2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

oceanspirit

Poor Elmo - it must be so frightening for animals to have medical procedures as they don't know what is going to happen and why. No wonder he was trying to escape.   Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.

OH had his shingles jab just after his 70th birthday.  

Bag of holiday decluttering taken to CS.  Going home with new clothes bought the other day and 2 dvds from the CS today.  Oh dear!  The clothes were very necessary though and the dvds will go to another CS when watched.

Long drive home tomorrow. OH has been frantically tidying today. I am guessing I'll not be able to find anything over the next few days!

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, had a bit of a mixed day today. The rain was very erratic and whenever I ventured out that was when the clouds burst so I decided to tackle the porch being a sort of in and out place . OH and I have had discussions about the porch for a couple of months. It's not very big but we seem to have a lot of stuff in there. Pre covid I had new double glazing in the porch which made a lot of difference to keeping the hall warmer but also increased the temp in the porch. This means the plants in there have suffered quite a bit and I have finally killed my 40 year old swiss cheese plant . The big jade plant has survived along with the succulents but they have dropped leaves. We need to paint the porch so today I have moved the plants outside. I think a good dose of rain will do them some good tonight and even if it's sunny tomorrow it won't be any hotter than it is in the porch . We have decided not to replace the swiss cheese but to use the space to store the umbrellas and my wellies but I need to find something to stand them in. Anyhow I decluttered lots of carp into various bins and have swept the floor, last time I used the hoover in there I blocked it . Now it is relatively clear I will have to take out the door mat and give it a good beating and then hoover the walls and ceiling. If I can find the paint and reach the ceiling on my little steps I will paint it. If I can't reach the ceiling I will try with ln's taller steps when she is home from her travels. If that is no good I will have to wait for OH to bring the tall ladders back . It might be a while. I filled and emptied the bedroom bin. When OH got home we went out for a pub tea as OH said I should have a treat which was very nice. When we got home I was checking my meds order and realised I had forgotten to order my b12 jab as I suddenly remembered I have an appt for that tomorrow. I should have recognised the creeping tiredness but had put it down to the heat. I have ordered it now but obvs it won't be sorted for tomorrow but I will call at the chemist and see if they will let me have it anyway, if not I will have to go to the clinic and explain and make another appt for the jab. Doh I am a bit annoyed with myself as it will mean mucking the clinic about and it will have wasted an appt.

@flowerpots oh poor Elmo, he does look sorry for himself hugs.

There were a few other things I was going to say but my brain has gone on strike tonight, well probably for the last week considering
Hugs to everyone who would like one

884 bedroom bin emptied
885 emptied the porch
Take care everyone
885/2023

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

The sun did come out & the temperature hit 27C 🥵 DH has been a busy bee in the garden with a teeny amount of assistance from me 😉 He has dug the hole & planted the clematis which I have watered in; then he had a short practice with the the new pole hedge trimmer; topped up the potato bags with extra compost; finally carried through the sack of birdseed (which has been sitting in the house for several weeks) & I transferred contents to the 2 birdseed bins; I watered all the plants at their bases. DH then transferred his attentions to the front garden & trimmed our hedge & next door’s hedge as well. 

1523 - 1525 Two cardboard boxes, cardboard & paper packaging - recycled

1526 General garden detritus binned

I have utilised the tall box that contained the pole hedge trimmer as a container for all the garden canes & whilst I was in the shed (or should that be furnace 🥵) I spent 45 minutes tidying up & making it safe to go in 👏 Managed to only give myself one bruise 😂 Suddenly realised that it was gone 19:00 so made dinner. Prepped, cooked & served up within 40 minutes 😉 Fried pork steaks, mash, cabbage & green beans. Let my dinner settle a while & then had an hour plus in the bath 😊 Now freshly scrubbed with squeaky clean hair but still warm outside so now ‘perspiring’ again 😉 Wudupa.

1527 - 1529 Kitchen recycling, drinks cans, glass jar & lid - recycled 

1530 - 1532 Kitchen detritus, manky flannel, uu body lotion tube - binned

Siebrie, one of the many things I love about this thread is that I learn something new & interesting practically everyday 😊 Shame that your DDs haven’t picked any of the activities/camps but having said that they obviously enjoy spending lots of time with their mum 😊 That is a conundrum Siebrie 🧐but missing 4 major events seems a bit disrespectful of the nuclear family 😔

Florenceem, sounds like you had a busy morning 👏 MrF seems to be doing well 😊 Pleased to hear that you took my advice & left the craft room 👏

short_bird, chicken pox twice 😱 Excellent decluttering 👏 I have also just noticed that I have been remiss in making awards 😔 As you have sailed past 2023, I am awarding you a Gold Star ⭐️ 

I have fallen behind again, but am tired so off to bed even though it is still very warm 🥵 & there is a high of 29C forecast for Saturday 😥 

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1532/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £166.90

Moorviews

@flowerpots - It must be such a relief for Elmo to finally be home with his family. I hope his recovery goes smoothly. 

@Muddy_Walker - I did try having a cleaner long ago. She was working for a cleaning company and was unfortunately not very good so I didn’t carry on for long. My mother and my mother in law both had cleaners that they were happy with though and they didn’t really tidy up for them. Having the cleaner helped them keep their homes generally presentable anyway. I guess it is a case of finding the right person who has standards similar to yours. It would be worth it to save your energy for other things that you can enjoy. There is nothing wrong with people having cleaners in my view.  

Not a dramatic week on the decluttering front for me as there have had to be other priorities, however, I miss moving forward with it. I haven’t been grocery shopping as I am still using the fridge, larder and freezer. It’s surprising how far that extends when I don’t have the opportunity to go out and shop. So I suppose that counts as stuff going out really!

I hope everyone has a good weekend 😊 

Florenceem

@flowerpots - poor Elmo.
Only 4 to add to my total today.
Up at 5.30 to get ready for a busy day.
Mr F had a cleaner when we met and we kept her as I was looking after DGc full time. We stopped having a cleaner when Mr F became ill in 2001. I think that I am too fussy for a cleaner of my own.
Not heard from workmen about fitting aids in the house.

Suffolksue

Have just rechecked the NHS website 
the shingles jab is definitely recommended at age 70 

Blue_Doggy

Gosh! So many pages since I last posted!! Only a week ago!!! So, here goes - 
@Mrs_Salad_Dodger thank you for my award! Great pictures of your garden & progress (is MrSD available for hire? ...) I’m glad you enjoy my sagas - here’s the latest episode. 😃

@Muddy_Walker I am also considering employing a cleaner (and a gardener). As someone else said, there are lots of other things I’d rather do. Like you, I feel that I ought to do it myself, but I’m quite slow now, get tired easily, and am sometimes a bit wobbly on steps for cleaning lampshades or windows. I want to get the house a bit more sorted first, though... 

@~FlowerPot~ hope poor lovely Elmo will make a good recovery

Best wishes to all who have health problems or are caring for others. Thanks to all who’ve shared inspirational photos and accounts of marvellous decluttering, especially where resistant DHs and DCs are involved. Please excuse me for not name-checking everyone.

Re Shingles jab - I was offered and had mine when I reached 70, that was pre-COVID, so maybe the pandemic disrupted things?

Tuesday was Reading Group day: the hall where we have met for the last 12 years has started using a 3rd party to handle bookings & payments, which makes it more complicated than the previous arrangement. So we’ll now meet in each other’s homes. It follows a proposal from one of the members to reconsider the Group’s future. We are all ex-colleagues, and the Group has been going for very nearly 25 years. We originally met in pubs but were not very popular as although there were at most some 17 of us, most people made one lemon-&-lime last all evening. We are now down to six members, all retired, and I’ve been doing the admin for the last 12 years (since we stopped meeting in pubs). To be honest, I’m always surprised we’ve lasted so long!

History Group Meeting Thursday morning, went into town on way home & visited Library - borrowed 2 books & renewed ticket, also bought 2 small toys for DG-Nephew B, toothpaste, shopped at lovely small independent greengrocer. Got a touch of the sun so when I got home had to spend the afternoon sitting quietly and drinking water. 

Saturday: Meeting DNiece V & DG-N B at lunch time, an hour’s drive away, so only house admin will get done this morning, and possibly not much when I get home.

Decluttered:

unopened pack of silicone lids for mugs (found lurking at the back of a cupboard) to cs bag

decluttered some admin for Reading Group (I’ll still be keeping the schedule together and organising our quarterly lunches though)

last lot of birthday flowers to garden waste bin (they lasted 3 weeks with a little rearrangement) 🙂

cardboard flowers holder to recycling

four-candle candle stick from kitchen table (since Christmas!) dewaxed, washed, dried & put away

top of bureau cleared and cleaned (amazing how much toot it held; and dust 🙁) *

one of the plant pot holders flagged for discard last week now repurposed for bureau-top “little bits of rubbish” holder** (it’s pretty, and matches the room colour scheme)

three-tray desk tidy (“in”, “out”, & “pending” trays) cleared of paper for recycling, dismantled, washed and dried, and packed up for cs

paper for recycling to recycling basket in utility room ***

book from desk trays cleaned & put with other books

mushroom punnet which had been “little bits of rubbish” holder emptied, washed, dried, put with other punnets in RoD

punnet which holds pieces of paper for brief notes washed & dried, paper replaced & back on top of bureau

card index file of “contacts” dusted and set aside for review (it’s a hangover from a previous attempt to get organised - like the desk trays - which didn’t work for me)

two small plastic storage boxes full of used postage stamps emptied, washed, dried & put for cs

used postage stamps trimmed, scraps to rubbish, stamps to charity

scruffy old pencil to compost

*the whole exercise took an hour and a half, the stamp trimming took another three hours (there were at least 4 years’ worth and all at 10-15 years old), and I was exhausted afterwards 

**I use a desktop container as my present dog, like the previous two, has a mission to liberate bits of rubbish from waste-paper baskets and shred them on the carpet!  🐶😡🐶🐶

***a stray thought - houses like mine, built before 2000, have no proper storage space for all the bits we now recycle - tins, plastics hard & soft, small electricals, batteries, glass, paper.  I hope (but doubt) that newer houses have space for recycling, and also for storing the multiple bins. My bins have to live in the front garden, which annoys me every time I see them.

Supermarket delivery arrived & put away.

pulled up weeds growing in gutter and pavement outside my house (one was ragwort in bud, and there are horses in the field over the road)

strimmed lawn

rolled up & put away duvet which had been aired in the sun on a couple of days

sorted trimmed stamps (probably a waste of time, but done while listening to a radio programme)

other discarded plant pot holder to top of bureau to hold (small) items for shredding

(format slightly improved but still too many spaces I can’t seem to declutter)

GrannyKate

Just reporting in.  Hugs to all who need them especially Elmo.  Not sure what I am doing today - DS2 is going to change pool filter in bit and taking DGD4 out for tea for her birthday tomorrow. Unfortunately I need food shopping so that will have to be done. 

924 Another note book finished up - on to the partially used password book of late DHs. About half a book there to use. That may be the end of the partially used notebook stash but lots of scrap paper to use up
925 Random 10 items put away

I will have to work hard if I want to reach halfway (1012) by next Saturday - actually only got until Thursday as going away Friday am for a week

Crazycatlady2

Lots of interesting conversations going on…going to add my jumbled thoughts 😂

we had a wet room and extension done for my son with special needs through a disabled facility grant….make sure to mention this to OT when discussing walk in showers also how us he with stairs as that would be my biggest worry with toilet and kitchen on different floors of hours and needing to access both

i would love a cleaner and I’ve been told this can be funded via a carers assessment for me but as I don’t work due to sons needs I’d feel a bit lazy asking for help 🤷‍♀️

another bathroom one….we had our upstairs bathroom redone (we have this as well as the added downstairs wet room) and I’d say go for biggest shower you can…ours is 800 x 1m with a curve and I wish we had gone bigger as the shower head sticks out and in order to step out of water to soap up you are pressed against glass 😱 thank god no one can see me as it’s not a good look 😂

Floss

Crazycatlady2 said:

i would love a cleaner and I’ve been told this can be funded via a carers assessment for me but as I don’t work due to sons needs I’d feel a bit lazy asking for help 🤷‍♀️

This.
You work as your son's carer,  you aren't an at-home parent whose role includes cleaning the home. If your carer's assessment can fund a cleaner, go for it - your son will benefit from you not dashing off to clean the loo, and you will be able to concentrate on your job as his carer.