2024 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

Floss

GrannyKate said:

Yes @Vulpix - my proposed new agent said to expect a flurry of viewings as the first agent will want to get their commission.  If I sell I have nowhere to move to yet. Both agents selling possible properties which I first viewed more than 3 months ago have refused to let me do a second viewing unless I have a definite sale. (houses are both empty and have been on market 6 months)  

How about your DS booking the viewings?

diminua

I'm another one with things coming in rather than going out. Partly me (clothes, second hand books) and partly my aunt visiting Japan in April and coming back with stationery and magnets and tiny kitkats in different flavours - although actually I haven't counted the kitkats in my 'coming in' total as a) I don't count food items and b) they've all been eaten    
I have read quite a few books so those will go to the bookswap, but even then the balance will be roughly where it was in March. 

Soontobeoap

Busy week on the craft stash front. I now have a box of greetings cards made up and have cut up a lot of my polyester fabric for making rag wreaths at, a kids craft group. I have also cut back the camelia bush and made the branches into small round wreath shapes to tie the fabric strips to. When they all leave tge house I will count them as 1 bin bag full. 

Fizz2015

Evening All, Raining here after a nice day, just got the washing in time. This week has been about prepping for a large event in work yesterday (Thursday). All went well and I am exhausted so a few early nights and a relaxed weekend. Trouble is I'm not one for sitting and doing nothing. 
We do car boots, encouraging DD to help as she wants a new wardrobe for her room but trying to declutter stuff first. Hoping it will help her understand you need to work and save for things. We could just buy it but are teaching valuable like skills. All carboot proceeds will go towards it. 
Had some upsetting news, my sisters has breast cancer and will be having surgery flowed by chemo. I feel numb about it and don't think it has sunk in yet. 

Floss

@Fizz2015 I had BC last year, as did one of my g/f gang (she had chemo first, we both had surgery & radio, and I am on hormone therapy). Breast Cancer Now are a really good source of information for both of you: 
https://breastcancernow.org/

Best wishes xx

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

The bed was quite comfortable but the room was quite warm as we had kept the windows to avoid letting any insects in 😉 I slept for 3.5hrs, 2hrs & 1hr. Friday we woke up at 07:55 & were up, washed & dressed by 08:30. Finished packing the last bag & went down to breakfast at 08:45. Not quite as good as yesterday’s full Scottish breakfast but not at all bad washed down with good coffee. Returned to our room & collected the bags, coats etc, handed in the key 😉 & we loaded the bike. On the road by 09:50 setting off in sunshine, blue skies & fluffy white clouds which lasted for a couple of hours before the sun was hidden by darkening clouds 😔 although it did stay dry. We headed out to a place called Cove right out at the North West of Scotland down an 8 mile single track road. Talk about windy 😱 DH got a great upper body workout with a repeat on the way back 😉 We then headed east & stopped for coffee & biscuits at Corrieshalloch Gorge & ended up in Helmsdale on the East Coast 17:45 arriving in the rain which we had had on & off for about an hour. We are in room 10 of The Bridge Hotel - a very interesting building (lots of short corridors leading from the staircase) which is 208 years old 😊 There is no restaurant for evening meals so we are booked in next door at La Mirage, mainly a fish restaurant. 

DH had a shower with a hand held shower standing in the bath 😉 We turned up on time for our time slot but they were running late so we went for a short walk. We were finally seated 15 minutes late (the place was packed) - we shared a starter - salt & pepper squid in batter, then DH had large battered haddock, chips & mushy peas. I had lightly breadcrumbed lemon sole with a baked potato, peas & salad. Very tasty 😋 We were all finished by 21:15. Spent a few minutes outside then went back to our room. The wi-fi is practically non existent so DH has set up a hotspot so that I can post 😊 Hopefully I will be able to do some cheerleading tomorrow night 🤞

A lucky day for animal sightings: sheep, cows, horses, a pony, 3 llamas, rabbits, a cormorant & several kites/buzzards + unusual sight of the day ‘cows on a beach’ 😊 DH saw a rather large stag but sadly it was laying in a ditch by the side of the road 😔

I hope everyone has had a lovely day & that the weather was kind 🤞Cwtches to all 🤗🤗🤗🤗 

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

DH Awards: IS A 💎🏅 🌟 🥰 🏅 

DSis Awards: 🏅 💐 💐 🤗 ⭐️ 

Decluttering Target 2024: 974/2024

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £228.85

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

Popping back to post some cheerleading which I wrote up in Notes 😉

Great decluttering TC77 👏

Excellent work butterfly2507 👏 & yes you should count packaging & wrapping that you used to send sold items 😊

QueenJess, another one of your successfully completed challenges 👏😊

charlies_tribe, sorry to hear that you have been ill 😔 I hope you are all fully recovered now 🙏 Four birthdays in just over two weeks 😥- there can’t be anything left in your purse now 😣 Belated birthday wishes to DS1, DS2, DD1 & DH 🥳 🎂 Excellent work by DH in the garden 👏 As to your bags of clothes perhaps just list the best ones & donate the rest to charity 🤔 Excellent decluttering on your part & you have sailed past your target & there are still 9 days to go in June 👏🤩 I am awarding you a Gold Star ⭐️ for 2050/2024 - well done 🥳

vulpix, a lovely cheerleading post 😊 & thank you for sharing both your story & that of the lady who sorted herself out so completely - inspirational 👏 Very pleased to hear that MrV is fine after his op 😊 Good luck with your next session of trying on a few clothes & deciding their fate 🍀

Great cheerleading as usual Liverpool_Anne 😊 What you need is someone to ride so that you can be a pillion passenger - then you can take in all the sights & scenery + you can have a tipple in the evening 😅 If they have a nice big bike like a Goldwing there is the added bonus that not only is it comfortable but you might also get a chance to have a little kip 😂 So very sorry to hear about the situation with your friend & her husband 😔 I really, really hope she takes you up on your offer (& that of your other friend) 🙏 As you say even a little time spent away from the stress & hard work will help (both physically & mentally) The last thing she needs is to become ill herself 😔 Some excellent decluttering 👏 & I love that you have bypassed OH completely when making your decisions 😅 Hope you had a happy summer solstice 🤞

London_1, thank you so, so much for sharing such wonderful stories about your dear mum 👏 Perhaps you should write a book about your mum & then continue with anecdotes about your life 🤔 It would be both inspirational & educational 😊 A formidable lady taken far too young.

regnbue, I love that idea of “paying it forward” 😊 & I also love that you nipped out of the TLC Carriage to drop several bits at the CS 👏

Florenceem, another busy day at SA - you must be exhausted 😩 Hopefully locking the internal doors will prevent the misappropriation of food & the carelessness that led to food having to be binned 🙏🤞Just wondering if the 3 letters were all for the same medical issue 🤨 

I am still on DH’s hotspot so took the opportunity to do one page worth of cheerleading 😉 So will post & run. 

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

DH Awards: IS A 💎🏅 🌟 🥰 🏅 

DSis Awards: 🏅 💐 💐 🤗 ⭐️ 

Decluttering Target 2024: 974/2024

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £228.85

weenancyinAmerica

Up early to fed cats - including new kitten. Will be asking around to see if see belongs to anyone who wants her back. Still have not figured out how she got in our back garden - there is no room under the gate or under the wooden fence on the other side of the garden because we were worried about the husky digging under the one fence and tearing up the gate. Someone must have opened the gate for her to get in. But tomorrow we will be taking her to the vet just in case she decides this is her new home. I'm not sure that is a decision I have ever made - it has always been decided by circumstances for me. 

We went to our book sale and made $577.62 in the 5 hour sale. We will start using Zelle next month so this might start going up, but this is the highest one of our small sales has ever made. I say small because we used to have sales only twice a year with over 50 volunteers out in the parking lot and they usually last two days. Now just 9 volunteers run each sale, inside, for 5 hours. But we did have 66 carts of books, puzzles, DVDs, CDs, and vinyl records. Fortunately we also have 6 library workers who also help out, 3 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, with moving carts into place and then back into the other room. 3 of us, including me, move carts out but I just sit and watch as the carts get put away. Then over the next few days we will go in and rearrange and get ready for the next sale. Between the time we left on Thursday an hour before closing and arriving on Friday before they even open, we had over 12 new boxes of books show up. It is like Florenceem with the SA donations, they just keep coming. 

Came home to collapse and rest by working on the computer. Managed to declutter over 120 e-mails. And come on here to read a lot. I figure reading on here keeps me sane. So thank you to everyone who is posting even if you think your life is boring. It isn't.

 

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, 

@Florafauna nearly 2 years since I retired and I still miss the kids but luckily I still live close enough to have a meet up with colleagues. A few have followed me into retirement, a few have changed jobs and a few are still working at the same school. We meet up about once every half term for tea in a pub, very relaxed, meet if you can make it, no pressure and it seems to work well. Good luck with it all, you will probably be a bit emotional but you know you have made the right decision for you

@Gers thank you for those links, I will pass them on to my friend. I can see they would help

@Vulpix, yes the Shetland islands are very appealing. I do like Scotland a lot and have had a few nice trips but I must confess to being sometimes put off a bit by the midges. I usually end up looking like I have a disease of some kind as I react quite badly to their bites even when I use a heavy duty repelant. I was once told the east coast was better but they lied . So glad Mr V is recovering so well, long may it continue . Hope your trip to Nottingham went well.

@Fizz2015 big hugs

@Mrs SD loving the sound of your trip, google maps is getting a lot of use

@weenancyinAmerica well done on the book sale. I expect some of the people who buy the books bring back and donate the books they have read which is great as it all helps the library as well as people who struggle to buy books new.

Well yesterday I was like a wet rag after only a few hours sleep so very little done. A bit of sorting, 2 LDFPA and a quick visit to the sm.I did watch some football though . I tried to get an early night last night but typically despite being knackered I struggled to get to sleep and I was awake early listening to the birds singing so I am just going to see how much I can get done today as it is all really starting to annoy me now, I am even annoyed with myself

Ok off to get another cuppa, hugs to anybody who would like one

905 & 906 LDFPA
Take care everyone
906/2024

Wednesday2000

I went to get my manicure yesterday and I was feeling very tired and hot. I had an upset stomach the day before and I still felt "off". The lady who does my nails looked quite surprised to see me like that as my hands were shaking. I'm just stressed at the moment with my husband being medically retired and thinking about moving house. 

I did a meditation last night in bed and it made me feel more relaxed, but then I had a bad sleep as I still felt sweaty and hot. It is thankfully cooler this morning and it has just rained. My dog is being picked up to go to the kennel this morning for two days. I was going to go out to eat for lunch today, but I don't feel like it now as I still feel a bit sick. I think I will just drop off the donation bag and then buy some snacks and watch the football at home to relax. The donation bag has a pair of jeans, two dresses and two jumpers. I looked through the fridge and I have a ridiculous amount of tomatoes so I need to use them up in some way today in a recipe as we are at a hotel Sunday night for the concert as well as eating out tomorrow.