2024 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

vulpix

 Hi, lots of baby frogs eaten today. The list of jobs was "accidentally" thrown out with the recycling. Hahaha. I can't remember all of them but we did a lot. In between I have given the step stool 2 coats of undercoat and the 2 doors from under the stairs cupboard have had 3 coats each side. The doors had never been painted before. The joiner repurposed the old 1865 pine door that was in a different place before the building work. Someone had stained it dark brown and I couldn't face trying to strip it. Tomorrow I will gloss them with some paint I already have which is a similar colour to the kitchen cabinets. I have decided to lengthen the sittingroom curtains slightly. A bit of a fiddly job. I have some of the fabric left over from making the door curtain, I may have just about made the darned things from scratch!

 Thanks for the nice comments about the bag I made. Those tapestries would have been chucked if they had gone to the charity shop. As you may have come to realise, I always have a project on the go. Big or small, always planning the next project.

 I am sorry to hear that Mr puppy has been in the wars. You too TC77.

 Florafauna, you don't mess about! Same for you Grannykate. All very exciting.

 Get well soon for people under the weather.

 Vx

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks + a weekly Jettison Junk in January

2. Sort out sleep patterns - target bed by 2:00 a.m. & up by 9:00 a.m 

3. Deal with mail & email on a daily basis

4. Don’t put it down, put it away + deal with mini tasks as soon as they are noticed e.g. refill olive oil pourer or salt cellar, stitch up a hole in a garment etc

5. Commence ‘Operation Frog Tickling’ using the acronym - I.R.I.S. (Identify, Research, Implement, Sign Off) - One per quarter

6. Continue to keep kitchen clean & tidy - before going to bed 

DH has repaired the toilet flush 👏 I am dressed & have dealt with several days mail which I had not felt up to dealing with - a foggy head is not the best companion for dealing with finances 😅 I am now about to tackle the repair on DH’s jeans 😉 Repair completed 👍 Two loads LDFPA. I made cottage pie from scratch which we had with cauliflower 🤤 DH washed up the pots & pans which I dupa. Then did the rest of the wudupa.

274 - 279 Kitchen recycling, drinks cans, newspaper, uu cough medicine glass bottle, 0.5” paperwork, booklet - recycled

280 Kitchen detritus binned 

I haven’t posted a photo for a while, so 

Daffs, croci & even the hyacinths are making a bid 😊

Brie, fingers crossed it all works out 🤞

nannywindow, yippee to DH tidying his office without being nagged 🥳 Will wonders never cease 😊 Although I am at a loss as to why he didn’t take the carrier bag of rubbish to its final destination 🤷‍♀️ Great work with the kitchen cupboard 👏 That was so funny 😹 we might have to book you for stand-up 😉

TC77, very sneaky those dishwasher doors 😉 Joking aside, I hope you are OK 🤞

Florafauna, good luck tomorrow - fingers crossed your offer will be accepted 🤞

Cwtches ilovetea 🤗

Excellent work dealing with frogs, vulpix 👏 Surely recycling the “list of jobs” was part of the decluttering 😊

All caught up so off to bed now 💤 

MrsSD: I AM A ⭐️ - 🥇 🎖️ 💐 🌟 🏅 💐 🎖️ 💐 ⭐️ 💐 💐

DH Awards: IS A 💎🏅 🌟 🥰 

DSis Awards: 🏅 💐 💐 🤗 

Decluttering Target 2023: 280/2024

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £18.00 

London_1

Good Morning chums just decluttered two bags of recycling the bin men come at 7.10 a.m. so at the moment the bags are in the porch, and will get put out dead on 7.00 as there is a curtain-twitcher opposite my house who gets very cross if they hit the pavement before the allotted time of 7.00 a.m. I always give her a wave as I put them out which must irritate her a bit there's always one in the street isn't there  

I have four books to take with me to coffee morning this morning so more to get given a good home.

I do have a cupboard to sort out in my kitchen thats full of elderly kitchen gadgets that are no longer used so I will have that to do this afternoon

I just had a dig around the freezer to see what I can declutter for dinner tonight and found an unmarked pack of something in batter ??? which I've got out and put on a plate to defrost. Haven't a clue what it is, so tonights dinner will be  a Russian roulette one. if once defrosted I decide against it I have some fish fingers to fall back on I have lots of veg etc to go with it. I do like to live dangerously at time  

  JackieO xx

Florafauna

@London_1 your curtain twitcher tales make me giggle especially the cheeky wave you enjoy doing! I follow the same policy where the ruder someone becomes, the more formal and polite I become.
Anyhow, no decluttering will be done today except maybe money as we'll be lunching and buying drinks when we are out and about. 
Have a good day all

TheEmerald

I know that decluttering really is not a numbers game and what has taken years to accumulate cannot be removed overnight but I feel stuck so yesterday I set myself a target of 50 things out.
The items have been listed separately to encourage me to keep going and I am repeating the target again today - fingers crossed!

325 Metal box
326 plastic bodywash r/c
327 Bathroom bin emptied 
328 Bedroom bin emptied
329 Body lotion r/c
330 Mug bin
331-336 Books and manuals r/c
337 File c/s
338 Dart tag c/s
339 Lego c/s
340-glass item r/c
341-344 Sport Programs
375 Video bin
376 lampshade 
377 glove 
378 Year Book
379 broken hole punch
380-392 Dried up pens
393-394 plastic trays
395 plastic bags bin
396 cardboard packaging 
397 pillow sham bin
398 solid wood glue
399-405 paint r/c
406-410 candles bin
411 large bag of wood from garden 
412 big bag of paper r/c
413 big bag of rags
414-423 glass jars and bottles r/c
424-425 shoes
Todays Target 50 items out

Physical 425/2024
Digital 2810

QueenJess

Had a day off yesterday, although I'd already got a list of decluttered items after my last post.  No idea what I'm going to tackle later, so it might be a general walk around and find things as I tidy type of day.  I tried to get DS to get rid of a couple of things that have sat there collecting dust for over 6 months and are never used, but he wasn't in the mood (maybe it was a first day back at school type of thing).  He loves Sort Your Life Out though, so hoping he'll be inspired after that.

Digital:
50 - emails deleted from permanent folders
7 - online accounts deleted
1 - notes deleted
12 - photos deleted

Physical:
10 - DS tat recycled
1 - clothes (charity bag)
1 - game (Buy Nothing)
1 - broken keyring (binned)

New total = 3,980

Liverpool_Anne said:
@QueenJess I really don't know what to suggest, you are obviously so stressed by it all. Your children are a bit young to be taking responsibility for keeping their rooms tidy without help even though your ds does seem to be getting the hang of it . Hang in there and I am sure they will be able to help in a couple of years . As for the stuff your parents bring is there a way you could put the stuff they bring into the garage or somewhere the children don't see it, not new clothes or birthday / Christmas gifts, so you can sort it before they see it. I know you will still have to sort it but at least you won't have to deal with the children wanting to play with it etc and maybe your parents will get the message. Just a thought. I think taking stuff to dd's nursery is a good idea as I know from experience toys don't last long in those settings providing they are happy to take them. As for books if they are in reasonable condition they could also go to the nursery maybe. I am also wondering when you get time to do things for you. Maybe you should take some time to do something you enjoy on a regular basis even if it's just going for a walk. I am thinking that as you are wfh that you spend a lot of time in the house and so those things that annoy you are always in front of you iyswim. If you can build in say a half hour walk during your lunch break and get away from it for a while it might help with your stress. Hugs

I would love to hide things, but my parents come in and immediately show the kids what's in the boxes and I don't have a chance.  If they tell me in advance what they are bringing I can usually curtail it, or tell them I want to hide it away because I may use it for birthdays etc and then they don't let them open the boxes.  The garage made me chuckle as it is DH's area and I fought for over 3 weeks just to put a freezer in there!

You are quite right that as I'm trapped at home I see this stuff all the time.  I did do a cheeky extra gym session last night though, so I wasn't stuck in the house.

wort said:

@QueenJess check out minimal mom on you tube , she has 5 children and has some great tips. Xx

Hi - thanks I've seen her stuff, but I find her a bit irritating and I don't really relate.  There is a definite lack of UK "normal" house minimalists out there posting!

I think I just have to plough on somehow and hope it gets better.  DH doesn't get it and thinks I shouldn't be bothered about this stuff at all... it's ok for him as he's not the one who ends up organising and tidying it all up.  I tried to convince him that DS's room is never tidy because he can't keep it tidy as there's a bit too much in it.  DH tried to argue we just need to add more storage, but I know all that does is mean DS fills up that and then what?  So DH changed tact and said he's 7 and so isn't he old enough to do it all on his own anyway and we shouldn't need to be involved.  *sigh* He's only just turned 7, not 17!  Up to me then.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, ventured into the garden again yesterday but it was very breezy and I got cold quite quickly so came in. After I warmed up I sorted the post and emptied the kitchen recycling then I just pottered about but I did finish the scarf which took longer than I expected as I ended up doing 6 rows and the cast off . In some sad news my friend's Mum died. She has been fragile for a while and the family were alerted nearly 2 weeks ago and they are all exhausted but it was very peaceful and she was not alone. I am not sure when the funeral will be but I expect I will travel to Oxford for it, lots of very happy memories of times spent with her. In some good news we have booked the cabin for our little holiday. We haven't been able to book the hawk walk yet as the organiser is on holiday but has replied to a phone message to say send an email and they will sort it when they get back. We have decided to go anyway
I have started to sort my clothes. I have far too many but it is something I struggle with. I have realised I wear the same things all the time. T shirt and jumper from the top of the pile in the draw / wardrobe, they get washed and put back on the top of the pile so some things that I really like never get worn. From now on rotation will be happening and anything I no longer like or doesn't fit will be removed and either go to the cs or cs rag bag or maybe altered if possible and I can do it. I am eyeing up some white cotton shirts that probably won't fit but the fabric is lovely. So 1 jumper into the cs bag so far and a window decoration thing that I came across in a draw. No idea where it came from and never been used

I have realised I have not answered a couple of questions so sorry for the late reply but sometimes things just slip my mind @Vulpix re the blue john broach. I am not sure I would wear it more often as a pendant. It is quite large, about an inch and a quarter with a filigree type surround, I think it's Victorian but I could be wrong. It is lovely as a broach I just don't have a coat with lapels atm but I could use it in other ways if I think about it, I just tend to be a very casual dresser, for that read trousers and t shirt with a fleece jacket . I do have a nice summer weight long jacket it could go on, I will investigate as it is a shame I don't wear it more . So glad saint Rachael has worked her magic, it must be a tremendous relief to get things moving, hugs.

@Mrs SD re the flour. I haven't spotted anything in this new bag of flour but the last 2 lots I had had to be chucked out due to flour beetles. The 2nd lot had been stored in a different cupboard in a different room just in case I hadn't completely eradicated them when I cleared out the first lot so I came to the conclusion that the eggs, which are tiny and wouldn't necessarily be picked out by sieving, were coming in with the flour. I did an internet search and it said flour can be kept in the freezer for 2 years and as there is no moisture in it it doesn't freeze in a solid block so you can take it out, use as much as you need and put the rest back in. So I have decanted it into a strong zippy bag and it seems ok. You could use any airtight container, to keep moisture out, if you don't have zippy bags.  I did read that all flour should go into the freezer for 7 days when you first get it to kill off any eggs etc, not in the original paper packing as this would absorb moisture, but I will just keep mine in there now. I should say if you find anything like this in flour it really should be thrown away as even if you get all the beetles out you would be lucky to get all the eggs out, they can be almost microscopic, and depending on how long they have been in there there is a problem with the beetles waste products, poo, which can taint the flour. I did some research on these beasties when I worked at the pest infestation control labs in Slough and they are little b***ers to control, once they are in a flour store or mill the only way to really get rid of them is to get rid of the flour and do a very deep clean of the whole place, steam cleaning several times as no effective chemicals can be used as it is food so would poison the food. Hope that isn't too gross and helps .

@London_1 if my bins were collected at 7.10 but you couldn't put them out until 7 I doubt mine would be emptied regularly . Ours are emptied early but the whole road puts them out the night before, nobody seems to mind here though our binmen are very good, even if the bin is just left on the edge of our property but not kerbside they will take them. Sometimes we just forget to move them kerbside . I bet the neighbour will miss her little wave on bin days more than you will miss her . Things like that can start a war

Right off to get another cuppa, I have a load of washing on the line, first load I have risked outside this month so fingers crossed it gets even part dried as there are a couple of heavy cotton tops that take days to dry on the maiden. Hugs to everyone who would like one

270 kitchen recycling
271 - 273 300g yarn used for scarf
274 cabin booked
Take care everyone
274/2024

vulpix

OOh,LiverpoolAnne, the broach sounds lovely and being old will be good quality. Blue John is running out as it is only found in one hill in the world. There are places with similar deposits but not the same. When I was little my Grandad had a friend who lived at the bottom of Winnats pass in an old railway carriage. He would pick pieces of Blue John up whilst out walking his dog, he used to give me pieces every time I visited. I only kept a piece about as large as your palm, I think my son has it now. My Uncle worked in one of the shops and you could watch him cutting the stone and making jewellery through a window at the back of the shop. It is very brittle and prone to breaking which along with it's scarcity adds to it commanding a high price. Have you ever been to Chatsworth House? They have some incredible items made from Blue John.
 I am sorry to hear about your friends Mum.

 London 1, your neighbour will definitely miss you when you move.

 Mrs SD, daffodils haven't even thought about showing their selves where I live!

 Vx

tibawo

Been a while- seems like people are making a dent in the decluttering.
Got fed up with waiting for the girls to put stuff on vinted so done it myself. I tend to price things to go. Think i’ll just take the jeans etc to cash for clothes. All the money goes in the big whiskey jar toward xmas day out! I also do it as that skint dad 1p challenge so know roughy what is in there! 
I got myself a mini portable dish washer for xmas - it only does 2 place settings but the timer is 29 mins so i whizz round doing jobs whilst it’s on. Finding it a great motivator/help in keeping on top of things.
got sinus issues today so head pounding… counting the time until i can have next painkillers!

foxandflowers

Thank you for my medal and gold star Mrs SD Added to my signature with pride. 

I have been having great fun playing around on Excel whilst I am supposed to be working - and so have been able to add up and categorise everything I have spent on physical items so far in 2024. I'm sure it won't be of interest to anyone but me but I've been taking inspiration from Energy Shifter's in and outs so my breakdown is as follows:

Total spent = £279.34 on 21 items. 
7 things have been for me, 6 things for Mr Fox, 1 thing for Mini Fox, and 7 things under "General & Gifts"
£143.12 has been on second hand items
£43.54 was spent on a belated Christmas gift
92.68 on 'new' things. 

I have however, made £468.10 decluttering so far this year in total. I still have lots of birthdays to go, redecorating to do, and Mini Fox needs new clothes (do all nine year olds shoot up like weeds, or just mine?). But it's quite a good feeling to be able to have tracked all the incoming items, and know that I've spent less than I've made and got rid of considerably more than I've brought in