2024 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

To use Guineapigsqueaks/Sa1sysoo words “A new thread for declutterbugs in (2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021, 2022, 2023) 2024 !" 

My 2023 was another washout on the decluttering & decorating fronts. Neither DH nor I have managed to summon up any enthusiasm for anything. Not helped by DH’s health scare in March 😔

Our holidays in 2023 were restricted to Round Britain Rally trips around England & Scotland with DH going round Wales on his own. 

Because of the poor weather 2023 was a write off as far as home grown produce was concerned 🙁 although we did manage a couple of kilos of potatoes, some radishes, rhubarb & leeks 🙂 Sadly another year of no tomatoes, even though I had two attempts 😔

2023 was also a sad year personally as my uncle died - the last of the older generation on my side of the family 😔 Covid now seems to be a permanent fixture although we have been very lucky & have managed to avoid it so far 🤞 There are so many of us, for whatever reason, who will be glad to see the back of 2023 & welcome in a shiny new year. 

I do need to create a 2024 list of Good Intentions so I must sit down & concentrate  🤔 especially as I never quite got around to doing one for 2023 🙊 

Now to cheer you all up (a little at least 🤞)  a shiny new Decluttering Thread - “2024 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD” I have decided to keep “THE ELECTRIC POWERED DECLUTTERING TRAIN” in service because we have worked so hard to kit out the TLC Carriage with massage chairs, a spa, a jacuzzi, sleep pods, library with attached computer room together with a constant supply of tea, coffee, alcoholic & soft drinks & snacks with the emphasis on cake & biscuits + having a buffet section on all the other carriages 😅 Not forgetting the on call masseuses/masseurs. 

SO 2024 HERE WE COME  🙂

As has become my habit, I will start with a very concise explanation of the intentions & ethos of this thread gratefully ‘borrowed’ from oceanspirit 👏

“……..this thread isn’t just about getting rid of things, it’s about changing houses into homes, it’s about understanding ourselves and how we got into a mess in the first place and learning where we need to make new habits to prevent a rematch.

Mental clutter (frogs and long “to do” lists included) and electronic clutter as well as physical items contribute to holding us back from doing other things in life so keep posting for as long as you wish to continue.  I for one love reading about … projects … as it helps inspire me to continue to look forward to having both physical and mental space to get on with pursuing my dreams rather than moving things around all the time”

So with the above in mind who will join our lovely new thread?  ALL are welcome 👏 Whether you are doing a major declutter or a maintaining declutter. This will continue to be a supportive & encouraging thread - our aim being to declutter our lives of physical & electronic items & maybe even the stress of having too much ‘stuff’ plus keeping each other’s spirits up in these difficult times. A laugh & a joke, a shoulder to lean on & a place to vent (within Forum Rules) - is hopefully provided here.  A real bonus is that decluttering makes our homes safer &  cleaning easier 😉

Gold Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ will continue making an appearance, as well as medals🏅🏅

Plenty of options are available on numbering the clutter out …….

2024 in 2024 or 52 in 52 weeks even 366 in 366 days or maybe by room. If you are feeling really adventurous a la basketcase (2018) - you can weigh the clutter out 😉 There is also the option of splitting out the counting - Tasks Completed + Ins & Outs. 

Whichever numbering option you choose or you may choose not to number, we would love to hear both your success stories & your ways/methods of decluttering - they may not have worked for you but they may work for someone else. All ideas are gratefully received.

I am hoping that everyone who posted on the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 threads will also post on the 2024 thread 🙂 + we all love to welcome new people 🙏 

I know I am a bit late in setting up this thread but it can help to plan your decluttering - ‘To Do Lists’ can be your friends 😉 (Perhaps I should take my own advice & write a Good Intentions list for 2024 🤣)

So after another year of decluttering & sharing our journeys, please join me in my continuing quest to have a clutter free, tidy & decorated home with no hidden horrors 😆 I am hoping to see many of my old friends & hopefully make some new friends as well - my version of recharging my batteries is by reading all your posts, ‘borrowing’ decluttering ideas & cheerleading 😊

MrsSD aka Mrs Salad Dodger

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.

Muddy_Walker

Thank you lovely lady! Xxxxx

Betharooni

Hi MrsSD

Please can I board the EDT for 2024? I’ve joined a couple of times over the last few years but fallen off quickly but I am determined to get myself straight in 2024 and keep at it. My entire house needs a thorough declutter, but I’ll initially focus on areas with my stuff at the start of the year and then move on to decluttering the “communal areas” with my Mum and brother. Everywhere needs a thorough clean as well. In 2023 I was away a lot and was poorly for a couple of months so everything fell away and I can feel my mental health is suffering now so I need to tackle this.

I won’t be counting as I will definitely get confused if I do that but I will try to come on here and report what decluttering jobs I’ve done. Hopefully this will be a successful year for us all!

B x

Floss

Thanks for the new thread @Mrs_Salad_Dodger

MadamMim2013

Thank you MrsSD!!! 

Have always read along, even if not posting.. 
Your fabulous thread keeps me motivated!
💐

Wednesday2000

Thanks for the new thread.

I'm feeling pretty good about my home at the moment, but I want to keep on top of it in 2024.

charlies_tribe

Just popping in to wave and say I have my ticket ready and waiting. See you in a few days for 2024!

itsthelittlethings

I'm in. My goal is to get rid of the piles of stuff that live around my house on the floor reducing the floor space. It shouldn't take too long. I think if I commit to spending a half day every week tidying and decluttering I should have it done in a couple of months. Then a maintenance couple of hours per weekend.

QueenJess

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger thanks so much for the new thread and all the brilliant work you do keeping up with it all.

I will be back again for 2024 and here to lay out my stall for the new year:

I am quite far through my journey and am really maintenance decluttering now.  However, as I have very young kids, I have a high level of maintenance decluttering I need to do regularly on toys, clothes, books, paper (where does the constant paper come from?!) etc to keep it under control.  My parents also regularly try to scupper all my plans by emptying all the kids stuff from their loft (they kept everything!) into my house.  It takes me weeks to deal with it all whenever they visit, although I am on a preemptive strike and insist they take photos so I can filter out the things that can go straight to charity.  It only partly works.

There are other longer term items that I need to work on, including:
- Library - I have some tricky decisions to make in here re: sentimental stuff, physical photos and working through puzzles, craft stuff.  I also want to add all my books to my app so I never buy the same book whilst I am 2nd hand book shopping.
- Food - I have a habit of overstocking….
- Digital stuff - I am still working on minimising things here.  I still have around 10,000 photos I need to work through and I would like to delete some more online accounts and finally figure out how to get to inbox zero on a regular basis.  My aim on the photos is to have a small curated amount of these and then I will convert an old iPad I was given into a photo frame for them all.
- Generally using up stuff where I have overstocked - e.g. bathroom, cleaning stuff, wrapping paper/gift bags/packaging etc.

The overall aim is to keep on top of everything and see if I can finally get to the point where the house is actually completely tidy so I can fully relax at the end of the day and not see all the jobs I need to do.  I'm trying also to train up the kids and DH to help with this.  DS (he's 6) has been told to take all his stuff upstairs lying around the lounge/kitchen when he goes to bed everyday.  The small things should help, but as I tend to leave things lying around when they have no home/are too difficult to put away as the cupboard/drawers are too full or relate to longer jobs/decisions I need to make, the decluttering and tidying really do intersect for me.

I count absolutely everything I've decluttered partly for motivation, but also because it reminds me quite how much stuff gets amassed and stops me buying more things.  With that in mind I am going to keep my targets at the same as 2023 (which I smashed into smithereens!) and see how things pan out.  My total decluttering in 2024 should be decreasing given the amount I've done over the past couple of years, but I want to keep focusing on it so I have the minimum amount of stuff I am comfortable with in my house.

As a comparison, I started a game with myself in January 2021, which was to get rid of 1 thing on day 1 of the month, 2 on day 2 etc and then restart the next month at 1 again.  This gives you a total of 5,360 things every year (unless it's a leap year).  I kept track of the total so I could under/overachieve on any one day depending on how I felt and I have now almost completed December 2029!  Yes, that really is 6 years in the future!  So, overall in 2021, 2022 and 2023, I have got rid of about 48,059 things.  That is completely nuts and I miss not one single thing.

2024 decluttering goals: 🥉3,000 🥈4,000 🥇5,000 💎12,000 🏆 20,000

Happy decluttering everyone!

tiddles

Thank you Mrs SD. 

I’d like to sign up for 2024, please, and I hope to declutter at least 1098 items, which averages three per day, although I would really prefer to get rid of 2024 if at all possible, as we own way too much stuff!

Good luck everyone!

Mamaofmanybudgets

Can I join in please?!

Mum of 4 here, 3 bed house. A lot needs sorting. Need better storage options and just a decent declutter. 
I need to overhaul some systems I have in place, such as children's wardrobes, which just isn't working for us. 
I'm going to try track with ins and outs , also spends/ sales. Tracking what I'm spending on crap I bring into the house but also hopefully will sell a few bits too! I'll update that here if it works out. 
I'm hoping if I can get rid of enough stuff I can bring a few bits in to make my house more practical and homey. 🥰

Really looking forward to seeing others progress!