2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

DundeeDoll

Ellie79 said:

Hello all. I was hoping to join in if that was OK?

of course - it's a very positive thread this one - fast moving so hold on tight! some are decluttering 2023 items, I am decluttering 23 minutes a day, we do what suits best. So for me for today...
realisation that I can split my 23 minutes (d'oh) - so before church 9 minutes - moved 4 boxes of crockery upstairs, decluttered another handbag; after church dropped off the 2 boxes packed up yesterday at the charity shop (adding the extra handbag); this evening emptied a broken chest of drawers plus 2 of the 3 under-bed drawers plus moved ds's tv down to music room where the rest of his stuff sits waiting for his flat purchase to go through.
When my new bed is delivered (wednesday all going well) old bed (sadly broken) will be dismantled into head, base, end (ie 3 bits) then add chest of drawers and old paddling pool and council will lift 6 items for £27.50 - oh good i thought it was 5. hmmmm now to find another bulky item for dispatching 😎
DD2 has started moving her office stuff into her office so she can at last start sorting her bedroom (she had to move from the large front room to the smaller back room when mum moved in) - the house tetris is going well!

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, just popping in to say I am still here, I have made a note of numbers but will post them when I have tinternet back, hopefully tomorrow. I am just allowing my heart rate to fall back to normal and need to vent a bit. OH lost my debit card. I had handed it over to pay in the drive through after OH had picked me up from the footie last night but as there was such a long queue I had got out for a little walk. When I got back I was too busy balancing the cups of coffee etc to have a free hand and when we got in too busy eating to think of it. I spent today sorting stuff and only late did I remember to ask where it was. On the gas cupboard says OH, no it's not says I, previously cleared so I could see at a glance, major search ensues of all pockets, washing machine as I  had put OHs jeans on to wash and I sent OH out to check the car. Nada, so now a minor panick is setting in at the thought of having to cancel it and inform footie club of new card details etc OH goes through my handbag, why? I don't take it to the match, checks my purse, why? I don't keep it in my purse and you didn't give it to me!!!!!! OH decides to go to bed as we will have to be up early to take the car to the garage for rescheduled service and mot. Naturally I can not get to sleep so I check the car. As soon as I open the drivers door and shine the torch into the drivers footwell I see it. Phew but honestly that saying about if you want something doing properly do it yourself springs to mind. Mad but very relieved, 
Having a quick read to catch up now
Take care everyone

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks

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 daily mail immediately 

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

DH got back about 6:15 p.m. - cold & wet but happy that M was so much better 🙂 Dinner was crispy Southern Fried Chicken & oven chips. Finished sewing up the beanie but not yet started on my next item - probably an ear warmer head band 🤔

57 - 58 Kitchen recycling, drinks cans - recycled 

59 Kitchen detritus binned

Next round of cheerleading coming up 🙂

Good luck with the food decluttering CMD79 🍀 Hopefully you have some catering sized tins as they are quite heavy 😉 Excellent decluttering 👏 84kg 🤩 and now another 2kg 👏 I don’t see why you cannot include the Christmas trees 🧐 

Excellent & eclectic decluttering plumduff55 👏 Very considerate of your visitors not to want crackers & cheese 😊 - I do so like a special cheese so it is good job I wasn’t one of your visitors 😉

Welcome aboard the EDT LadyWithAPlan - lovely to meet you 👏 No such thing as being late joining in - sometimes people don’t find the thread until half way through the year 😉 Excellent work 👏 & Good luck with Your Minimalist Challenge 🍀

Good work DrCarrie 👏 Slow & steady is a good way to build decluttering into your daily routine & guarantee success in the long run 🙂

Shame about the delayed flight & the very busy airport Fizz2015 😔 but at least you have all your luggage 👏 & what a kind driver 🙂 So glad that you had an amazing holiday & fingers crossed that it can become an annual trip 🤞

Of course you can join us Dfw38 - welcome aboard the EDT 👋 I have made a note of your aims & am looking forward to following your progress 😊 I am also sending positive vibes for lots of success with your sales on vinted 🍀 You will receive plenty of encouragement & support here as we are a friendly group & love to celebrate each other’s successes 😊 Good luck with the pelvic ultrasound & fingers crossed that nothing is found 🤞 An excellent start to your decluttering campaign & well done on planning to get the boxes out asap 👏 Enjoy your bath & wishing you a good nights sleep 😴 

Excellent work Foofoopuppy 👏 & well done on finding a comfortable recliner chair & a small table to complete a couple of rooms 🙂

Excellent work popthekettleon 👏 What a great result with the family visit - catching up with everyone & reducing your photo stash 🥳

Oh grandmanerd you are having a tough old time 😔🙁 Just wish there was something I could do for you. All I can do is send get well wishes & the sincere hope that these bugs will depart sooner rather than later. However I would like to commend you on all your forward planning & taking it a little easier whilst still managing to do so much decluttering 👏 Absolutely everything is crossed for Tuesday 🤞 As for the purchasers of the bungalow, they should count themselves lucky that you are giving them the boiler instructions & the bin schedule 😉 Please take a few days to give yourself some TLC - plenty of room in the TLC Carriage 😊 What a lovely thing you are planning to do for the deceased’s daughter 😊 

The EDT is moving so fast I am surprised you managed to hang on Wednesday2000 😉 Excellent decluttering 👏 & I am keeping my fingers crossed that the cs will take the fold out bed & chair + the garden chairs 🤞I see you have several ideas for the sofa cushions (mine was going to be animal rescue). Thanks for the photo 🙂

What an exciting mission shabbychic12 🙂 Might I suggest you take photos of the overcrowded kitchen surfaces & the empty cupboards so that you can remind yourself of your decluttering prowess when the decluttering project is complete & the kitchen cupboards are refilled 😊  Wishing you lots of luck ‘woman on a mission’ 🍀

Excellent decluttering Brie 👏 and nice to hear that your powers of persuasion are being honed when it comes to persuading your OH to release items 😉 How exciting - resuming your art classes 😊 Nothing wrong with getting a few extra minutes of sleep before heading of to your art class 😉

Excellent work Muddy_Walker 👏 & I like the forward planning 🙂

Welcome aboard the EDT Millie2008_2, lovely to meet you 👋 So sorry to hear that you spent Christmas in hospital 🙁 Please take care & definitely take it gently🙏  An excellent start to your decluttering journey 👏 but you appear to have robbed yourself of an item - your total should be 26 😉Very impressed with your eco credentials 👏

I love the power of the clean & tidy kitchen GrannyKate - sets you up nicely for the day ahead 🙂 A successful shopping trip - sticking to your list, resisting temptation & the added bonus of DS2 cooking 🥳 Excellent decluttering 👏 Shame about the trifle bowl but nice to have something to shop for other than food 😉 

daisy_1571, Nice idea for Wednesday2000’s sofa cushions 🙂 Excellent decluttering 👏 & I have made a note that you are ‘counting down’ rather than up 😉

Excellent cleaning work florianatwobob 👏 & am especially impressed with your eco friendly solution to dealing with your ‘frog’ 😀

Good decluttering roundtuit 👏

Thank you for my medal ~Flowerpot~  already added to my signature 😁🎖 Nothing wrong with a quiet day - you need time to recharge your decluttering batteries 🙂 However you still managed to complete a few tasks 👏 I had to look up gelli pads but what a wonderful hobby 😊

Excellent decluttering short_bird 👏

You are very welcome Soontobeoap 🙂

vulpix, I just want to give you a big hug 🤗 & ask permission to give MrV a hug as well 🙏 Being constantly worried & upset is so tiring 🙁 Curtains versus cute oak cupboard/bookcase 🤔 furniture restoration project wins every time 😉 Looking forward to seeing both you & MrV in the TLC Carriage - you need to recharge your batteries before the builders turn up 😊

Shame about the book Slinky 🙁 I also like to read at bedtime  but nothing too have got round the problem of difficult plot lines by reading old favourites - The Stand is my current choice but like you I have been lucky enough to fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow 🥳 Excellent work in the garden 👏 Hope the weather stays fine for your trip to the CS 🤞

Keiths_Mum, seems like the way of the world - pubs not taking cash, banks shutting down branches or not having cashiers, companies of all shapes & sizes pushing us towards conducting our lives online 😔As you can probably tell I am a bit of a Luddite 😂 Sounds very grim Keiths_Mum - keeping everything crossed that you are not called again 🤞A bitter sweet find but a lovely memory of your Dad 😊Excellent decluttering 👏 & quite a good cull of the coat cupboard 👏 I like your idea of wearing all the remaining coats so you can make a considered decision about what to cull with no regrets 😊 

Excellent decluttering Madbat60 👏 

Going with the flow sounds quite relaxing QueenJess 😉 Excellent digital decluttering & well done on keeping up with your 23 items a day tidying 👏 Good luck with the doom cupboard 🍀

Yippe bit_by_bit the in-laws are on their cruise ship 🥳 You must be so relieved 😉 Your weekend visiting your sisters sounds lovely & nice to that you were surprised at how well DS2 was doing with her decluttering 😊 Although it sounds like she still needs some more practice on letting go of her daughter’s stuff 😉 Excellent decluttering on your part 👏 I can almost feel the relief that you weren’t home for the the Manchester situation 😊 Any chance of extending the Parents-in-Law’s cruise to a month to give you a bit more time 🙃

Excellent decluttering Kittikins 👏 and I quite agree “we are all blooming amazing’ 🥳

Wow skint_chick - you have been busy 🤩 Excellent decluttering by both you & OH 👏 Good luck with the vinted listings 🍀

An excellent day of cleaning charlies_tribe 👏 You must be in a state of shock that DD3 & DD2 decided to tidy their room 😮 - I bet your initial thought was “what are they up to” 😉 So an excellent day of cleaning was backed up with an excellent day of decluttering 👏

Excellent decluttering TC77 👏 Very impressed with all the frogs you have dealt with, so a medal 🏅 is on its way 🙂 I don’t believe vulpix will think you are being cheeky - I think she will be honoured that you are calling on her expertise 😊

Excellent decluttering Happy_Kitties 👏& well done on sending damaged items back before it turned into a frog 👏

Ooh what a great idea EnergyShifter - a ‘Time Will Tell’ storage bag 🙂 Excellent decluttering👏

oceanspirit, even with postal strikes it is surprising how much mail there is to sort out when you get back from a holiday 😬 So well done on sorting most of it already 👏 I have to quote your 2nd paragraph “Looking forward to getting stuck into further decluttering and sorting.  It was lovely coming home to much less stuff - it felt so much calmer and there was a bit more space to put everything as it came out of the car.  So different from usual and it has had the pleasing knock on effect of being unpacked faster” as it reminds all of us that there are added bonuses to continuing our decluttering journeys 😊

Of course you can join in Ellie79 👋 You are already a seasoned declutterer - I am very impressed that you wrote a long list of jobs to do & items to declutter & achieved everything during your Christmas break 👏 Sorry to hear that you have been unwell since NY & hope that your Flu meds will finally set you on the road to recovery 🤞Please do take care not to set back your recovery by doing too much 🙏Well done on dropping off bags at the cs despite being ill 👏 I can see that you are determined that 2023 is going to be your year - a clutter free home & having essential ’Me Time’  😊 Sounds like you are well on your way 👏 and I am looking forward to your continuing success 😊

Great decluttering Florenceem 👏

Brilliant decluttering joanie 👏 Over 1000 items decluttered has earns you your 2nd Gold Star ⭐️ - well done. I will keep my fingers crossed that fewer items will be returned to the garage once the roofer has completed his work 🤞Maybe you can persuade your hubby to start watching minimalist videos & he will have an epiphany 😉

Love the use of your 23 minutes mfwin2019 😊 

Excellent decluttering & furniture Tetris DundeeDoll 👏 Your realisation that the 23 minutes could be split brought a big grin to my face 😁 Yah boo to having to pay the council to take away bulky items 🙁We are very lucky that we can have a free bulky items collection each year - long may that remain the case 🤞

Nice to see you Liverpool_Anne 👋 Vent away …. although I have to say you handled the situation far better than I would have done 👏 You would have been reading a newspaper headline along the lines of “Lost debit card leads to husbands death” - I have been known to over react 😉 

And now I can breathe - I have caught up 😮‍💨 Will do the washing up & have a cocoa before retiring to bed 🙂 So much for Mantra 3 🥲

MrsSD (a superwoman) 😇 🎖

Decluttering Target 2023: 59/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £5.00

donna73

@thriftyscotslass oh my goodness 14 hours sleep !! Sounds like bliss , what’s your secret ? Sleep is very much eluding me again at the moment- flipping menopause 😫

The sunk costs really resonates with me , find that quite a sticking point when decluttering, plus the idea that everything can be reused to reduce waste. But on that second one, I’m realising more and more that  sometimes it’s somebody else that can get that second use out of something. Listing items for free on Olio is helping with that , as the people who collect are really pleased with what they are getting, and I feel good for passing something on. 

The third shed got sorted at the weekend , which was very satisfying. It turned out so tidy that it’s making us think we should have a second look at shed number 2 sometime! 😂

off to work soon , so will post my decluttering list from the last few days when I get back. 

TC77

Thank you for my medal Mrs SD, I have to say so much nicer to go to bed and wake up in a relatively tidy bedroom and can see almost all the floor!  Still focusing on frogs but DD1 may take a chest of drawers next week. Lovely message from the person who picked up the office chair , so good to see things go to a good home so worth the wait.
Hope Monday starts well for folks and those not so well.make a speedy recovery

EnergyShifter

Mrs_Salad_Dodger said: 

Ooh what a great idea EnergyShifter - a ‘Time Will Tell’ storage bag 🙂 Excellent decluttering👏

Thanks @MrsSD: The "Time Will Tell" idea came from "Minimal Mom" on YouTube - I like her - she's practical and realistic. 

Thanks also for your dedicated cheerleading - so thoughtful!  And I'm very impressed that you are keeping up, I'm struggling to read all the posts let alone comment on them!  💐

Radish72

I'm going to be brave and join in this year after lurking all last year. No idea of numbers just going to concentrate on areas which for this year I'll just say upstairs (the stuff under beds, the stuff hidden in cupboards, drawers, anywhere and everywhere)

Have a lot of frogs to sort out, so I'll make a list and split it down in to smaller chucks for each month, hopefully posting on here will keep me motivated and focused

Love the idea of 23 minutes at a time so over the past week

Started to sort out a cupboard in the dining room, I will confess to make it look presentable for Christmas dinner, I used my BF technique off hiding everything in a cupboard, 30 pieces of paper recycled, some for filing, 1 frog for BF to sort out

Sorted out work bag/purse, many non-required receipts binned

Sorted out drawer on shoe cupboard, 20 pieces of paper recycled

Packed Christmas away, sorted out  what we no longer required and make a note in my phone calendar to take to the charity shop in November

vulpix

 Thank you for your kindness Mrs SD, these sort of situations come to us all eventually,and affect us perhaps more than we acknowledge. Unusually for me I am feeling quite down at the moment.

 TC77, Teak you say... I would wash the furniture down with warm soapy water,dry off, then wash again with clear warm water then dry with a cloth. That may be enough to then just polish up with Pledge or similar reviving oil. If it is still looking a bit battle scarred, gently rub down with fine wire wool dipped in turps. Wash it down again then if it looks ok it can either have several thin coats of Danish oil and a good buff or a thin coat of varnish,depending on the finish you want. I don't know why but I only use wax on Pine, perhaps because it has a more open grain in the wood. My wood of choice is oak. I love the grain ,especially slow grown English oak found in old furniture. Modern oak is probably from America where it grows much quicker and has less character in the grain.

 LiverpoolAnne,I could feel the emotion in that post. All's well that ends well.xx

 Vx

bit_by_bit

Welcome @Ellie79 and at @Radish72 . 

House tetris definietely describes it @DundeeDoll Been ther and done that. A big pain but also an opportunity to sort stuff out. Doing this in the next few weeks at the in laws.

 LoL @Mrs_Salad_Dodger I would have loved to extend their trip but it needs to be done. When they come back there is going to be a big push on for my house to be guest ready upstiars as DD staying with her boyfriend. I know it is going to be tiring but it will mean most of the big stuff is going to be done by mid Feb and I can look forward to a year of gentler decluttering.

Included in that is a fortunate thing. DH is moving jobs and he had expected to finish at the end of Feb. He has been told his finish date is Monday which means he will have a bit of time off to help. He won't be taking all that time as he hopes his new job will start sooner but it is just what we need. I am also roping in any family members to help starting with DS2 this afternoon.

I feel your pain @vulpix. Big hugs 

So today starts the sheduled sorting of the in laws house. I am going to do some in mine this morning though. The porch isn't quite sorted as I went away before finding a place for everything. 

Big hugs and positive vibes for all who need them 

florianatwobob

Belated thanks for the ovation re my self assessment Mrs SD. My intention is to not leave it until January this time. I can do it from around May as all my financial ducks will be aligned at that point. It also means shorter call times to HMRC. 

I’m trying to go more eco friendly with the cleaning products hence the bicarb. I’ve also finished up the dregs of the pointless stainless steel cleaner so that’s one less bottle in the cupboard. Oh and finished up the ends of not one but two conditioners and retrieved the 3rd from the stash!