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

Thursday is another dull day but still dry. Up & dressed later today (11:35) so had a slight headache. This is dissipating now that I am halfway through my first cup of tea. Watched TV & cleared a few more programmes from TV Planner. DH has filled the bird feeders & been up in the loft to get a suitcase for DSis. They are now printing off documents for DSis & checking details. She has Friday & the weekend to pack as she is off on Monday to France to see her son. I have spent a bit of time in the kitchen as I needed to create space in the fridge for last nights veg box contents. Mushrooms have been cooked & radishes sliced - both bagged for freezer + I have made guacamole. This weeks veg box was quite good - potatoes, bag of kale, broccoli, box of mushrooms, spring onions, beetroot, red peppers & a couple of avocados 👏 Dinner was bacon, eggs, baked beans & oven chips. Wudupa. 

1744 - 1746 Kitchen recycling, plastic bottle, cardboard box - recycled 

1747 Kitchen detritus binned

florianatwobob, what a great Wednesday 👏 Love the “……Submitted my expression of interest for the new role, and reviewed the presentation one of my direct reports has created for her interview this week  I know I’m in holiday but it was intentionally all done in my pjs with a cuppa so it didn’t feel like work” 👏 Ooh, an “elbow” hinged vacuum cleaner - quite jealous 😉 

GrannyKate, sounds like a wonderful Wednesday with DD & small people 😊 What a marvellous idea to have a beach in Birmingham city centre 🥳 That is an appallingly long wait for a new car 😖 Good luck tackling your frogs 🍀

Excellent decluttering of the under sink cupboards Dfw38 👏 Sounds like the kids are getting over excited about going on holiday or am I being too generous 🤔 

Florenceem, your new project sounds interesting - I hope it goes well 🤞 Sounds like MrF is finally accepting that his business needs to be wound up 😊 Good luck with your mission to empty down the fridge & freezer 🍀

Crazycatlady2, yippee to decluttering your back pain 🥳 Sorry to hear about your rabbit 😔

Excellent decluttering & rearranging Wednesday2000 👏 A whole empty drawer  - you should enjoy it for a while before continuing with the wardrobe rearrangement & filling up the drawer 😉

Just seen the time so I will post this & go to bed 😉

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1747/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £299.00

TC77

@Dfw38 so sorry to hear about dd2 and your wedding tiara. Are you sure it's beyond repair. I used to get ao upset by my kids damaging belongings that had sentimental value, although not as special as your tiara. Can you explain to your daughter how special some things are and that these are kept carefully wrapped as delicate and important that she asks to see these things with you and doesn't go into x or y drawer on her own so things don't get damaged. At 5 and even way older they really don't understand about how careful you need to be with items and the meaning of them to us. 
Hope some items will be picked up/ returned rhus weekend.

EnergyShifter

Day 9 of my 12 day break from work.  Weather has been limiting but at least its been an opportunity to switch off and rest.

Highlights - a lovely meet up with a friend including a trip to the newly revamped National Portrait Gallery   Focussed on the mid 20th Century onwards - really worth a visit.   A trip to Hampstead Heath with DS - we'd visited in Winter but it was icy under foot then so it was nice to have a really good walk this time.  

Managed to get a couple of bits done around the house yesterday including introducing DS to the Lawnmower.  It has now become his job and fair play to him once he got started he went for it.  

There have also been a couple of low-lights - some upsetting interactions with friends that I'm feeling 🤔 about.   Both situations need time and space so after some initial reflection I'm putting them out of my mind - that CBT was worth its weight in gold!!!   

Tasks:

Signed Will (with Witnesses) - all put away now and I don't have to think about it.

Front and back gardens mowed  

Large bag to CS

IN (running total 136)

137.  Lovely vintage Jaeger statement necklace from eBay

OUT (running total 463) 

464. Door mat

465-7 - 3 x pairs of sports socks

@Mrs SD - that was good timing for your neighbour!  Nice to do a good deed like that!  

Love to all xxx

~FlowerPot~

@Dfw38 im really sorry to hear about your wedding tiara, such a shame and very distressing for you. But at 5 she wont realise its value or its importance unfortunately. But hopefully this experience and seeing you sad will help her begin to realise. Do you think you could get it repaired or remade using the same jewels / beads /stones. Or maybe a part of it could be refashioined into a bracelet or pendant. Obviously i don't know how it looked. But mine was handmade with lots of twisty wire and shiney pearl like beads and gems which I think could be remade somehow by the right person! Just a thought!

Right so it's a bright and sunny morning it there and I'm going to maje a list of jobs for today so I'm accountible and will hopefully get more done! 

Tidy bedroom and find 10 things to declutter out the house! ~its tidier! i forgot to count items duh!!
Put washing away ~done took much longer than it should because i had to sort and tidy the airing cupboard to put stuff away!!
Do washing x2 (it's a never ever ending mountain of washing) need to sort it first! 🙄~ first done and on the line, but now looks like rain!!
Tidy lounge and find 10 to declutter out the house. 
Taxi ds1 to app ~Done
Go to dentist and tell them how much tooth hurts!,?… ~Done apparently it's too vague and nothing is showing on the xray so just keep taking the pain killers😢 Not very impressed, as ive been putting it off for 3 weeks hoping it would go away, but it hasn't, and when it hurts it blooming hurts,!,, (moan over) 
Get healing work done ~done
Then gardening!! Bins have been emptied so I'm going to tackle the bramble at the bottom of the garden! 

Not much then, 🤣🤣🤣

Wednesday2000

I am still thinking about the winter coming up soon. I put all my black thermal tops and leggings into the spare drawer from the wardrobe. They were my uniform last winter. 

I hung up all my handbags on hangers to see what I have more easily and put my umbrellas downstairs in the under stairs cupboard. I have 5 of them! My husband constantly loses umbrellas so I buy spares.

I didn't declutter that much, only one pair of shorts and an ornament went into the donation bag.

-taff

@Dfw38 I think you've had your first lesson that what you think is hugely important is not important to others. And she's five? Personally, I don't think that's grown up enough to act like an adult and do what you tell her, or learn the importance of respecting others belongings. I know when I was that age I was in and out of every drawer or cupbaord because exploring was much more exciting than anything else. I would chalk this one up to experience, put the tiara away where she can't reach it and give yourself some time for your grief over it. I'd also be asking what is it about this tiara that was so important it would stop you from wanting to go on holiday...

One more bag filled for the cs consisting of net curtains [ can't put them back up again so there's no point hanging on to them], some cat toys they never played with, a couple of books [ more to go back to the supermarket bookshelf too] , more rag for the bagand I'm tackling the sewing area this morning..should be interesting, hopefully I'll put more in the cs bag. And the radiators have gone, OH had a word with someone he knows who came and removed them so they're not hanging round any more either.

Florenceem

Floss - Mr F isn't really a hobbies man. He is not practical at all. I have just let him go out for the first time alone - round to our local Asd. 
I didn't sort out in the wardrobe while doing my big declutter - there will be lots going from there - nothing to add to my total today.
Family are down today from Nottingham.
Had no post all week - today 9 letters have arrived - all for Mr F which I will get him to open in front of me - no more secrets.
Today is our 26th wedding anniversary.

Floss

Happy anniversary Florenceem xx

Brie

Floss said:

Brie, could Mr BunBun and Bear be tucked up in acid-free paper in a nice box? I still have my duck & my boys each have their childhood cuddly, as does my elder brother age 63!

I could do that but I don't see the point.  We're not saving them for anyone (no kids and nieces/nephews too old but not yet breeding) so we might as well keep them out where they can make us smile.

Meanwhile did a bit of a declutter this morning in the room of doom (aka formerly MiL's bedroom). Added the little side table that had been in her lounge and had moved into my "office" and have topped that up with various things already in there to be sent to a charity shop. Then went through 2 of her jewellery boxes. I've been through them before but got to the "can't be asked" stage and had given up. Now I've separated out the garbage (binned), buttons (left in one box), keys (for OH to decide what to do), unwanted necklaces etc (left in other box). I've set aside a few bits of stuff MiL had written/typed out - I don't think we want to keep them but thought OH should at least take note. Found a few ID photos of MiL plus another which may have been her grandmother from around 1900? That last one and a few others of cousins I'll suggest we send off to the oldest cousin in case anyone is interested. Found a number of letters from OH to MiL which I have binned as seeing them will set him off. Also found a label from when he was born listing his weight as 8lbs 5 oz! Also set aside some old money and stamps to be queried. Probably worth almost nothing but better to check.

Oh - also found the most marvelous hat feather, perfect for a Austrian gentleman's walking hat.  Have set that aside for OH to see which of his extensive hat collection would be the best suited recipient.

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

Good morning now afternoon on a dull & overcast Friday 😉 Up & dressed by 11:30. Am drinking my 1st cuppa high DH made for me 😊 Fingers crossed that his scan today means that he can stop the blood thinning injections🤞as his tummy is very bruised now 😔 I will go straight into cheerleading 😉

Dfw38, I won’t comment about DD2 trashing your bedroom as reading ahead I can see that many declutterati have offered far more useful comments than I could 🤔

No need to “creep” back in nannywindow 😉 just nice to see you now that RL has eased a bit 👋 Excellent decluttering both indoors & outdoors 👏 One Gold Star ⭐️ on its way as a reward for getting so much done 😊 Sorry to hear that you have been in the wars & hope your foot heals quickly 🤞 The TLC Carriage is the only place to be whilst you complete your recovery 😉 The resident physiotherapist is on hand to offer advice about exercises 🙂

Wednesday2000, your oven looks almost new 👏 I confess that both my ovens are way worse especially the racks 😔 

TC77, that sounds like the smaller of my ovens 😔 😉 I will have to revisit the questions again as I think I was having the same issue re answering 😉 Well done on biting the bullet with the large vintage light fitting 👏 Hopefully the new staff are now fully trained & you will have a bit more time to tackle the decluttering 🤞

Dfw38, no comment about the tiara just big hugs coming your way 🤗 

Brie the questions you picked also resonated with me “Do I love and adore this item? And be honest with yourself… you don’t love and adore every item equally. If you don’t love it – get rid of it. “ & “Is it sentimental? If it is, am I keeping it in good condition?” 

The "do I love it" bit is very much whatshername Kwando?  aka Marie Kondo 😀 Hopefully your friend will take the cushion cover 🤞 but if not perhaps donate it to a CS that has a craft section or maybe a crafting club 🙂 As to the childhood bunny 🤔 Although I am not too sure that if bunny goes, why OH’s bear needs to leave at the same time 🤨 I do know that most of my sentimental items are packed away & occasionally get an airing before being packed away again for another few years 😔 Yet another task to add to my ever growing ‘To Do List’ 😔

Floss, you have hit the mark again with your advice for both Dfw38 & Brie 👏😊 

Excellent decluttering oceanspirit 👏 The current chat about ‘sentimental items’ being decluttered (or not) is giving me plenty of food for thought 🧐 & reminding me that none of us should be too hard on ourselves if we aren’t yet in the right frame of mind to cope with the emotions 😊

TC77, I am getting better with getting shot of the ‘could be useful’ aka ‘May B Handy’, ‘Justin’ or even ‘Ron’ 🥳

Not sure what the problem is today but I feel like I am wading through treacle so I will post this & try to perk myself up 😉 However, having skipped ahead reading the posts I will take this opportunity to wish Florenceem & MrF a Happy Anniversary 😊

P.S. DH has just set off for his scan appointment.

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 1747/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £299.00