2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

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 weighed out all the ingredients for the HF meal I had decided on - Pepper crusted venison & Dauphinoise potatoes with garlicky green beans + apple, pea-shoot & walnut salad. DH & I then shared the prepping & cooking. Dinner was delicious & even DSis enjoyed every part of it 😋 I did half the wudupa whilst dinner was cooking 🙂 

1538 - 1539 Magazine, drinks cans recycled

Lovely chatty post vulpix 😊 Sounds like RL has been exceptionally busy 😥 I love the idea that MrV is descended from ‘mobsters’ 🤣 Excellent work rehoming all the contents of the pantry 👏 Maybe you could have a small area of the storage shed assigned for the Christmas decorations & craft stuff 🤔 or there is always the old standby of under the bed 😂 Bury market ‘Hong Kong style’ - brought back happy memories of a day spent wandering the streets of Hong Kong (in 2006 when returning from our grand motorcycle tour of New Zealand) 😊  Happy days 😁 I am quoting your entire paragraph as it bears repeating 😊 “On the subject of cleaners, I have had one for the past 2weeks. I am fussy like others here but so far so good. ( do you think this is why we all constantly declutter, because we are all perfectionists and get bogged down in the minutiae, never quite getting there?)I do feel guilty as I am capable of doing it myself albeit much , much slower due to being riddled with arthritis. She is half my age and I am happy to give someone work. Mr V employed her after I did my back in a few weeks ago. He will clean if I ask but has selective blindness and lower standards than me! I find it makes us keep tidy. I like the routine of it. If it’s a nice day we will go out so our cleaning had no routine. I think I am far too precious to have a gardener. When it is more established my garden should pretty much look after itself , just pulling up a million tree seedlings every spring.” The highlighted section is the bit that resonates most with me & probably many more of ‘team declutterati’ Not sure I would like the idea of a wet room with a toilet in it 🤨 Re the bins - I take it that they have to be moved to the front for emptying? Perhaps ndn finds it difficult to move them 🤔 or am I being too kind 😉 Great decluttering 👏

Brie, surprising what we can do when it is too hot 😉 Well done 👏 I like the idea of doing just the interesting bits of gardening 😊

Very interesting post pollyanna_26 🤔 Thank you for sharing your family history 😊 especially as quite a bit of it must have been scary at the time 😧 I am just wondering if you reclaimed your laundry products when you returned DD3 to university 😅 Well done on overcoming your fear of needles so that you could have all the jabs to keep you safe 👏 Perhaps you could make up a photo album of her taste in clothing as a gift for a significant birthday 😈 

short_bird, sounds like you dodged the shingles at least, by having chicken pox twice 😊 so a silver lining really 😉 

QueenJess, everything crossed that all the furniture gets picked up today 🤞as I now have a vision of you, DH, DS & DD being imprisoned in your own home 😱 Although if you are, there is no temptation to go out & spend money - so very MSE 😂 Well done on your continuing decluttering - you are powering towards 17,500 👏

A very successful day all around Florenceem 🥳 for both the SA & your Ukrainian Friends 🤩👏 Fingers crossed that you can get in touch with the disability aids company & get them to deliver TWO toilet frames 🤞 Hope the ice cream helped “to cool the steam coming out of my ears” 😉

weenancy, thanks for the extra information about jade plants 👏 It looks more & more like I will invest in one plant & then try my hand at propagating 😉 

GrannyKate, sounds like a lovely holiday & less than a week to wait 🥳 I haven’t been to Skye either so I am looking forwarding to hearing all about it with added photos 🙏 Excellent decluttering 👏

pollyanna_26, thank you for sharing so much very useful information 👏 From memory (needed a toilet frame when DH came home after breaking his leg 12 years ago, so I was in my 50’s & it was difficult enough to manoeuvre it into a small cloakroom let alone up & round a staircase), the problem with the toilet frames is not that they are particularly heavy BUT they are a very awkward shape, so really would not want to try carrying up & down stairs. An accident waiting to happen, I fear 😰 No need to apologise for the typos 😉 - my last iPad was very temperamental in the heat 😔 

Quite agree SuffolkSue 😊 Just not worth the risk.

Excellent work decluttering DS’s room, QueenJess 👏 Wow, 60 cars 😱 Have they been put on Buy Nothing as just one lot? Hopefully DD’s room & the dining room will be far quicker 🤞

bit_by_bit, what a great idea for Florenceem - hiring equipment from the Red Cross 👏😊 Excellent work dealing with frogs 👏 Sounds rather exciting getting the camper van ready for its intended use 😉Hopefully you will have many opportunities to travel round the U.K. & maybe even Europe 😊 Great decluttering of cardboard boxes from the shed & garage 👏 They do seem to breed 😅

Muddy_Walker, sorry to hear that it is too hot to sleep 🥵 Still 22C here so might have to sleep in the garden where there is a nice cooling breeze 😉 Good luck in your search for a cleaner 🍀 So pleased to hear that you are still enjoying your new job 🥳 As you say mentally tiring is far better than “mentally stressful exhausting” 😊

Just about to do the wudupa. Will then watch Mechanic: Resurrection & have an early night (for me at least) 🤞

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1539/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £166.90

QueenJess

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger yep all on as one lot. We’ve got rid of them that way before and they’re always really popular. He’s got way more than that left still… I just need to put a 1 in 1 out rule to try and keep them under control!

It was one of the worst rooms in the house (now it’s probably the library).  DD’s room will be easier, although sorting through clothes I find stressful. I end up keeping too many as she is magnetically attracted to anything dirty, so gets through quite a few! I’m going to find my library tough as I have sentimental things in there and tons of books - and I really love books. There is definitely stuff that needs to go in there, but it’s going to take me longer to think it all through.  These and the dining room are all the ones up next.

Living room has barely any clutter in it and is always tidy, but I will take a pass through. Kitchen is a big headache and I may try to give some food overstock away to make some of it easier on myself. Then it’s just the upstairs and downstairs cupboards and bathrooms/toilets. Oh plus the shed and garage… so quite a bit to work through! I should tell DH to go through his office, but am hoping he can do it mostly himself. I already told him to do all his drawers in the bedroom since he did only the wardrobe.

The attic is always ongoing and I try to find something to bring down and get rid of every time I go up there. It’s relatively under control at the moment, even if there is still too much up there. I can’t bear spending a whole day sorting it all out and making all those decisions, so the little by little approach is definitely best for that one.

Digital I’ll return to at some point - mostly thinking about trying to reduce emails coming in further and sorting out photos.  I have a feeling 20,000 will be quite easy to reach as a target this year.

I was talking to DH about all the stuff stressing me out and he said that his stuff was all tidy (which is true, as I leave things out when it’s too difficult to put them away if drawers etc are messy or rammed). He then said he knows everything that is in them as well and knows he already wants pretty much everything. So I said “What about the dummy I found in your drawer last week that DD hasn’t used for a year?”. DH: “Ok, well I didn’t know that was in there.” Point proved… 🤦‍♀️

weenancyinAmerica

@QueenJess - your DH might be sentimental - like my Dad. I found things from my childhood as well as my brothers and sisters in my Dad's desk drawers when he died. I was 59 at the time. My youngest family member was 44.  He even had folders with our schoolwork in them.

QueenJess

weenancyinAmerica said:

@QueenJess - your DH might be sentimental - like my Dad. I found things from my childhood as well as my brothers and sisters in my Dad's desk drawers when he died. I was 59 at the time. My youngest family member was 44.  He even had folders with our schoolwork in them.

Made me chuckle a bit, but no, DH is completely the opposite of sentimental. Just misguided because he thinks he knows what everything is and he wants it, but when I actually make him go through it there is usually 10-20% he wants to get rid of.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, I managed to get my b12jab, the lovely local chemist gave me what I needed. I think this is one of the advantages of using a small local chemist, they know everyone who uses them regularly. I did have to have a lie down when I got home though, I always seem to feel a bit exhausted after a jab, I think it's just the way my body reacts to being stabbed with a needle as I am not afraid of it or anything before I get it
I managed 1 load of washing, can't remember the acronym yet as it was hot hot hot here and some ironing that really needed doing, nothing else except a whizz around throwing stuff into various bins. 1 session of self care and a minor sort out of some bras that are old but I haven't decided about yet, nothing actually wrong with them other than old age
Ln was back from her travels so we had a quick coffee over the fence to catch up before she went to church. She was happy with all the pots and hanging baskets . 
I started to look at some emails but the laptop kept shutting down, too hot, as was I so just watched some tv and did a small amount of crochet, I had to keep stopping as the blanket is quite big now and it made me even hotter :smiley

@Mrs SD, the jade plant is really easy to look after and very easy to propagate, if you lived a bit nearer I would give you one. .The leaves will drop off and if you place them on the top of a little compost they will root and grow with ease.  The other name for them is the money plant,  they used to be very common in chinese take aways here, (don't think they are allowed to keep them now, h&s),  where there is a very old chinese community and it is alleged to bring luck, particularly financially. If you gift your little plants it is supposed to bring luck to the people you give them to .

Cleaners , I have said for years I would love a cleaner to keep on top of the kitchen, bathroom and hoovering. If I had ever got my house tidy enough I definitely would have had one when I was working.  As it is I never got to that point when I felt I was tidy enough. I am quite able to do these things but I don't enjoy them and I would rather spend my time doing the garden . In the past I have used an ironing service which was wonderful but they closed down, they were attached to a local dry cleaners. At some point in the future I would think about a cleaner. I think if you want to spend time doing other things why not. I am sure there are people who need the work but I suppose the trick is to find the right person for you. I think sometimes we expect a lot of ourselves, it's that old thing of needing to be wonderwoman and being able to work full time, look after spouse's and children's needs and keep the house spotless. I think we need to give ourselves permission to do what we want and enjoy . My sister loves to clean, it destresses her and my Mum loved to iron, ( I definitely didn't get that gene) , whereas I love to garden and read

Off to bed now, hugs to anybody who would like one
886 b12jab
887 load of washing
888 ironing
889 self care

Take care everyone
889/2023

dND

Good morning all, I thought that I really should check in again. 👋👋

I’ve been trying to skim every post and am amazed by what everyone has been doing or dealing with.  So hugs 🤗 to all those needing them, commiserations 💗 to those where external forces are hindering their goals and congratulations 🪘 to all, whether we credit ourselves with having achieved or not.

I’m sorry I can’t name check everyone but I think you’re all amazing.

One thing I’ve discovered, that I think we all do, is discount the things we do every day, cooking, shopping cleaning etc.  These things take up time and energy and we need to acknowledge this. 

News from this front: I’m in the last few days of my adventure in France.  South Wales, here I come.  Am I ready, of course not, but I think I’ll make it by the skin of my teeth.

I’ve tried to re-home as much of my stuff as possible. Tomorrow my car goes and that will cramp my style a bit as it’s over half a mile to the rubbish and recycling bins – one of the joys of country life. I need to air the single mattress I’m using before it’s sealed up in a plastic bag for the next few months until I can find and buy a house, so I’m not looking forwards to sleeping on the floor. 😲 These days it’s a lot harder to get up from the floor than it used to be. 🤣

Have I decluttered? Nowhere near enough.  I know that the boxes I packed before Covid contain carp as I hadn’t the collective wisdom that I’ve gleaned from here; in particular, the ability to see/name what I was doing.  I can now see the tadpoles growing into large frogs and sometimes even cane toads.  Much as I hate doing some things I’ve finally begun to see that ignoring them doesn’t make them go away, they just grow. 😱

I’ve also seen just how much space Justin and May have taken in my life and whilst I’ve evicted a lot of their stuff I know that I’ll be continuing this as much as I can once back – to move back I’ve now, (since Brexit), had to fill in a form listing all my household goods and sign that I won’t sell/loan/give away any of it for 12 months after my return!!

Must go now, I’ve a friend coming over today to see me before I leave and to pick up a couple of bikes.  Catering will be minimalistic as yesterday I CS’d the last of the crockery/cutlery and kitchen prep stuff.  It’s picnic set only now and unfortunately melamine doesn’t go in the microwave.🤣

Good luck everyone with both RL and your decluttering. ❤️❤️❤️

Fizz2015

@dND good luck with the move. Beautiful weather here the last few weeks. That Brexit form, all I'm saying is, are they really hoping to come and check in 12 months! I doubt it very much!! 
Another warm and humid day, DD woke me up as she was hungry. Will decamp to sofa with a cuppa, it's much cooler downstairs. My car has now gone so need to get a new to me one. I miss not having the freedom of my own car.
Yesterday attacked the ironing with a venegence and only 10 items left, which will be done this morning. The issue is I have too many clothes and they all don't fit in the wardrobe easily!
Needs  a major cull but getting rid of clothes I massively struggle with, even ones that don't fit! 

Florenceem

Fell asleep after the alarm and didn't get up until 6.45 - always tired after a table top sale day. Now have a couple of months off until the next one at the end of September.
Plan to tackle the craft room today - no afternoon service so just Church this morning.
Apart from me falling while carrying a frame up and down stairs - I am worried that Mr F may be up when the frame is down and hurry on the stairs and fall. I will have to pop out and leave him sometimes.

florianatwobob

DSis and I tidied the ‘Doing Shed’ yesterday and I audited the freezer in there ahead of arranging a food order. The exciting news is that we no longer have to climb over the stuff dumped in the doorway!! 

We also hulked out 4 large crates of DBros ‘treasured belongings’ for him to sort out from the ‘Far Shed’. He whittled it down to 3 out of 4 remaining. Personally knowing what’s in those crates I would have rehomed the contents of 3 and left one (at most) but not my stuff to reduce. He’s also promised to take it away during the week. He still hasn’t done the eBay listings though…..

DSis and I also have a draft list of jobs for me to tackle on my week off in Aug and the stuff in the shed that is staying vs that which will leave. The leaving list needs to go via marketplace/buy nothings so needs someone to be here to co-ordinate. 

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Morning all

It was DD1's birthday yesterday so I decluttered her pile of presents to her I used tissue paper tied with raffia from my stash, which she can reuse. I'm using up my stash of wrapping paper then I'm not buying anymore as I want to be environmental. One of her gifts was some nice cheeses, crackers, relish and crisps which I put in a wooden fruit bowl I found in a CS - she loved it! 

I unblocked the bathroom sink yesterday - to do so, I had to empty the cupboard under the sink so I sorted out all the half used bottles of bubble bath, bath oil, shampoo etc - don't like being wasteful but did empty some down the sink as it had been there years; I also found some unused hand wash and hand lotion which I've put out to start using. 

Regarding the discussion on cleaners - I had one for a few months when my DDs were primary school age and I worked extra hours. Both DDs have left home now but I would definitely consider having a cleaner again. I currently have a FT job and various PT jobs so once my house is in a better state I will consider employing someone. My neighbour mows both my front and back lawns but if he didn't I would employ a gardener too! I'm paying someone to chop down a tree and cut back a massive hedge once the birds have stopped nesting and I'm thinking of asking for a quote for a general garden tidy up too

Regarding book groups - i belong to two - one has been going 21 years now! We used to meet in a charity's community room and gave a donation but now we meet in each other's houses.

It's still twot for me so I'll be hiding indoors all day

Love Deni x