2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, hot hot hot here today . 2 loads of washing sorted and 1 bag of garden waste. That was all I could manage as I had to keep sitting down in the shade. We got a thunderstorm about 6.30 which did cool things down a bit. After tea another hour on the phone sorting things for the union thing which really is turning into a major problem and we are trying to sort the meeting for Monday but we have no guarantees atm. While sorting the washing 2 pairs of Sunday nickers into the rag bag. They get used pretty quickly and then into the bin but it makes me feel better if I can get another use out of them before they head to landfill
Depending on the weather tomorrow we might go to OHs house and have another go at the garden. If it's raining or too hot we will probably stay home. 

@Florenceem your kitchen looks fab though to be honest if mine looked like your before I would be very happy

@Mrs SD hope you had a good trip out

@weenancyinAmerica so glad your ops have been successful hugs

Brain now on strike so hugs to anybody who would like one and I am off to bed now

808 + 809 2 loads of washing sorted
810 bag of green waste
811 long phone call
812 + 813 knickers to rag bag

Take care everyone
813/2023

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

What a gloriously sunny & hot day 🌞 Shame we were caught in traffic getting to M’s flat (took an hour - wearing proper motorcycle jacket & a helmet 🥵) & then spending 4 hours indoors. A lovely 1.5 bedroom flat (only real downside was a steep narrow staircase from the front door to the flat 😞) Due to DH’s height 6’2”, he was tasked with taking all the pictures/photos etc off the walls & reaching high places for us. I spent my time with M in the bedroom/home office. The bed was completely covered with boxes, clothes, paperwork etc but our first task was to go through the floor to ceiling cupboard which was completely filled with boxes & bags of Christmas decorations & ornaments 😱 We dealt with one shelf at a time & went through every box & bag before returning them to the cupboard 😉 We generated one full 60L black bin bag of rubbish & one 60L bag of recycling. We then tackled the shelves on one side of a removed chimney  breast - completely cleared + DH emptied the top shelf of all the cuddly toys - M only kept 2 🥳 *The rest are in a black bin bag which we brought home together with a bag for life of Christmas decorations, a carrier bag of decorating tools & a bag for life of jumpers.* M & I then cleared the bed - stacking boxes & bags by the side of the bed. Utilising an empty cupboard to put boxes of crafting stuff & some clothing away & generally tidying up. M now has a clear bed which she can just climb into 😊 Whilst M& I were sorting the bed, DH was busy with the bubblewrap - pacing away the pictures that he had taken down 👏 We did have a couple of 20 minute drinks breaks 😉 DH & I both would have liked to have done more but we worked at M’s pace & under her direction so M was pleased with the progress made 😊 The kitchen, bathroom & the 0.5 bedroom aka craft room had  all been tackled by M & various other family members (although there is still a lot of stuff 🤔) . Apparently the living room is also in a far less cluttered state than when DH was visiting after M’s spell in hospital at the beginning of the year 🙂 M can now see & sit on half the sofa & the armchair 😉 Re the bags of stuff we brought home *…* - all of it (apart from 2 jumpers which will be utilised to keep the worms warm next winter 😂) is destined for the CS. I will be dusting then washing all the cuddly toys & the jumpers, although I will keep the Christmas decorations & jumpers until later in the year before donating 🙂 I saw a word the other day “tchotchkes” which describes a large number of items in M’s flat 😉 The good news is that she is getting a removal firm in to pack when she moves 👏A bonus for me & DH is that we are both now more enthused to declutter our own home 😂👏 

Now back to the cheerleading 😉

regnbue, sorry to hear about your painful hand 😔 although I hope you have made full use of the facilities in the TLC Carriage 😉 Everything is crossed that Saturday has been a lovely warm/hot day for you & that you have managed to do your washing & sit out in your garden 🤞 

Excellent decluttering QueenJess 👏 & well done on getting DH to at least make a start on decluttering his bags 😉

Well Done on dealing with the day to day stuff Blue_Doggy 👏 One medal 🏅 is coming your way for stepping into the breach re the history talk 👏 Sounds like you definitely earned a day of rest 😊

Oops just saw the time 19:45 🙊 DH is making a lovely cheese sauce for linguine 😊 I was his sous chef 😉 

Liverpool_Anne, did you get any cuddles 🥰 with the baby 😉 Sleeping & eating - isn’t that the sign of a very contented baby 😉😊 Sounds like you had a lovely visit with the added bonus that you can now use your fridge 😅

weenancy, hope the eye coordination goes well 🤞Excellent decluttering 👏 & well done keeping Di on the straight & narrow working through her emails 👏 Sounds like you have a very busy week ahead of you 😉 Globetrotting can be quite tiring 😉

Wow Florenceem 🤩 Your bathroom looks showroom quality 👏 Everything is gleaming - a testament to your hard work 😊 Poor dust bunnies - banished 😂 I have just noticed your numbers so one Gold Star ⭐️ is on its way 🙂

QueenJess, I will fight you for the opportunity to live in Florenceem’s bathroom 🤣 I love the ducks but especially the nail brush duck 😊

Florenceem, I am really, really struggling to see which bits of grouting need cleaning 🤔 Hopefully it won’t be too long before the 2nd toothbrush is back where it belongs 🤞

Fizz2015, good luck with Mission Bathroom Clean 🍀

Florenceem, I think coming to get her hair done is just an excuse to visit you 😉 Great news from MrF 😊

SuffolkSue, I think there are several of us hoping the ducks will swim our way 😉

Florenceem, the renovations have definitely stood the test of time 🤩 

oceanspirit, well done on practically clearing Mission Control 👏 Hope you have a lovely break with your friend 😊

GrannyKate, does DS2 accompany you on your trips to new garden centres, farm shops etc? Sorry to hear that his day at the seaside was disappointing 😔 Hopefully the weather stayed fine today & you managed to dry everything outdoors 🤞

Soontobeoap , there are specialist cleaners & proofers - NikWax (which is quite popular with motorcyclists) has a wash-in proofer. Then air dry garments. There are also sprays for waterproofing tents, clothes etc. 

2Scratters, thanks for answering Soontobeoap’s query 👏 It is so satisfying when your decluttering creates enough clear space to be able to get other items out to declutter 😊 Great work going through your Tupperware 👏

Moorviews, strange to say DH & I did enjoy ourselves 😉 Good luck with your upcycling of clothing 🍀Great work decluttering bags of stuff to the CS especially uncomfortable shoes 👏

Brie did you at least have the celery sticks for your cocktail 😉 Hopefully someone will take the water butt & will be able to repair the small hole 🤞& you will be able to dispose of the rest of the display bits without having to bin too much 🤞Thanks for the tip about proofing outdoor cushions 👏

Great decluttering of books roundtuit 👏 

Brie, Jo was always my favourite but I agree that she did end up being almost as subservient as her sisters 😔 I never did read the Anne of Green Gables books. 

Florenceem, sounds like you had a lovely time with your DD 😊 Sorry to hear that you have strained your back 😔 Please, please rest & give your back a chance to heal 🙏

🤩 you were busy in the garden Soontobeoap 👏 I hope you wore a hat and sunscreen, as well as keeping hydrated 🙏

Great work diminua 👏 I’m sure someone will buy the sun lounger 🤞

Excellent decluttering QueenJess 👏 Well done on completing another round of clothes decluttering 👏

Good luck getting a refund TC77 🍀

Just noticed the time so will post this & head off to bed. 

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1438/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £166.90

Florenceem

MrsSD - when you get down on the floor - you can see dirt ingrained in the grout between the floor tiles. Yesterday when I got down on the floor to clean the kitchen kickboards - I was horrified at how dirty they were.
Mr F went out to the garden using a zimmer frame by himself yesterday!
Lovely day here again.
Low number of 26 to add to my total of decluttering today.

QueenJess

An early decluttering round today as I have the whole day planned out with DS.  Looking forward to it as I am usually monopolised by DD.  Felt ill last night as I ate normally for dinner and clearly my insides are not quite back to their normal self.  I really hope it is the end of it now.  I'm not sure why it's hit me quite this hard.

Decided for a very quick decluttering of my earrings this morning.  I have two jewellery boxes; 1 is a small one for earrings and the other is a larger one you can hang necklaces up in.  I suspect I could consolidate everything to the larger one, but will only consider reorganisation once I'm done decluttering.  I absolutely love the boxes though that someone upcycled for me locally and I don't want to get rid of them.  I may repurpose the smaller one as DD is about to start needing hairbands/hairclips etc and this could be helpful to contain them on the windowsill where she can't reach them!

I started off with 16 pairs of earrings.  I used to have so many cheap ones back in the day, but have been decluttering them for years now.  I've been a bit more ruthless in this round and am getting rid of 7 pairs.  The bits that went through the ears on one pair I wanted to keep had perished and so I swapped them with a pair I'm getting rid of.  Will look for some mini plastic sealable bags that seem to breed here to put them in and send them off to the Alzheimer's society who recycle.  They also accept stamps (used and new) and I have a presentation pack that isn't selling and loads of used stamps so will send these off too.

I still think I have too many earrings, but rather than dither and dither about it, I think I will move onto the next area.  When I've been round the whole house I can go back round again and I'm sure I'll find more.  It feels so much easier that way and less scary.  Means this could take me years, but I try not to think about that and remind myself that everyday it is getting better.

When I get back later I hope to be able to look through the rest of the jewellery and then can consider reorganisation.  I've also got all the spare cardboard boxes out of the attic as I really do plan to have loads of things to donate (I already have a huge charity pile) and I am totally out of most packaging to use.  I am determined not to buy anything to package up donated stuff, so I will find whatever I can use out of the house and then that means extra things go at the same time!

15,574-15,580 - earrings (charity)

leftatthetrafficlights

Not much decluttering done recently- other than lots of weeds from the oak tree bed, the old mattress to the charity and a few demijohns to a friend! 

I'm making the most of the nice weather here today - I'm on the east coast and its been miserable for ages so it would be silly not to take advantage!! 

Dd is round tomorrow so we are going to tackle the wardrobe in the spare room - I'll get there eventually 😁😂

GrannyKate

Hi all.  Sunny weather reached the Eastern side of country at last.

Mrs SD - I would have been 'de trop' on the seaside trip with DS2 but he did come to garden centres with me yesterday. He has awful hay fever so finds loitering near plants tricky.  He is very keen on farm shops though as he loves to cook.  The first one yesterday was a place I had been to on my own once before and we had cheesecake and drinks.  We then popped into the one I visited last week (only to find it shuts on Mondays) and got a plant and some more cards for June birthdays. Second throw from lounge in washing machine.  I did take a quick dip in our paddling pool yesterday to cool off.  I need to do gardening but very hot outside.  

864 More June cards bought and posted
865 Lounge throw (number 2 of 4) washed
866 Papers to group leader at history meeting

Better get dressed then a pile of clean clothes to put away.

vulpix

I loved Little Women and Anne of Green Gables as a girl. I also loved Pipi Longstockng and just William and a lot of Enid Blyton mysteries. 

 I love the ducks Florenceem. It sounds like the rehabilitation place are doing a good job with Mr F. 

 It sounds like you had a very productive day Mrs SD. M is very lucky to have your help. 

 We went to Trentham Gardens yesterday. A beautiful old Estate but also has a shopping village. I bought a white beaded bolero for the cruise. Not often I buy new but I love it. 

 The bookcase from the spare room is in our room so the trundle bed can make a double bed for visitors. There is a box of “objet d’art”🤣from the shelves. I think several things from the box will be going to the chazzer next week. No point in dismantling the spare bed Dd1 and BF are back again shortly for a festival in Manchester. 

 651. 3 tops to DD2
 652. Mixing desk flight case to tip
 654. 2 radiators tip
 657. 2 buckets of plumbers tat. Tip
 658.. uncomfortable bra 
 659. Decorative tin. Recycling  
 661. dinner suit. Too big  
 662. Plate broken  
 663. Mug. Chazzer 
 
 Vx 

Florenceem

Been to Church - going to change out of uniform and have some lunch. I started to clean and sort out the fridge this morning but couldn't finish it before going out so will do that this afternoon. No afternoon service this week.
I have some eggs that need to be used so it is eggs and chips for dinner today.
Hope I feel energetic enough to start on a ROD - my craft room.

GrannyKate

I eventually got going on cleaning etc.  I found some scampi which I cooked for my lunch with salad.  

867-871 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms and hallway tidied and cleaned. One bed changed. 
872 Random tat binned or recycled
873-874 At least 2x10 items put where they belong
875 Two large piles of clean laundry put away
876-877 The last two throws from lounge washed 
878 Items posted
879 Large cardboard box to tip recycling

I am waiting for washing machine to finish then I am going swimming.  Might do a bit of gardening if it is cooler later.  Slightly cloudy here but still hot. I need to get my glasses adjusted again so will do that tomorrow and drop stuff off at CS.

EnergyShifter

Back from Spain  - delighted that the weather is sunny here as its avoided me getting the miseries that I often get on my return.

I was out all day yesterday at an event.  I was rushing round tk maxx and some charity shops in the morning to find something to wear - I ended up wearing something I already owned.  I now have about 6 dresses of which at least 4 will be going back - I will add when I have made my final decision.

Brought Summer garden cushions etc down from the loft this morning - gave everything a rinse through - now they are all on the line drying off.  Also washed my furry winter duvet set which I'd had on my bed up until I went on holiday - I've finally decided its safe to change it to something more summery.

Planning on an afternoon soaking up the sun ☀️

Tasks:

Summer garden stuff down from loft!

IN (running total 95)

96. Nice Boden top from CS in Spain

OUT (running total 408)

409 & 10 - 2x dead bras

Love to all - there were 83 missed posts when I just logged in so I sadly doubt if I will catch up.  I will try to keep on top of things now I'm home.