2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

vulpix

OO, Thank you for mentioning Christmas cards, Sadly we got one for MIL yesterday from an old friend . I must find MIL's address book and write to the lady.

 Moorviews, I am the same with my bags for the chazzer, I think I have sent them off with Mr V and then he can't park outside the shop door so he puts them in the shed to be discovered at a later date! We are having a sort out today as when I visited bit by bit not all of the stuff for her was remembered.  I always have bags of stuff for different recipients, Mr V just can't keep up! I have had to raid my Mum's life time collection of carrier bags as I have none left. Obviously Mum doesn't know. Hahahaha, There are several hundred still in the cupboard.

 I am thrilled for Bella. Well done weenancy on looking after her so well when she wasn't even your dog. It's great that you can keep in touch.

Denni, My son is a big fan of the book of Mormon too, they have been twice so far. I am looking forward to it.

 I have surpassed my target of 4 items per day in 2023. DD2 turned up with no coat so she has been given one,she has also claimed some decorations off the tree.

 Must get on. Vx                Total 1,461

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

Not only did I make a second cuppa, but whilst I was in the kitchen I coated & seared a venison joint which is now slow cooking in the oven 🙂 Unfortunately I am having to use the main oven as the casserole dish wouldn’t fit in the top oven due to the raised handle on the lid 😔 Tonight’s dinner will be pulled venison - get me 😉😂 The wudupa has been done & I am now back to cheerleading 🤞

Liverpool_Anne, you obviously needed the sleep 😉 Excellent decluttering of clothes 👏 Very brave of you to postpone the gratification of using lovely fabric for new projects, worthy of a medal 🏅Just think how much nicer it will be to have the space to bring to life all your ideas + you get the enjoyment of visiting a few/several/many CS 😊 Great news about the “ACAS thing” 🥳 Hopefully the company will accept the revised suggestion & it will be in the young lady’s bank account by the end of the year 🤞as it sounds (to me at least) that the company would like to go into 2024 with a clean slate 🙏 Lovely cheerleading in the 2nd half of your post 😊

weenancy, such great news about Bella 🥳 The sad thing is that, if she has found a new home, you will no longer have your decluttering assistant 😉 I am so pleased that the time you have spent trying to re-home Bella to more suitable accommodation is looking to be time well spent 🤞

London_1, thanks for the reminder of the baking powder, vinegar & boiling water method of cleaning pipes 👏 Also an another great tip re the granulated sugar 🙂 Hope the baking went well 🤞I will be around later to taste test 😅 A belated Happy Birthday to DGS Ben 🥳🎂 Are the biscuits by any chance Twinks 😉 Mention of your “Happy Cash Stash” always brings a smile to my face 😆 such an uplifting phrase 😊

vulpix, a new one on me too - chilli powder going white 🧐 - just wondering if the smell went as well? Wishing you continued success in using up store cupboard ingredients 😊 Fingers crossed that your vegan pasta bake was a hit last night 🤞Totally in agreement with your praise of weenancy - she is a marvel 🤩 I am now having fun imagining you turning up at weenancy’s door, corralling her housemates & giving them a stern talking to - my imagination is running riot as I also have you wielding a rolling pin 😂 I have to disagree about you being desperate for numbers ‘wagging finger emoji’ as you are probably throwing away various pots & packaging as you use up store cupboard ingredients 👏

That is another page finished & another cuppa 🙂 So will post, make a 3rd cuppa & find something to do before returning 😉 P.S. the sun is still shining although it is quite cold. 

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 2507/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £679.00

Crazycatlady2

Nothing going out here just Christmas presents and food coming in 😂

Been reading but nothing has stuck so hugs or well dones as needed

4 more days till school holidays 😱

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 swept the kitchen floor & got the vacuum out whilst waiting for the kettle to boil. I would point out that I have seen neither hide nor hair of DH & DSis 🤷‍♀️ DH finally put in an appearance at 15:15 - just in time for me to check the venison. Still not cooked enough after 3 hours so has been put back in for another hour 🤞DSis has also put in an appearance - I assume she was watching TV in her room 🙂 Meanwhile I have been watching Vienna Blood & knitting a feather & fan stitch patterned scarf. Now back to cheerleading for a while - eating the elephant 😉

Excellent decluttering Brie 👏 You have reminded me that I have a fairly large supply of hand knitted scarves & hats now so I think it might be an idea to pop into the CS next week. 

QueenJess, sorry to hear that both DD & DS have been giving you cause for concern 😕 I hope that they are both fully recovered now & that you can fit in at least a short nap 🤞 Excellent decluttering by both you & DS 👏

EnergyShifter, do you mind if I ask what the course was? Good luck with your Christmas present shopping 🍀 Congratulations on getting back to your 1:3 ratio 🥳 I don’t think you complained that much about your bathroom renovations 🙂 

Brie, well done on decluttering the overseas parcels 👏 No nagging, just relief for you that they could possibly arrive in time for Christmas 🙏 I definitely think you should send your art teacher a card 😉 a reminder of the enjoyment you have experienced whilst taking the Art Course😊

charlies_tribe, I will have none of ‘that’ - you did far more than I did yesterday 👏 

Such brilliant new weenancy 🥳 Bella has been so lucky to have you caring for her 😊 & you must be so pleased that that she is near enough to visit 😊 I am not surprised that you are missing her already - she was your best roommate as she quite often assisted you in decluttering 😊

Just breaking off to have a bowl of hm soup (15 mins) ………. It was delicious 😋 Now back again

Excellent decluttering Pennypincin 👏 I hope you managed to ‘declutter’ the presents today 🤞

weenancy, so pleased that you got to see Bella & that she is so happy 😆 

Lovely post Muddy_Walker 😊

Another page caught up 🥳

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 2507/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £679.00

QueenJess

Another day of tidying, sorting and generally getting things sorted.  The house is looking a million times better, but still stuff that needs doing.  Had a lie in this morning as knackered from nursing DD last night. She's all better this morning, but now I can see dried blood in her ear and am a bit concerned about that.  So that'll be a doctor's visit tomorrow to just get it checked out.  If it isn't one thing it's another...

3 loads of washing done and hung out today.  I also made a pear and blackberry cobbler for after dinner, put DS's poster up for him, put all the dried clothes away, put stuff on Buy Nothing (and picked something up), put out stuff for Buy Nothing people to pick up, did endless tidying, soaked DS's school tops most the day to try and get them back to something resembling white, sorted all the games from my parents (so everything from my parents is now done!!!), sorted out the fruit bowl, rearranged the chest freezer so I can find everything, circled all the stuff I want to record from the Xmas TV magazine and rearranged my shoes/boots in the cupboard downstairs to incorporate some new to me stuff I bought.

Trying to keep to the 1:10 ratio roughly, but definitely ended up with more decluttering than tidying, but mostly because stuff to be tidied normally equals some stuff that needs to go.  There are whole swathes of side that are clear now.  Just need to keep going to get the last stubborn things done.  Also bought a couple of cheap second hand presents for DS's birthday (Feb), so very organised there!

Digital:
38,881-39,000 - items removed from favourites list

Physical:
39,001-39,006 - craft stuff used up
39,007-39,014 - DS tat recycled/binned
39,015 - very old sun tan lotion (binned)
39,016 - cleaning materials used up
39,017-39,021 - games (Buy Nothing)
39,022-39,023 - packaging (recycled)
39,024-39,025 - my clothes (charity bag)
39,026 - DD clothes (charity bag)
39,027-39,028 - DS destroyed clothes (recycling)
39,029-39,030 - packaging reused

Just 970 items to go until 40,000....  Probably will be scarily easy once I reopen my laptop and have a look at the files!

@Siebrie Gosh no!  I mean, they are pretty good considering my age at the time, but definitely don't want them on the wall.  Happy to leave them in my very accessible memory boxes which I show bits and pieces to the kids from.

Soontobeoap

1 very puffy petticoat my daughter lent me and a dress some one gave me that didnt fit decluttered to my daughters house. Numerous boxes from christmas gift packaging broken down and put out for recycling. A few bits sorted and thrown out from craft shed. Counting as 1 so I have hit my target for 2023. House is much clearer. There is more to do but I know that I wouldnt have got this clear without all of your encouragement so thank you all for your support. Looking forward to more decluttering, tidying and fixing up around the house next year too. 

London_1

Mrs SD my late old pal Nelski thought Happy Cash Stash a hoot bless her  I was thinking of her yesterday as her birthday was the same day as my DGS Ben's. We had a great time at an MSE Meet Up in Blackpool a good few years ago. A long drive from Kent to Lancashire, but the weekend was brilliant, and we never stopped laughing

The lad did a great job with the bulbs, and there were some left over so he said i'll plant them where the spuds were this year Nanny, and blow me down if he didn't find some more spuds still undug , not a great deal, but enough for tomorrow and Tuesdays dinner for me, so free, freshly dug tatties for two days  

Some serious decluttering tomorrow morning as DGS Jack now his school has broken up and he is home for several weeks is going to use his gym bunny muscles to move stuff for me as I have a tip run booked for this Saturday at 10.00 am in the  morning.
The tall cupboard in the lobby between the kitchen and the bathroom is full of junk that will be bagged and put in the conservatory for binning at the tip this week. There stuff that been stored in there for a good few years and its just got to go. 

JackieO xx

StickyTheStickInsect

I hadn’t realised that I had been away for so long and then saw that I had nearly 1000 decluttering posts to catch up on! I haven’t managed to read them all, so I hope that everyone is well.

The combination of M.E. and Long Covid has meant that my health has continued to take a hit and consequently, I’m not getting very much done, short of looking after the three littles and the bare minimum at home. I’m managing to volunteer at my children’s school in the library but that isn’t every week at the moment as I just can’t manage it.

I am hoping for better in 2024!

I have managed a bit of decluttering :

December – 2 miscellaneous bags to the charity shop and 1 bag of fabric recycling.

November – 1 miscellaneous bag to the charity shop and 1 bag of shoe recycling. An office chair and some perfume miniatures on our local freebies site which is the equivalent of 2 bags.

October - 1 miscellaneous bag to the charity shop.

September – 1 bag of mixed things of our local freebies site. DH and I cleared out the shed (again!) and got rid of a car bike rack, pop up tent, picnic blankets, some tools and garden equipment and some decorating bits. All of which is the equivalent of 5 bags. We also had a skip for a couple of months that was collected, so for the final push emptied the equivalent of 6 bags of various and random shed contents into the skip.

August – 1 bag of DH’s shirts to our local food bank and homeless run charity. 1 bag of cat related stuff to our local freebies site.

July – 3 bags of alcohol to friends and on the freebies site, as I’m too poorly to drink any more. 2 bags of fabric recycling. A broken double swing in the skip and a puzzle on freebies (2 bags).

June – 2 miscellaneous bags to the charity shop, a kids bike on freebies and a washing stand and outdoor table cover into the skip (3 bags).

I think that gives me a total of 34 bags, which if I add to my earlier total of 19.5, gives me 53.5 bags for the year. Having only just added it all up, this is more than I thought I’d managed and gets me past my annual aim of 52 bags. Given how truly rubbish the year has been, I’m more than happy with that.

Is there a new thread for 2024? I haven’t been able to find it but it was so much to catch up on, I’m likely to have missed it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year and hope to see everyone in 2024.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, not so much done in the last 2 days. Yesterday I was looking for a particular ball of yarn and couldn't find it so I had a sort out of my yarn. Consolidated a few bags and binned a bag of bits of yarn that I had saved for school. For godness sake I retired over 2 years ago so why do I still have it . I took the opportunity to sort through some of the rubble in the lr at the same time so lr bin emptied twice and the recycling bin emptied. So much random carp I just don't know where it all comes from. 2 gift vouchers checked and found to be used, why are they still lying around? . I did find a lost glove though so that is good I now have a pair though I don't particularly like them so they will probably go in the cs bag
Today I had a match but I sorted a load of washing and asked OH to deal with it. As I was going out the washing was still in it's bag in the hall, hot water had been put in the sink to do the washing up that has been littering the kitchen for 5 days and the radio was on in the back room as OH was going to do some ironing while OH was sitting in the front room drinking tea. I commented that it looked like OH didn't know what job was being done. When I got home from the match the washing had been done but was still in the machine, half of the washing up was done and 5 items had been ironed and OH was in the lr watching the tv waiting for me to organise tea. . I will sort the washing tomorrow! I was out for 5 hours and I have no idea what else OH did . I am exhausted with it all but I do feel as if I have a bit more energy now so hopefully I can turn into whirlwind mode tomorrow and get something done . 

@weenancyinAmerica such good news about Bella. I know you will miss her but she will be much better with playmates and it will be so much less for you to worry about. I hope all the roommates have been told no more pets. I know animals are great companions but they can be a lot of work as well as expensive and it does seem as if it all falls on your shoulders and you really have more than enough to cope with, hugs.

Right off to bed, hugs to anybody who would like one

1637 + 1638 lr bin emptied
1639 lr recycling emptied
1640 bag of bits of yarn
1641 vouchers checked and binned.
1642 lost glove found , getting desperate now
Take care everyone
1642/2023

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

Finished watching Vienna Blood. On the whole I enjoyed it although still not a fan of the character played by Matthew Beard 😉 The venison roast was cooked for about 5 hours & once I had removed all the string it was tender enough to pull apart with 2 forks. So dinner was pulled venison, mash, broccoli, cabbage & carrots with a drizzle of the cooking liquid. Yummy 😋 Two person portion (DSis can take it or leave it) of pulled venison put in freezer. Shop bought trifle for afters. Wudupa. DSis & I watched the last 2 episodes of Shetland - not impressed. 

2508 - 2510 Kitchen recycling, drinks cans, cardboard packaging - recycled 

2511 Kitchen detritus binned 

Deni_debt-free_dreamer, the declutterati are making a big push on their decluttering leading up to Christmas - apart from me of course 😉😉 Excellent decluttering 👏 A medal 🏅is on its way. Very impressed that you found a suitable Secret Santa gift for your boss - truly MSE 👏

Fizz2015, at least you have sorted out your Christmas 😊 I am still in Grinch mode 🤣

TC77, fingers crossed that you restricted what you brought back from your Dad’s house 🤞 You are correct - just 14 to go until you hit your target 👏

Siebrie, what a great idea 👏

Great cheerleading Moorviews 🙂 & Excellent decluttering 👏 I can see that you have worked out the most successful way of getting the bags to the CS 🥳 What a lovely compliment for both me & our fellow declutterati - I imagine we are all blushing ☺️ 

Oops, just noticed the time, so will post this & head off to bed 🙊

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

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

Decluttering Target 2023: 2511/2023

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £679.00