2023 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, just doing a catch up while waiting for tea to cook

@Dfw38 & @daisy_1571, if I had known you could have had it but it's gone.

@gettingthrifty, lovely pics of the hedgehogs

@Vulpix it's snowing here too and it's sticking

@Brie the China sounds lovely

@QueenJess, washing daily does sound like madness unless you have loads of kids, plus washing does wear out clothes so they won't last as long as they would if they were rotated through with others. I wouldn't worry about girls / boys clothes for DD until she starts to show a preference, after all atm all she needs is to be warm and comfortable and able to do the things she likes. Messy play is wonderful for growing brains and at least you don't have to worry she is wrecking something I wish I'd had a brother whose clothes I could wear, I was always being looked at sternly when I came home covered in muck . I think white socks were the bane of my Mum's life

So this morning I got to the post office so the old hub has gone. Then a quick wizz around the house and filled a big bag for the cs. Then home for lunch and a quick wizz round collecting dead batteries from so many stupid places and a trip to sm.
114 warthog cs
115 - 117 costume jewellery cs
118 - 119 clothing brand new and never worn but not me given as presents cs
120 125 mugs cs
126 fairy wand, don't ask cs
127 parcel posted
128 - 145 batteries recycled 
129 kitchen bin emptied and wheelie bin out for collection
130 shopping put away
.
Tea ready now so time to eat

Take care everyone
130/2023

Millie2008_2

@Dfw38, sorry, it's the two week wait to eliminate cancer (I work in an oncology related field and sometimes slip into the lingo!) It makes sense not to overwhelm your heart and a walking marathon sounds like a great compromise. I have been warned not to overdo it too, not that I was planning to run a marathon, but I am, by default, a very active person

Paspatur

Soontobeoap said:

Well an emotional afternoon trawling through photographs and greetings cards. I have thinned down the photos. Having taken out the fuzzy ones and some scenic ones that i couldnt remember locations of. Also some doubles. Basically the ones that i would delete from my phone these days. 

Then onto the wedding cards, baby cards 25th and 40th anniversary cards and all of the birthday cards and letters rhat children and grandchildren have sent through the years. I am afraid that they have all been packed back in box and put away again. DH came up at one point and asked why i was crying. I told him they were happy tears! Not sure he gets it!!! Anyway it was a lovely afternoon and a quarter of a bin bag cleared. I am counting it as 1 due to the emotional roller coaster I went on to manage this. 🤣. Then 7 year old Grandaughter rang to tell us that her poem has been published in a book. I asked if they could get one for me but it sounds like I somehow missed that boat so nothing else to add to the boxes yet. 

Cant believe how quickly those 3 hours passed. 😊

I asked my children what they would do when I die with birthday cards, Xmas cards etc. that they and the grandchildren have sent me 
They just looked at me like I was daft and said bin them
A few years ago I asked my 3 adult children if they wanted the school reports, merit certificates etc I had kept... nope... into recycling they went
I am even disposing of (printed) photos as my children will already have copies of their childrens school photos and I have no need to look at a photo of my 21 year old grandson at 5, those memories are in my head anyway and most are now digital
I am trying to declutter a large bookcase in my bedroom and 2 shelves have cd's
I no longer have a cd player and all music is available through other methods
I asked my oldest son what to do ( bearing in mind he 'made' me 100's of cd's from some copying site in his teenage years and young 20's) he said bin the fakes and donate the real ones
The less I can leave for them to bin the better
The best memories are in my brain not on paper or photos
And they know I love them without keeping mementoes
But we are all different, I have a daughter in law who has memory boxes of most of the years of her life
I have never really had the room for such things physically so keep them mentally

SecondStar

I hope you don’t mind that I’ve cross posted this to the frugal thread, but I need some help!

I appreciate that not every declutterer may be a minimalist/downsizer/tiny-house-dweller, but I’m sure there might be some overlap of interest, especially for those who are/have decluttered after a relationship has ended, and/or to move into a smaller home.

I went to view the first house I’m interested in, after breaking up with my ex.

It’s a little 1 bed bungalow. It’s 10k within budget, and could be negotiated a bit more. It has a lovely big garden, it has parking nearby, it’s within my search areas. It is lovely, but it is miniature.

31 square meters of miniature.

I have others to view, and I’ll take a second view of this too, but I’m trying to decide in my head if this amount of miniature is ‘bijou, tiny-living, minimalistic, simple-life’ type of miniature, or if it’s just plain ‘too small’.

But too small, for what? For other people’s opinions on it? For the copious amount of craft items I don’t actually use? For the furniture pieces I’ve inherited and would feel bad for getting rid of?

I do want to own less things. I want to buy less things. I want a home that is easy to clean, and not stressful to maintain. But how small is too small, do you think?

gettingthrifty

48 - 30mins clearing email in box
49- big frog eaten- finally sorted on line prescriptions to be delivered for elderly family friend..bit of a saga..now done
50- box of expired medication OUT

short_bird

@SecondStar
Sounds brilliant to me. Always an opportunity to get extra room by converting the loft or building an extension into the garden.

I'd be asking the following questions: what would the "parking nearby" rather than on the property do to your car insurance?
Also: do you like gardening? 
Finally, - and this may seem blunt because it's written - would the people that left you the furniture want it to stand in the way of your moving on?
Just one more thing: don't forget service charges if you look at a flat as well as things like communal heating systems. 

Floss

@SecondStar could you put a conservatory or sun room onto it?

When I split from the 2nd ex-husband in 2018, after 7 months alone in a large house I downsized to a 2-bed home where I am now. It’s hard, but try to think of your "future you" and not what you're moving away from. Financial security & a compact home which costs less to run are more desirable in the long run, and just think of how you can decorate to your own taste 😀

Factors I put into the mix for my new location were the easy walking access to GP & chemist, post office, buses to supermarket (when I no longer drive) and my sons regard the pre-wiring for a stairlift as hilarious 😁

I made friends with the local charity donation centre, was a regular at the tip, got rid of lots of unnecessary stuff & furniture on Facebook marketplace & Gumtree, my beloved double oven range & white goods were sold to my buyer, and I carefully calculated what furniture would fit where so I had to buy very little, just an IKEA sofa bed from Ebay.

Moorviews

@donna73 - I stock check at least once a year but I spoil the system by buying more things and not recording them. It does help me to avoid going and buying more and more packets or tins of the same things though. I am making some improvements to how I do it this year by writing the list in pencil and adding the BB dates. 

 mumf - I was very touched by your loving and supportive actions with regards to your illness. I hope everything goes as well as they can for you and that you enjoy your transformed space. 

Declutter Day 14 was finishing the store cupboard stock take. A little food has been thrown away as it was too out of date even for me. For the first time ever, I have recorded the Best Before dates so I can focus on using up the oldest items when I am planning menus. A lot of things don’t have anywhere near the kind of shelf life that I assumed; I need to be in ‘use it up’ mode rather than restocking, which will also save me money. 

Declutter Day 15 was dealing with low hanging fruit and finding some easy wins of obvious bits of rubbish and recycling. Made some almond milk to help use up the OOD almonds. Organised some returns and got them packaged up ready for the Post Office. 

Dfw38

That's OK @Liverpool_Anne, he is off having different adventures! although I wonder if at some point in the future he might pop up on this site when someone has received him as a present  and wonders what the heck?! 😁 if he does Daisy and myself are claiming him as mascot! 
Thank you for the explanation of the lingo @Millie2008_2, that is a relief for you. You must be feeling as frustrated as me with the lack of energy.
@SecondStar I would say go with your gut instinct. I always look at a house and ask "Is it 'future proof' to a degree e.g  is it adapted or able to be adapted for old age? Is there enough space for any hobbies, for having family or friends over if that is what you want. I obviously have no idea of your age etc etc but how long would you be planning on staying there? Can it be re-sold fairly easy if it wasn't for you or if your circumstances changed? If it is to be used as a stepping stone for another property is it something that you could add value to so that you come out with a nice profit? Or if it is your 'forever' home, is it somewhere you would like to stay forever. Also consider local amenities e.g. bus routes etc if you didn't or couldn't drive. Above all gut instinct, never let me down following it.

ilovetea

Evening.
Having posted for a few days as not a lot has been happening here.
You all seem to have been very busy. Sorry but can't remember who said what. Do remember the hedgehogs and the warthog though.
Have decluttered a few bits
220 kitchen rubbish.
221 Recycling.
222 E-mails. Not sure how many but seemed like a lot.
223-228 sachets of cat food that fussy mog wouldn't eat.
229 bag of biscuits she didn't like either.
230 Newspapers and mag to a neighbour.
231  2 mince pies ;-) box finished and recycled. 
232 knitting patterns. Don't knit any more.
233. Frying pan. didn't mean to get rid of this but the handle came off!!.
234-250. Very old craft mags in the recycling.

Hugs to those that need them.
Take care everybody
       ilovetea xx