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 thoroughly enjoyed my bath 🙂 Whilst I drip-dried I packed my overnight bag & selected travelling clothes. We left about 14:30 & had an uneventful ride to Maidstone in the dry 😊 - free flowing traffic until we got into town - took about an hour door to door. We are staying in a place called Stone Court House - a Grade II listed Georgian Townhouse. Fairly unassuming from the outside but has been fully restored inside. Stunning room with a four poster bed with satin type bedding & very tastefully decorated. I felt like a princess 😊 

After showering & changing we relaxed in our room, had a coffee - DH watched the MotoGP sprint race & I watched another episode of Hidden. We left our room at 18:15 & met DH’s niece G & her husband E in the pub next door to the curry house (4 doors down from our hotel) Had a couple of drinks whilst waiting for G’s sister M. When M arrived, we finished our drinks, out of the pub into the curry house as had a table booked for 19:30. We had an absolutely marvellous time - lots of laughter & chat, free flowing alcohol & excellent food 🤩 I had the tastiest chicken korma I have ever eaten 😋 This rather wonderful evening was a combined double birthday & thank you to DH & I from M, G & E 🥹 After dinner we returned to the pub & rounded off the evening with another drink 🙂 We said our goodbyes - G, M, E headed off to get a taxi whilst DH & I made the short stroll back to the hotel. The satin sheets were lovely but for some reason neither of us slept very well - I think the room was probably too warm for us 😔 Got up at 09:00, had a coffee & packed (checkout 10:00) then walked to the multi-storey car park to pick up the bike. A lovely sunny, dry day & a good journey home. We were back indoors by 11:00 🙂 Whilst DH made coffee, I unpacked the bags - everything was put away by 11:20. DH watched the MotoGP races in the afternoon & I watched another never seen before series called Hidden Assets - Irish/Belgian co-production. Very wordy & the least enjoyable new series so far 😉 but also dealt with a large amount of paperwork 🙂 DSis cooked dinner - roast chicken, roast potatoes & green beans 😋& I wudupa.

2328 - 2337 Kitchen recycling, drinks cans, newspaper, magazine, 0.5” scrap paper, 5 booklets - recycled 

2338 - 2339 Kitchen detritus, 0.5” shredding - binned

I will catch up on the cheerleading tomorrow 😉

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 2339/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £569.00

oceanspirit

Swapped over summer and winter clothes.  A jumper which isn’t very comfortable for me and a top I never wear are now in CS bag.

GrannyKate

Morning all.  Not much decluttering done except money and food into DGCs.  I read back over posts and think I missed the award of two medals by Mrs SD (I 'look after' the ones she awards to DS2) so will add to my signature. 

1701 DS2 cleaned front gutters and fascia
1702 Some meetings attended and papers recycled
1703 Some photos downloaded and filed - I have more to do
1704 Spare bed stuff in store under DGS4's new bed
1705 Lego and other toys moved into bedroom
1706 Forgotten folding table moved in bedroom for lego
1707 Bag of plastics to SM
1708 Used up some of the wood and logs from tree pruning toasting marshmallows
1709 All November cards and presents gone and December ones written.  I bought more Christmas cards to finish writing them this week.

 I spent 2 plus hours at small local country park with three DGCs yesterday and we got lunch there.  It was wet but even the two 11 year olds had a great time.  Washing I had optimistically put on line was soaked through but trying hard to avoid drier.  Still lots of leaves on the trees for late November

vulpix

Thank you for the star Mrs SD. That was one very fancy bed at your hotel. I always find hotel rooms much hotter than I would have at home, I tend not to sleep well the first night in a new place.

 Waiting,waiting,waiting, for the flooring people to arrive. Mr V had me up at 7, but Fomo was more eager and had me up at 5! Our lovely neighbours have offered to have our sofas in their sitting room for the day. 3 pieces of furniture will have to be outside under a tarpaulin. everything else is in the sheds...again. I think I am suffering from renovators remorse. The furniture and I are dizzy. All this effort seems too much. I can see why older people like my Mum  do nothing, It is too much physically and brain ache. Just the upstairs left to do which entails emptying all the furniture to make it easier to put carpet down then putting everything away again and doing the same in the other bedroom. If I were to renovate another house I would not live in it whilst doing it.

 I went through one of the wall cupboards in the kitchen. I recycled a plastic microwave jug. Stained. I prefer to use ceramic anyway. 2 more wall cupboards to do at my leisure. I am pleased to say that the cupboards are not full. Being vertically challenged I need to arrange things that are in most use on the bottom shelves. Mr V put the stuff in initially.

 I give very few Christmas gifts, people just don't want or need stuff. The few I do give I wrapped yesterday, pleasingly using up Christmas paper and gift bag  stash.

 I just need to sew up the final hat for the Christmas fair on Friday. I will post a pic later. 3 balls of wool used for hats and party sprouts.

 Hi to everyone who has been and are the tlc carriage. It is nice to hear what everyone is up to.

 Not much scope for me to declutter today.

 Laters Vx

QueenJess

Floss said:

QueenJess said:

....  Just want to prep some extra things in advance and bung them into the freezer (I'm currently building a small store of homemade bread which the kids love).  They do love popcorn and I make it regularly for them, although they don't watch TV at all.  I sometimes wonder if my kids are weird in that respect, but they actually would much rather be running around outside, building Lego, or making forts out of sofa cushions.  Who am I to argue with that?

Sounds fab, when can I move in?!

I wouldn't advise it.  The food and entertainment is good, but it's very much an intense and hands on environment!  My sister visited at the weekend to play with the kids and went home completely knackered!

Siebrie

She did it wrong; it's the kids that should be knackered! (That was a gratuitous tip from my Mum who used to work and lead a children's home with about 50 children in the 60s.)

vulpix

Haha, too true. You have to be one step ahead and always have an emergency activity to hand. 😂

 sooo it could have gone better. The guys had read their work list wrong and had gone to another job first. No problem, so far so good. The floor will take 3 to 4 hours to dry. As I opened our bedroom door bowl of cat biscuits in hand, Fluffy shot out like a missile, head butted the biscuit bowl and shot down the stairs in a hail of cat biscuits, Did the wall of death round the kitchen in the wet concrete then back upstairs all over our bed with concrete paws. Very whacky races esque. We are now sitting quietly thinking about our life choices. 

 Have a picture of some baby hats. 

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

Well that will teach me for going to bed so late I only woke up at 12:40 because I needed to use the bathroom 😔 Never mind as it doesn’t look like I missed any nice weather 😉 Whilst I was waiting for the kettle to boil I threw away DSis’s flowers & changed the water for mine which are lasting remarkably well - only a couple needed to be binned 🙂 I now have my first cuppa & have settled down to commence cheerleading. Wish me luck 🍀 

vulpix, an excellent point well made 👏 The emotional processing when tackling decluttering can really slow us down 😔 but here is the thing, I know that we will all get there in the end 😊 Good luck with the overwintering 🍀 They just don’t make pens like they used to - only lasted 3 years 🤣 Joking aside, any chance of getting another one 🤔 I find that even the refills for posh pens only seem to last a few months nowadays 😔 Excellent decluttering of your sewing box 👏

Florenceem, great result from DD’s selling of the craft items you have made 👏 Hope the sewing machine lesson went well 🤞 Maybe DGD can make a couple of pieces for the table top sale 😉

Great idea re snacks weenancy 👏 Mine & DH’s problem is that if there are snack type foods available we have no willpower/self control - we just snack all day then bemoan the fact that neither of us are losing any weight 😔 

Muddy_Walker, very pleased to hear that you have been making use of the TLC Carriage 👏 definitely worth a pat on the back 😊 Yippee to new patio doors 🥳 Hopefully when you have dealt with the current mould, there will be no further issues 🤞Sounds like you had a lovely time with your friends on Saturday 😊

Brie, I see TC77 came up with a good idea re the paintings 🙂 Mind you when you sell your first masterpiece it will probably be worth more with the ‘practice’ art on the back 😉 It will show your progression from a ‘naive’ art style to the accomplished art style you now have 😊 Net curtains can be soooo pretty especially when they are moving around in a gentle breeze ……….. no I think you are right, they are a pain 😂

Siebrie, opaque sticky back plastic …….. great idea - stops anyone seeing in AND can add an additional layer of insulation to a window 👏

Excellent decluttering short_bird 👏 Hope you enjoy your 2nd visit to the Old Vic as much as the first 🤞

oceanspirit, lovely to hear that you are back home 😊 Your comment “hospital is not the place to be when you are ill. A car alarm went off at the same time every morning and the bed very uncomfortable ……….” is so true 😔 Please do take it easy & follow the physio’s instructions to the letter 🙏 

TC77, good idea re Brie’s artwork 🙂

QueenJess, very pleased to hear that you seem to be in a much better place mentally & emotionally 😊 You have had a very busy weekend 👏although I am hoping that you managed at least a modicum of self care 🙏 The TLC Carriage is still available until the 29th December 😉 At which time it will be closed for a couple of days for the staff to get some well deserved rest 😉 The ‘cleaning crew’ will come in & give everything a spruce up & a re-stock of comestibles before the EDT is recommissioned for duty in 2024 😊 I have everything crossed that today’s interview goes really well 🤞and that you are offered the job on the spot 🙏 Excellent decluttering 👏

Floss, I am sure QueenJess will let you move in provided you tidy up after yourself 😂

And on that note + the timer has gone off for the 2nd time 😉 I will call a halt to the cheerleading & do some knitting before returning 🙂

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 2339/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £569.00

Crazycatlady2

Youngest decluttered his germs to me so I'm under a blanket feeling awful with a coffee and a kit kat. All non essential cleaning and decluttering will not happen till at least Friday now 

Brie

Siebrie said:

@Brie If you hate net curtains that much, maybe opaque sticky plastic is something for you? There are many different designs and colours available.

TC77 said:

@Brie if you use the other side of the painting and want to give to someone else can you not cover the old side with some sort of paper or card backing? 

Siebrie - Frankly I hate all curtains, blinds, etc but nets are the worst of the bunch.  It's because I don't like looking through them at all.  If I had my way I would have no window coverings other than what might be required to keep out excessive sunlight in the summer.  And I think that needs to apply to opaque plastic too. 

Great joy about our home is that we have those velux windows upstairs.  When we bought the house and got the bed in place we discovered that we could lay in bed and look out the window up into a huge tree and watch the birds and the changing leaves, see the stars and moon behind it.  It's the best!!  So obviously the nets the previous owners had left on it were the first to come down.  

TC77 - good call!!  I shall consider that.