2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

Muddy_Walker

One TB……decluttered!!!!!!!!!!!! 🍾🍾🍰🍰🍰😁😁😁😁
we did have a bit of a chat but I was the better person…I was informed that I would always be welcomed back - I smiled politely and chuckled.
And I did get a card and some pressies which was very unexpected but nice too. I think the penny dropped with an almighty clang - but - too little too late.
so then spent a couple of hours in the garden being bashed by Dog1’s cone and deadheading stuff. Dog2 just shouted at the birds….and now I’m having a Kip.
Well that was very exciting wasn’t it 🤣
Seeing the parents tomorrow which will wear me out and then Sunday will be faffing getting ready for New Nice Team - NNT.
keep hydrated people even when it’s windy 😊❤️

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

14:00 back again after a small flurry of activity - stripped, aired & remade bed. Old bedding now in the wm & will hopefully dry on the whirligig as the sun is shining & there is a strong breeze 🤞I amended my last post to show that I wudupa today 😔 I have also decided what I am wearing to my uncle’s funeral on Monday. DSis has gone to the hairdressers & DH has just had a bowl of soup. Odd bit of post today - our address but someone else’s name 🤨 Rather than just shredding it I opened the letter. It was from Student Loans confirming that they had the persons new address (I.e. ours 🤔) & would like him to get in touch urgently. Rather than allowing this to potentially cause problems in the future, DH phoned SL, quoted the reference & advised that said person did not & never had lived at our address as we moved in when the house was built. DH also confirmed that we did not & never have known anyone of the name quoted. Hopefully a 5 minute phone call has sorted this out 🤞 Now back to cheerleading before the EDT completely vanishes into the distance 😉

You are very welcome Dfw38 🙂 That is an enormous amount of stuff in a 3 bedroomed house 😱 Your mum & dad were obviously exceedingly good at Tetris 😉 either that or the rooms somehow stretched to accommodate everything 😥 Almost 500 bags so far 👏 As you say a ‘mammoth task’ but you are proving that both you &  DH are up to the task 👏 Please try to enjoy having visitors & put all thoughts of decluttering to the back of your mind 🙏 Pleased to hear that DD was better yesterday & that the children are enjoying having more crafting materials 😊 Good luck with your JJiJ targets 🍀

ruby_eskimo, sounds like you are working very hard helping your Mum to declutter & have a more restful home for Dad when he gets out of hospital 😊 I can understand your reluctance to push too hard as you are currently having a good deal of success with your current method 👏 One medal 🏅coming your way for getting rid of 14 bags of ‘stuff’ so far 👏 Wishing you every success in reclaiming the dining room table & the living room 🍀 Perhaps take before & after photos to show your Mum & Dad how much more pleasant & relaxing it is to have clear spaces 😉

Siebrie, excellent work decluttering so much & getting it out of the house 👏 Sounds like your Kia Picanto is a Tardis to get so much stuff in 😅 

Dfw38, great support for ruby_eskimo 😊 and a reminder to us all that it takes a lifetime to accumulate our clutter so we cannot expect to get it cleared in a few days 😉 Dfw38, so sorry to hear that the valuation was so low 😔 Everything crossed that there is no structural damage & that when the house is eventually auctioned off it will raise far more than the valuation 🤞

GrannyKate, perhaps you can look at the child care over the next 8 days, as an opportunity to plan the study decluttering 😉 JJiJ is Jettison Junk in June 🙂 The definition of ‘Junk’ is rather fluid & only used as alliteration 😉 so you could not only apply it to the garage but maybe also to the study 🤔 Good luck with your competition entries 🍀 Hopefully you will win a lovely holiday 😊 Good decluttering 👏 & I foresee success in reaching your half year target 😊

TC77, supportive & kind comments for both Dfw38 & ruby_eskimo 😊 Now to translate that to you - please be kind to yourself 🙏 Trying to do everything at once can be overwhelming but it sounds like Peter Walsh videos might be a help 🤞I don’t think I have heard of him before so have bookmarked his name for Ron 😂

Lovely supportive & kind post 2Scratters 😊 Keep up the good work at your parents - any progress is great whether it be slow or fast 👏 Also well done on moving ‘visiting items’ out as quickly as possible 👏

Florenceem, a rehabilitation ward in a cottage hospital sounds like such a restful place but such a pain that it is so far away 😖 Hopefully MrF won’t be there too long 🤞& you can visit with help from the SA 🙏 That is a huge amount of shredding on your drive 🤩 👏Thinking ahead, your bin men will be in a state of shock when you only put out a small amount each week 😉 I see from your figures that I owe you another Gold Star ⭐️ - on its way now 🙂

Well done on using cards & vouchers TC77 👏 Martin would be very proud 😊

End of a page so a perfect place to stop 😉 The bedding is out on the whirligig & the 2nd load of washing is in the wm. DH is in the garden washing the garden box & watering the garden 👏 I don’t have the heart to tell him that he shouldn’t  be watering in the sunshine 😔

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1394/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £116.90

dND

Just dropping in for a quick hi! 👋

This thread is moving so fast so Congratulations to all those who are achieving their goals and also to all those are posting and not feeling they are.  By being on the thread you are achieving because unless you acknowledge that you need to change, you never will.

Condolences and hugs to those who need it too.

I have 3.5 weeks to go until the removal people arrive and I’m panicking. I’m literally getting panic attacks and my sleep has reduced from 8+ hours to around 4 or 5!!  Deep sleep is alluding me to so I’m constantly feeling exhausted.

What’s really annoying is that the sensible part of my brain is yelling out to me that I’m achieving and should be OK, the panic centre overrides everything though and I’m really stressed.

In amongst all of this I am actually managing to declutter a lot of stuff.  It will be nowhere near enough as I’m trying to declutter from a rambling farmhouse with very large barn and 12 acres of grounds to what will be a 2-bedroom semi if I’m lucky!

I have too many hobbies and I want to keep doing them all.  I’m going to be decluttering a lot more in the UK, I know so it’s going to be an ongoing thing.

What’s been really rewarding is that I’ve been able to get rid of quite a few millstones and now that I know I can, I hope it will be easier in the future as well.

I’ve also managed to chuck out a lot of Justin and May’s stuff too.  I’ve justified it to myself by saying that I’ve not been in a position to donate to charity for a long time so giving all the items I am to Emmaus – I can’t be bothered to sell most of it because people say they want stuff and then don’t turn up – so it makes me feel better that someone else will benefit and it’s not going into landfill.

I’ve grieved enough over my parents to start getting rid of their stuff that I was keeping just because it was theirs.  I know that they wouldn’t want me to be held down by it but it was my last tangible link with them and that’s why it’s taken so long.  I’m really pleased that I’ve been able to do it before it falls to my children.

So the ferry has been booked for my son to come with a van and collect me and the cats and the Shuttle has been booked for all of us to cross back into the UK.
I’ve submitted the first draught of my Transfer Of Residence (TOR) form to the UK government and I’m awaiting approval of that.  Catteries are booked here in France and also in the UK for the cats as I will be homeless for a while until I can find somewhere to live. But that’s no problem as long as the cats are safe.

About the only thing I can cancel has been done and that’s the Internet/phone.  Everything else requires me to have proof of the sale so has to wait until that’s all signed at the end of the month.  Hopefully the solicitor here will deal with a lot of it as I will be on my way to the coast more or less as soon as I leave the solicitors.

Sorry for the long post but I needed to offload.

Love to you all,

Deborah💕💕

Brie

@dND
so pleased you have your priorities right and the cats are sorted for your move!!!  (when we moved I referred to the cat having a spa holiday......)

But do try to not panic.  Pack what you know you want to keep, bin what can be easily binned and walk away from the rest if possible or book someone to do a house clearance.  I wish I'd done more of the last when we moved.

retiredinfrance

Thank you so much, MrsSD for our medals. MrRiF is really chuffed and i hope this will encourage him to finish the job. I have a slight twinge of anxiety that the bookshelves and the books will be delightfully organised but the garage might be left for another day/week/year. But we are seeing lots of white concrete. I painted behind the shelves and a bit past them some time ( some years) ago and this wil encourage me to use up the two huge tubs of white emulsion that are cluttering up the floor. So JJunk inJune is going well here.
on Thursday I had a grand day out in a not very near city so decluttered money. I was still very MSE , though, resisting a 90 euro blouse. When they are brand new in the CS , resisting is easier. Besides I need to get back to clothes decluttering.
Hugs for all and keep safe everyone .
dND some charities here will clear houses , our local Emmaus and. British one will collect but you might also have to pay for cleaning. I’ve been told that on handover if a house isn’t spotless the new owners can charge the seller. I’m sure you will manage keep going and you will soon be on the ferry. I remember our coming here…….

Floss

Brie said:

@dND
so pleased you have your priorities right and the cats are sorted for your move!!!  (when we moved I referred to the cat having a spa holiday......)

I rented a pet-free bedsit for 4 months before moving in here in 2019... my cat went into storage (on a long-term stay at her cattery) 😁

Florenceem

I was picked up at 12.50 and got home at 7.55 - such a long way. However - it is a lovely place - view of field with sheep from Mr F's window.
His feet are so swollen - sees a Doctor on Monday.
I got him to walk with a zimmer frame but he is weak.

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Evening everyone
Today i decluttered 6 files, an A4 envelope of stuff and a laptop from a temporary job role I did for nearly 2 years to the person who has taken the permanent role. I enjoyed the job and it helped with getting my mortgage paid off! But I was happy to pass on all the paperwork etc to the new postholder now . 
DD1 has sold some of my clothes on v!nted but we haven't posted them yet. 
It was bin day today so I got rid of a small box of random rubbish from one of the bags I brought down from the loft.
After work I went to the hairdressers and decluttered some hair and all of my grey!!
Love Deni x

florianatwobob

DSis commenced operation ‘Paint Kitchen’ today. Tomorrow we’re aiming to finish it and then off to the seaside for a day out on Sunday. 

I’ve decluttered my first mock exam for my latest qualification. Easily within time limits and scraped a pass after dithering over the ‘most right’ answers and doing it closed book (the actual exam is open book.  Now to brush up on the patchy areas. 

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, went to OHs house today and made it to the apple tree yay . The garden waste bin had been emptied so 3 bags of chopping and I filled it again which meant the journey home was much quicker as I didn't have to go via the tip . The condolence card was delivered and the left over gate paint was left at OHs so they have gone from the house .
When I got home I had a quick coffee over the fence with ln and then started cooking the veg stew. 7 portions made and in the fridge waiting to be labelled and put in the freezer.  As I was doing it I checked through the freezer for any bits of veg to put in it I uu 4 small bags along with the fresh veg so a small space made there which will help with the freezer tetris tomorrow . Then I washed up and cleared the kitchen a bit and emptied the kitchen bin and the lr bin. I also dealt with my post . Feeling cream crackered but treated myself to a toffee crisp after my tea, just to keep me going . Tomorrow I am staying at home and catching up with a few things here. I have suggested on Sunday we both go to OHs and jet wash the front garden, it is mostly paved with a large bush in a very large pot, and give the bush a trim so it looks a bit tidier. If I have time and energy after that I will tackle a bit more in the back garden. 

Sorry I haven't caught up with today's posts yet, will do that after I have posted so I will say hugs to anybody who would like one and hope I haven't missed too much

752 sympathy card from stash
753 half a tin of paint to OHs
754 - 756 bags of garden waste
757 veg from freezer
758 kitchen bin emptied
759 lr bin emptied
760 post dealt with

Take care everyone
760/2023