2024 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

ruby_eskimo

Great news @nannywindow - like others have said I hope you've given yourself a little treat to make such a momentous occasion.

@dND and @Liverpool_Anne we're probably going to have our new place re-wired if all goes through so thank you for the tips, I'll keep them locked away in my brain for when the time comes.

On the list of things to achieve today is cleaning the bathroom - I've already washed the towels, wrapping birthday presents and icing a cake I made for said birthday celebrations.  I'm leaving the real decluttering fun till Monday when the kitchen won't know what's hit it!

Brie

Virtual flowers and champagne @nannywindow

Meanwhile struggling against the tide as the OH ordered half a dozen or so LPs yesterday afternoon which miraculously were delivered this morning.  He has 4 out of 12 cubes in the Ikea cupboard full so I've said he can have another cube but he'll need to clear the glasses out of it.  hopefully he'll take that to heart and get rid of some of the excess wine glasses.  I swear we could outfit a street party if required.  It's that or get rid of our photo albums (haven't been looked at in at least a decade so maybe??)

Wednesday2000

We just took our dog for a walk. It is actually very warm and I feel like I caught the sun a bit. We dropped off the two donation bags in the way. I added a few more jumpers that I never wear.

Siebrie

Most of the stuff from the home office / RoD has been sorted, among remarks from husband as 'can I throw away whatever is still here?' and 'do you really have to check every single page?' (No and Yes, respectively). One carbootful has been delivered to the recycling centre.

Husband finally got round to booking his trip to his motherland; he'll be gone 23 June to 18 August. I have already printed out calendar pages for June, July and August to start planning the summer so it doesn't fly us by. June is pretty much filled up with end-of-school tests and other activities. The pages will go on the kitchen wall so we have a clear overview.

We all went to the dentist and are all fine. DD1 asked for 'aligner' braces (the most expensive option), but the dentist sided with me that it's not really necessary; the orthodontist had suggested breaking the lower jaw and putting braces on both lower and upper teeth, taking about 3 years for something that's not really a problem (she had a slight overbite, but a gorgeous smile and no problems eating). DD2 will have to have braces (the corner teeth are above the rest of the teeth, and the lower teeth are juggling for space) and we are starting the procedure in July. It will also take 3 years; most of it reimbursed by national health insurance and dental insurance.

I have reinflated the 2 balls we play with, and have filled in a form for our new electric bike that gives us a year's extra warranty for free.

We have sold a children's bike for €80, and a faulty electric bike for €120. That money is in my secret moneystash.

I'm not really in a good place right now: I'm 52 and I've decided I don't want to grow old in this village, where I have no friends and there are no shops in walking distance; dds have a few friends around here (but only 1 each in the village itself, 1 of which will probably move further away within the next 3 years), but not BFF's. I love the house and garden, but the lack of social contact and ease of life (everything nearby) is wearing me down. Husband has been making sounds of leaving Belgium and moving back to either The Netherlands or Africa (or 50/50).

Floss

Siebrie said:

I'm not really in a good place right now: I'm 52 and I've decided I don't want to grow old in this village, where I have no friends and there are no shops in walking distance; dds have a few friends around here (but only 1 each in the village itself, 1 of which will probably move further away within the next 3 years), but not BFF's. I love the house and garden, but the lack of social contact and ease of life (everything nearby) is wearing me down. Husband has been making sounds of leaving Belgium and moving back to either The Netherlands or Africa (or 50/50).

Which option would be best for you & your daughters?

machasraven

  Im glad I gave everyone a laugh - watch out there will be more I'm good that  I will give you another laugh when I interviewed and got the job but afterward I was informed that I had said something else apart from organisms ahem. The best laugh was when I was told one of the interviewers asked the next candidate what they knew about the word I said.
I'm starting to feel more me, fever seems to be going and I am eating abit more not my usual gannettness (if that is a word if not it should be) but more than last 2 days. 
I have decluttered more tissues and plenty of bubblebath as have had lobster baths to ease this virus.

Chieveley

Siebrie said:

We have sold a children's bike for €80, and a faulty electric bike for €120. That money is in my secret moneystash.

I'm not really in a good place right now: I'm 52 and I've decided I don't want to grow old in this village, where I have no friends and there are no shops in walking distance; dds have a few friends around here (but only 1 each in the village itself, 1 of which will probably move further away within the next 3 years), but not BFF's. I love the house and garden, but the lack of social contact and ease of life (everything nearby) is wearing me down. Husband has been making sounds of leaving Belgium and moving back to either The Netherlands or Africa (or 50/50).

I still have your very old thread bookmarked https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6245592/divorce-slowly#latest
Is divorce slowly still likely? (hope i don't look like a stalker)

ilovetea

Hello Haven't been on here for a while. 127 posts to catch up on and I'll admit that I haven't read through them.
Apart from putting rubbish and recycling out nothing has gone   On the plus side nothing has come in apart from groceries and cat food.
Promised my self that tomorrow things will go!!!

   ilove tea  xx

Happy_Kitties

156) found another collection of takeaway lids (no containers) in the cupboard so they have gone into recycling
157) with the lids I found garlic bulbs that had almost set up their own house they had been in there so long- food recycling
158) sorted out another big chunk of cardboard recycling
159) broken plate-binned

Have more things to drop off but at the Dunelm collection points so far
160-161) mugs x2 dropped off
162) bag of wool found in my living room cupboard from when I cleared out DMs house- dropped into Dunelm craft recycling point

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks + a weekly Mini Mission in May

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

Wednesday: Good morning from a very overcast Cornwall. Had a reasonable nights sleep - asleep by midnight, woke at 03:00 & 05:00 for bathroom visits & again at 07:00 but not going back to sleep. DH has checked the weather forecast & if we are lucky we might just miss the rain as we travel around 🤞🤞 Packed up & went down to breakfast at 08:45. Full English breakfast was delicious 🤤 only thing wrong with breakfast was that the coffee was tepid at best 😔 but it did do its job of rehydration 😉 We are heading off shortly - hoping to be on the road by 10:00. Actually left at 10:10. Stayed overcast & threatening rain until 12:00 when it brightened up for an hour - saw some blue sky & sunshine. Tuesday we discovered that DH’s camera needed charging but guess what - no cable 😔 so our first stop was Curry’s, then Halfords & B&M - no joy so DH has had to use his phone to take the photos of landmarks. Weather went back to being overcast. Serious delays on the A30 due to roadworks & then two cars caught fire two miles apart. About 14:20 we were in Liskeard so, rather fortuitously it turns out, DH dropped me off at a coffee shop whilst he went to the landmark. I ordered coffees & cakes & DH arrived about 14:50 so had time for his coffee as the shop was closing at 15:00 😮‍💨 We had a couple of minutes of light rain before we turned off the main road & then managed to avoid all the rain 🥳 Animal sightings: cows, horses, sheep, a couple of kites, pheasant & an alpaca. Arrived at hotel 17:30 just as the wind was picking up as a prelude to rain which started about 18:45 & tipped down for at least an hour. Unable to get wi-fi so won’t be posting until we get home 😔 For dinner we shared a scotch egg with hm piccalilli then chicken schnitzel & chips for DH & venison pie, mash, carrots, green beans & broccoli for me washed down with a couple of beers & water. In our room before 21:00. I watched a couple of hours of TV & was asleep well before midnight. 

Thursday: Up a couple of times for bathroom visits. Fully awake at 07:15 so packed bag & watched a bit of TV - Endeavour. DH was up, packed & dressed by 08:00 & we went down to breakfast about 08:25. Delicious full English breakfast & hot coffee 😉 Went back to our room, collected the bags, coats & hats. Packed up bike & were on the road by 09:30. An overcast start to the day but no rain 🙂 Travelled through Somerset, Wiltshire & Dorset, avoiding most of the twisty country lanes 😉 & photographed 3 old landmarks & 2 new ones. Met a couple at the last landmark who were also doing the RBR & chatted to them for a while. Then headed home. The weather was almost perfect for motorcycling - overcast but with many sunny interludes although it could have done with being just a couple of degrees warmer 😉 Stopped off at Fleet motorway services & had coffee & a bun. Were intending to top up with petrol but at £1.73 a litre changed our minds 😥 Got into London - fairly smooth journey until we got past Chiswick & into the centre where the roads were jammed & the pavements were crowded with pedestrians who thought that it was fun to walk in the road at every opportunity 😱 Eventually arrived home just before 19:30 (still have enough petrol to get to MrS & fill up) Unloaded bike, I made coffee & within 20 minutes of being home, DSis dished up dinner - chicken in a creamy cheesy bacon sauce with mashed potatoes 😋 DSis also wudupa. 

So all in all a lovely few days away, the weather was reasonably kind, we had comfortable rooms & delicious meals. We rode down some interesting roads & saw some spectacular scenery + got some riding practice in preparation for a longer trip to Scotland next month 😊 

Friday: I missed the sunny weather this morning 🙊 It has been overcast for the rest of the day but no rain - so far 🙂 I finally finished the scarf & have started another one 😉 so have been knitting whilst clearing down programmes from the planner. DH has been watching MotoGP practices & catching up on sleep. DSis went out to sm. Dinner was sausages, mash & beans. Wudupa.

815 - 821 Kitchen recycling x 2, drinks cans x 2, two plastic bottles, paperwork - recycled 

822 - 823 Kitchen detritus x 2 - binned

Liverpool_Anne, an excellent day of decluttering & task completion on Tuesday 👏 The neighbour across the way is definitely determined to keep his independence - to the detriment of his health 😔 so I will keep my fingers crossed that he finally accepts the help that is being offered 🤞I hope you enjoy using your hand operated sewing machine 😊 Another lovely cheerleading post 😊

weenancy, a very busy few days 😱 Hopefully you can find some time to rest & relax 🤞 Sending healing vibes for your sister & a belated Happy Birthday to Di 🥳 🎂 

Lovely post daisy_1571 😊

Florenceem, sounds like MrF’s appointment went well 😥 Fingers crossed that the diverticulitis is easily treatable & that there is no issue with the ultrasound results 🤞 Shame that your glasses haven’t appeared yet but I am still hoping that they turn up 😉

Lovely to see you ruby_eskimo 👋 & with such great news 😊 I remember you saying you were decluttering to get “move ready”  & now you are on the move 🤩 Good luck 🍀

vulpix, Fluffy looks so contented 😌 I think I would like to come back as a cat 😉 Lovely cheerleading post 😊 Hopefully the fireman is still a neighbour & can help get the sofa out of your Mum’s house 🤞Your dress sounds perfect for our Orient Express adventure 😊 We still don’t have a start date as I would like to catch up with the cheerleading 😉 I will be making a concerted effort to catch up over the weekend 😉

Excellent decluttering QueenJess 👏 I see that you are still making progress on the mini clothes decluttering challenge 👏

Nice to see you short_bird 👋 Excellent decluttering 👏

Absolutely brilliant news nannywindow 🥳 Of course you can come aboard the Orient Express & please bring your DH - you could both do with some TLC & some fun 🤩 I will be making sure that one or two of the fashion houses we visit make gentlemen’s clothing 😉 It is all very well for the ladies to be dressed appropriately but we do need to make sure the gentlemen in our lives are also suitably attired 😊

Sorry to hear about the ‘fluish cold’ machasraven 😔 Hopefully you are feeling better now 🤞 The dress sounds beautiful & those shoes are perfect 😍 We are definitely having the full Orient Express experience - “the full breakfast to evening buffet along side the wonderful sit down meals” The waiting staff are all being fitted for their uniforms & are eagerly awaiting their chance to impress us with their professionalism 😊

More excellent decluttering QueenJess 👏

vulpix, well done on finishing all the clearance & cleaning of your Mum’s house 👏 Hopefully the actual sale will not take so long 🤞Well done to MrV for his sale 👏 I am hoping that you will use the funds raised to treat yourselves 🙏

Some more great decluttering Liverpool_Anne 👏 More lovely cheerleading 😊

Sounds like we were luckier than you (& my DSis) with the weather 😮‍💨 

Moorviews, pleased to hear that you are looking forward to the Orient Express trip 😊 I hadn’t noticed the typo in machasraven’s post - I automatically read it as ‘flapper’ 😊 Excellent use of the time you had to spend indoors due to the foul weather 👏 Some great decluttering 👏

Lovely post daisy_1571 😊 especially “…………….. However, I know we are all the epitome of decorum so the orient express staff won't have to deal with behaviour unbecoming” 🤣

Excellent decluttering Wednesday2000 👏 I hope Thursday was sunny & you managed to have a lovely day at the beach 🤞

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

DH Awards: IS A 💎🏅 🌟 🥰 🏅 

DSis Awards: 🏅 💐 💐 🤗 ⭐️ 

Decluttering Target 2023: 823/2024

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £166.85