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

The sun is trying hard to come out from behind the clouds now but with limited success 🙂 DH is still not up at 15:15 but DSis has been downstairs a couple of times to make herself a hot drink 🙂

Just a bit of cheerleading to follow.

Thanks for the good wishes ~FlowerPot~ 😊 Apparently you get fewer years for murder 🤣 Joking aside, I am very lucky - he is a lovely man & I count my blessings every day 😊 Enough of the soppiness 😉 Shame about the delay to Friday’s intended cleaning session but your DD’s wellbeing takes precedence 😇 What a busy Saturday 👏 I am awarding you & DH a medal 🏅🏅 each 🙂 Sorry to hear about DS2 but now he has been diagnosed as coeliac hopefully a change of diet will ease the fatigue & other symptoms 🤞Even with a tumble dryer I do prefer to line dry 🙂

vulpix thanks for sharing details of your life 😊 It is sort of understandable that you are not close & I suppose to some degree it explains your DB’s attitude 😞 although it doesn’t excuse it 😔 Hugs coming your way 🤗 & do remember to visit the TLC Carriage 😊

Thanks for the information Floss 👏

Florenceem, sorry to hear that you had a restless Friday night 😔 That was a very full day Saturday so no wonder you were exhausted 😩 I do hope you managed to get a nap in the afternoon before heading back to SA 🤞 What an excellent amount of money raised - so close to £600 👏🥳 

Lovely to see you dND 👋 and with such positive news 🥳 Now a waiting game so I am keeping ABSOLUTELY everything crossed that the searches go through swiftly & that nothing is amiss🤞 It sounds like you are quite happy with any  compromises you have made & are now planning ahead by making judicious purchases 😊 I am so excited for you 😆 Most exciting of course will be to have your very gorgeous cats, Jewel & Gino, back with you 😊 They do look rather forlorn 😔 but I am sure that with lots of cuddles from you they will forgive you………… in time 😉

Thanks weenancy 😊 Sorry to hear that you are still suffering the effects of Covid 😔 but I am pleased to hear that you are taking care to only do 15 minute bursts of activity 😊 It might be wishful thinking on my part but I have my fingers crossed that your roommates are pitching in & helping you to declutter the living room so that the old sofa can be moved out for city trash services to pick up🤞  Love the description of your tree & I am putting in a request for a picture 🙏 The weather worldwide this year is so confusing 🫤 although it is rather wonderful that your tree keeps to its natural schedule regardless 🤩 Re the seeds - perhaps some guerilla gardening when you are out & about - maybe dropping a handful of seeds onto waste ground 🤔

I will post this as then I am only 2 pages behind with the cheerleading 😉

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 2076/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £469.00

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Oops, I should probably have taken the note off 🙊 So much for anonymity 🤣

Florenceem

Mrs SD - no afternoon nap yesterday. I fell asleep easily last night but was woken by a helicopter at 4 am. I said to Mr F about it - he said - what helicopter?
Been to Church - guest preacher this week.
It is cafe Church this afternoon - was in two minds about going but we are as it is one of the older soldiers doing - Desert Island Discs.
Middle Dd popped here with stuff she brought back from London - from youngest Dd. Our hall has a lot of charity stuff in it + there is stuff to go from the garage. No way is it being left to pile up - all will go in the next few days.
We have a funeral on Tuesday - 14 year old boy and now another one next Tuesday - a friend from the first Church that I attended - she also taught at my children's school.
I want to get DGs J here to paint the outside wall of the house and the side wall before Winter.

flamingo747

Have decluttered "dining room" chores from my flylady list, so +1
Winter accessories in place, shoe boxes tipped out to get rid of debris +6
6 not very well made cloth face masks to rag bag from my earliest covid making days, plus 2 garden wires from the nose bridgea from them for metal recycling +8
Various bits of paper, fluff, crumbs, sticky crap, insulation foil from my downstairs cupboard for the bin +10
Understairs cupboard reorganised, shoes swapped for season +2
One pair of sandals for CS +1 and one kids swim hat likewise +1
Broken packaging for swim hat binned +1 
2 hair grips, rusty, for metal recycling +2
Spoiled raspberries for foodwaste/recycling +1 and a reminder that Actual Self doesn't eat as much fruit as Fantasy Self plans to. Either need to get dieting again or stop buying, so wasteful
Packing lists for 2 trips made +2

So that's 35 added today

QueenJess

Well it turned out to not be as bad as usual as they currently cannot access their loft.  I do have a big pile of clothes to deal with that I can't face at the moment and so I just stacked them neatly on the side.  However,  I did offload a couple of pantry items to my parents, so they took a bit with them.

I did look into the library to do some tidying.  The mess is generally because of decisions to be made.  I removed a few items to DH's room that I need him to deal with or make a decision.  He gets annoyed when I put stuff in there, so hoping it makes things happen.  Some more stuff out.

33,413-33,414 - pantry items donated to parents
33,415 - cuddly toy (charity bag)
33,416 - excess food cupboard items used up
33,417-33,471 - paper recycled
34,472-33,480 - DS tat binned/recycled

Fizz2015

Evening All,  Everyone is very busy decluttering. Today DD and I start to tidy the garden, some weeds were taller than her! OH was taxi to the older 2. Everything got a good haircut, deweeded and started sorting the pots ready to plant spring bulbs. Now have a massive tarpaulin full of garden waste and pile of plastics pots etc to take to the tip. Will try to go one day this week but in the office 3 days so might be a juggle to fit in. 
The motivation to declutter the house is still ongoing but having made progress with the allotment and garden I feel positive I will get there. Focusing on some self care, eating healthy and planning home cooked meals, supplements, and ensure I'm getting enough sleep. Plus less time scrolling aimlessly on my phone. Replacing with knitting, crosswords and reading, I've noticed a difference in a few days. 

~FlowerPot~

Floss said:

~FlowerPot~ said:

ooh and if anyone has any good coeliac hacks/ cooking ideas / products thats are good please do send them my way I am a bit flummoxed by it !!

My elder son is coeliac, and I have an ex-sis-in-law who is gluten & wheat intolerant - I have always found Asda GF flours give much nicer results than any others, and I just swap them in where required. I even used them for DS2s wedding cake & you couldn't tell any difference. Cornflour is naturally GF so can be used to thicken sauces & gravy.

thanks floss, we dont have an asda very near but I will investigate when Im next near one!

florianatwobob said:

@~FlowerPot~ google Becky Excell and find her ‘gluten free cuppa tea’ website also look for her books on Amazon. She’s GF and makes real food that tastes good! She’s also on Facebook & Insta with really supportive communities. 

thank you, i actually have already found becky excell, shes great, but now we will actually try out her recipes.

Liverpool_Anne said:
@~FlowerPot~, OH's sister is coeliac and I have worked with several pupils who were. If I remember correctly in some cases it is possible to get gluten free bread and pasta, and possibly other things on prescription as they can be quite expensive. During cookery lessons I found it quite easy to make cakes but pastry was quite difficult as without the gluten it just didn't stick together when it was rolled. One thing that sticks in my mind was that all own brand Tesco sausages were gluten free and were good enough for everyone to have. This may be the same for some other own brands but I haven't checked. The sensitivity of individuals seems to vary, for my pupils we used to have a separate toaster placed well away from the main toaster and had a separate tub of butter in case of crumbs being transfered. OH's sister doesn't allow anything with gluten into the kitchen in case of contamination but she is very sensitive. Food containing gluten is kept in the sideboard in the dinning room . Eating out can be tricky, for example chips cooked in the same oil as battered fish will be contaminated so it is always worth checking things like that. A lot depends on what things your ds likes to eat as I remember one pupil who ate very healthily, lots of fruit and veg because he knew they were 'safe'. Things like gluten free biscuits and crackers are available but again need to be stored separately. It is worth noting that if you are not coeliac you should not eliminate gluten from your diet as you will then become gluten intolerant. I am afraid you will have some reorganising of your cupboards to look forward to, maybe you could have 1 cupboard that is strictly gluten free. Good luck and I hope your ds feels better soon.

thank you so much

wort said:

@~flowerpot~ I am coeliac and once he gets used to it ,it’s quite easy. Just as an aside to that if someone in the family has it it’s a 1 in 10 chance of other family members having it, quite a lot of us got tested and a few of us all were. It’s autoimmune so may get other autoimmune diseases in future.
I would say be aware of cross contamination, have own toaster ,butter, jams etc. Also a lot of things can be gluten free that are not in the free from aisle/marked on the front. Check the box for things written in bold and avoid wheat,rye,and barley. Also the may contain box.
Cakes can be made using GF flour in same style as normal, use GF baking powder. I love M and S tempura chicken tenders, and spring rolls, spiced iced buns too.
If he goes to church then communion wafers are Not GF but can ask and the church can provide them.
Any questions just ask..

thanks wort, all so helpful

short_bird said:

@~FlowerPot~
Diagnosed coeliac 2018.
Biggest issue is cross contamination from gluten containing foods as someone diagnosed with coeliac can't have the tiniest bit of gluten - the whole family needs to be on board with this. 
Check the labels on everything for recipe changes and they should always carry snacks. 
Coeliac UK have a very useful site and publicise when companies have fouled up and there is gluten where it shouldn't be.
Chain restaurants are now your best bet as they can accommodate all types of diet.
Sadly, popping out for a chippy tea is now off the menu for them due to cross contamination from the oil when it's been used for battered products. Unless, of course, it's somewhere that has gluten free sessions... 
It's a lot easier to be coeliac than it used to be - I think Scotland is the only place you can get gluten free food on prescription these days? - and the main thing will be changes in texture of baked goods.

Thank you short bird.

You guys are the best. 

The last 48 hours have been a huge learning curve. DS2 now has his own chopping board and butter. Havent gone as far as toaster yet. But probable will when I can work out where one can go!

We have some supplies and some basic cupboard to get him started. The cost is not so MSE though!! I got him making flapjacks this afternoon which he has bagged up for snacks this week

flamingo747

QueenJess I envy you having a library!

Fizz I've been trying to replace my mindless scrolling with OS MSE! At least here I don't see so much meanness or sexism, and I can choose what I see, rather than on FB where its a constant stream of ads, stupid videos, and nonsense.  Here you can have the social interaction and chat, but more controlled. And when you're caught up it's time to find something useful to do. On social media I can scroll aimlessly. All new  but 95% crap

Muddy_Walker

Hi😊
Cant believe it’s Sunday evening already….
So this week I sorted out the snowflake colours and finally finished a wedding present and got it posted. It took 4 attempts in the end as I just wasn’t happy with it.
decluttered the usual household rubbish and hubby has been decluttering like mad AND doing stuff I’ve been asking about forever 😳🤣 we also celebrated 26 years 💐🥰
I had a CT and MRI on the same day which was very useful but had to drive as hubby still isn’t right and is on his second lot of tablets. That wore me out more than the scans so when we got home I was straight to bed.
Today I cleaned and tidied my work area, washed the dogs bedding and repotted some plants.
it’s dog2 birthday today so he had dog friendly birthday biscuits and a brand new snake. It’s orange and he has carried it round all day bless him! Such a happy soul ❤️
Out with family tomorrow as nephew turns 18. The lad has grown into a lovely young man too!

Floss

~FlowerPot~ said

We have some supplies and some basic cupboard to get him started. The cost is not so MSE though!! I got him making flapjacks this afternoon which he has bagged up for snacks this week

Asda sausages are all GF, Warburton do a range of GF bakery things, and check out Mondays at your local chippy as that tends to be clean-fryers-replace-oil day.