Nice to see you charlies_tribe 👋 Hope you are OK 🤞Excellent decluttering & very pleased to hear that you have all the kids on board 👏 once they have tidied their own rooms I think they should help you with yours 😉🥲

QueenJess, your switch from tidying to decluttering has proved to be a win-win 🥳 Excellent work 👏

Blue_Doggy, big hug coming your way 🤗 Your home might have got into a bit of a mess since you caught Covid BUT last years success proves without a doubt that you can do it again 😊👏 Excellent decluttering & tidying 👏 Fingers crossed that you don’t need to replace too much ‘edging’ 🤞

florianatwobob, please, please take time to celebrate your successes 🙏 Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day 😉 You have done an excellent job of decluttering DBro’s ‘treasured possessions’ 👏 Sending lots of positive vibes to you to help you identify your next target for decluttering treatment 😊

Florenceem, thanks for the pictures 👏 DGS J has worked hard & done such a superb job 🥳 that I am awarding him a Gold Star ⭐️ 

QueenJess, sorry for the misunderstanding 😔 Sounds like a great compromise 😊

I am posting this quickly as I have caught up 🥳  DH is treating us to Chinese tonight so no cooking 👏

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1156/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £116.90

Florenceem

Ready for the tip run tomorrow - 3rd week in a row.

Blue_Doggy

Thank you for your kind hug, @Mrs_Salad_Dodger. I hope I can get back to where I was last year, but I remember how much effort it took, how much decluttering (then!) and furniture shifting. To have to do it all again is very dispiriting. 

Sorry, Everyone, I’m in a bit of a down mood at present. I shall go and hide in the TLC Carriage and see if my mojo is there already. 

 

@Florenceem what a marvellous job your DGS has done!