2024 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

London_1

Good morning chums ,well its two weeks today since we moved and its been quite hectic getting things sorted out. I am down to the last two of my boxes of stuff to unpack today. I already have a bag of stuff to go to the local charity shop when I go into Ryde next.
The weather has been pretty good although today is going to be a bit damp and drizzly, but this weekend coming it due to be wall-to-wall sunshine.

Two of my grandsons  Ben and Henry are coming down at the end of the month as they have a gap of a week between when they move from their old house to their new apartment .

DGS Ben is staying on for 4 weeks though, as he breaks up from his teaching job this Wednesday. He wants to do a good bit of fishing, and probably walking as well, he lives in north London, and although he loves his job and the children he also likes to get away from it all in the holidays ,plus he wants to do some gardening as he caught the gardening bug last year. 

His brother Henry can work from home via his laptop, so it's not a problem for him to stay for a week, then he will return to their new apartment . Dreadful rental costs but their old lease ran out, and the landlord wanted it back.

Between them they will pay £2.100 a month for a two bedroomed apartment in Finchley !
 They said its nice ,to me at that price it would have to be, but its London rents which are eyewatring.

DGS Jack takes his driving test later this month so I have my fingers crossed for him, as he teaches in a private boarding school in Kent and its out in the wilds and transport is a bit hit and miss. Luckily his girlfriend drives which helps.

DGS Mikey is staying in halls up in Essex at Uni, but is coming down at some point probably Bank holiday weekend with his girlfriend, so we will be like a revolving door of young men for the next five to six weeks. Then in September we have my daughters inlays coming for a few days, and at some point my sis-in-law,  plus a cousin and his wife. so we look booked up until mid September 

We also have to find time to get a builder organised to do the garage conversation for my sitting room. 

My son-in -law has a zoom interview tomorrow for a local job, and my DD yesterday put on the local freegle FB site anyone who needed packing boxes and had loads of replies A lady is coming this morning who is apparently moving so hopefully she may take a good few of them. It seemed a shame just to take them to the tip if someone can reuse them there is at least 30 plus in the garage at the moment all folded flat 

DD started her job last week in Ryde, and is really enjoying it. Plus she gets weekends free which she loves , and yesterday, and went for a swim in the sea at Yaverland just outside Sandown. It was pretty warm and she loves sea swimming.

I've been unpacking in the mornings, and after lunch going for a walk around the local neighbourhood. Its only just over 10 minutes from the beach and a nice walk with a decent cuppa from the beachside cafe as a treat.
I've certainly done a lot more walking since I've been here which is good for my joints and I sleep like a top.

So far all's been good and its turned out the best thing we have done .
I found a lady who would come and trim hair and she too moved over here from Richmond near Hampton Court and said she's been here two years and has said its just so nice to get some fresh air for a change and the pace of life is slower which she really likes. All the neighbours seem to be friendly so all good so far

Right time for a cuppa I think 

Onwards and upwards chums 

JackieO xx

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, quick pop in as I have been awake for hours. Not much done here over the last couple of days. Saturday the rain arrived before I got a chance to get anything done in the garden so just the kitchen bin emptied and some ironing done. Yesterday no decluttering done as it is OH's birthday next week and we started the round of celebrations with a lunch out with a friend. By the time we got home all we had the energy to do was lounge on the couch . Lovely lunch and I didn't eat again until 9pm, which was just a snack so I could take my meds .. I was falling asleep on the couch so headed to bed early and am now on my 2nd cuppa and wide awake.
The weather is cloudy but no rain forecast so I think I will head into the garden while it is still cool

Hugs to everyone who would like one

1042 kitchen bin
1043 ironing
Take care everyone
1043/2024

-taff

TC77 said:

Thanks for comments , you can see why we're taking so long to sort my dad's house. The little chinoiserie  pot has come home and the garlic press cleaner in case it fits my garlic press. The others were never meant to be kept but thought I'd post in response to Mrs Sd and quite like Google lens. Apparently the wooden scissors are part of a 1930s game sizzabola. I did take a cs bag with flasks, crockery and far more practical things. 2 boxes for the next tip run which DB will do and hoping some big things will be picked up!

Yeah, ignore anything I say unless you want not to

I have a friend whose house is packed to the gunnels with things from her parents home as well as her stuff. She can't get up the stairs very easily because it's all piled there too and she has three dogs as well. Another friend and I were quizzing her as to when she was going to rid [get rid as in donate, bin or sell] of the stuff , because she said she didn't want it, it took up too much space, she didn't like it, she wanted to move etc etc. But as we kept talking it became quite clear that although the words were coming out of her mouth, the heart and brain were not believing them. I think that when you read something, or see something or hear something that strikes that one chord in you where you realise that the stuff is not important, it's just stuff and everybody has the same stuff, just more or less epensive versions, you can easily get stuck in emotional connections to things and not be able to release them. They talk about a lightbulb moment on the debt free board, I think it's the same thing with stuff.

So sometimes, it can come across as I am particularly heartless and tactless..Possibly I am, but also possibly, I don't have such a strong connection to my things any more. Except kitchen stuff obviously

vulpix

Taff, I think you can have a light bulb moment about "stuff". I have virtually no emotional connection to my belongings or those of others! It's just stuff. I have no emotional connection to property either. Mr V can't understand it, although he has had a light bulb moment recently about the amount of stuff he owns. What I am bothered with is the responsible disposing of stuff. I hate having to send stuff to landfill.

 TC, ditch the garlic press cleaner and the garlic press too, buy lazy garlic or squish cloves with a knife. Life is too short to be cleaning garlic presses! I am not offering advice but when I emptied my Mum's house I only kept stuff that gave me a little emotional tug. like the Koalas which I bought my Mum on a school trip to Chester zoo in the mid 60's. I have enjoyed them for a few weeks and now given them away. I don't remember the school trip. The koalas were my Mum's memories.

 Wee Nancy, the giant bible although it looks very old isn't. It was given to Mr V's Grandma at the turn of the last century as a 5th Birthday gift. I bet she was thrilled! Mr V's Mum was an only child and Mr V is an only child. I am sure the Mormons have already got a handle on Mr V! What we do have which is much more interesting is a letter from a relative sending some winter boots to her poor sister. She had worn them 10 winters and thinks the poor sister with care would get many more winters from them! I think the poor sister was Mr V's Great Grandma. Sadly, Mr V's kids have zero interest in their heritage. His 18 year old Grandson is the same.

 It sounds like everything has fallen into place for you London 1.x

 I made an offer on the house today 10k under the asking price. It needs an awful lot of work. Waiting for a reply.

 I am actually in bed. Suffering from vertigo. Was in bed yesterday too. There is so much I need to do. I was just about to start the patchwork quilt.

 More Thrift stuff being collected today. I am lay here thinking of what I can sell. A sturdy clothes rail and some garden things for a start. I can't wait to be better.

 Vx

Fizz2015

Wow 430 posts to catch up on! Hello everyone. 👋 
Not sure why I vanished for a few weeks but I definately need this group to keep me on the straight and narrow with decluttering. House is getting overtaken with it all and causes arguments with OH and I. Mainly my stuff.
Sisters surgery went well and she is doing OK- thankyou for everyone's well wishes if meant a lot.  DD behaviors continues to be challenging and struggling with getting any support for it. Can almost break us at times.
Have booked a last minute holiday to Tenerife on 9th, all inclusive and will be taking Dd and Dss. Eldest is holidaying on own with friends and boyfriend.  Has stretched us financially but life is too short and we need a week of relaxation after a lot of stress. Will be eating out the cupboards and freezer but doing a couple carboots before we go. 

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

This is yesterday’s post which I forgot to send 🙊 as I fell asleep on the sofa last night & forgot to post 😉

Sunday: It rained early morning so felt a bit cooler at 11:50. Bright but overcast although the sun is trying hard to put in an appearance & temperature is already 21C 🙂 (although only set to rise to 23C) The clouds are less ominous now & there has been some sunshine but I have remained indoors watching episodes of Casualty - now only 14 episodes behind 😉 Bawled my eyes out as one of the episodes I watched was the episode called “Charlie” 😭  Spent the rest of the afternoon watching TWD. Some sunshine & no rain 🙂 Noticed that neighbour G &  family were back after several weeks away & not for a good reason. Sadly G’s father passed away - ‘erroneously’ discharged from a 10 day hospital stay, on a Friday & gone by the Monday. After hearing G’s description of what happened to his dad, I have used the word ‘erroneously’ rather than the words I would have liked to use 😠 All I need to say is that the Procurator Fiscal is involved 😔 As G was getting upset I offered a hug which was accepted along with 2 more & two for his wife who joined us whilst we were chatting. 

Sunday night’s dinner - we finished most of the salad stuff & the lo meats (which I grilled) from Saturday’s BBQ. Wudupa. 

1187 - 1190 Kitchen recycling, newspaper, magazine, large glass jar - recycled 

1191 Kitchen detritus binned

GrannyKate, pleased to hear that you are finally feeling better 😊 Some great decluttering 👏Good luck with the viewings 🍀

TC77, unusual items 😉 The ashtray is rather pretty 🙂

Well done on sorting paperwork & dealing with a year old frog, oceanspirit 👏 My freezer might not be full of soup but is full of ingredients for soup 😉 At least the ice lollies won’t be around for long 😉

vulpix, you would think so but in fact none of the three were as big as DH’s thumb 😂 Sounds like you are getting very excited about your next potential project 😉 I will keep everything crossed that you can find the required funds (down the back of the sofa maybe 🙃) Excellent & eclectic decluttering 👏 Also well done MrV for agreeing to let go of the family bible (I remember you posting about it previously 😉)

Hope everyone had a good nights sleep 😴 

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

DH Awards: IS A 💎🏅 🌟 🥰 🏅🏅

DSis Awards: 🏅 💐 💐 🤗 ⭐️ ⭐️

Decluttering Target 2024: 1191/2024

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £303.85

butterfly2507

hello everyone!

it's been a while i was on vacation and haven't been decluttering that much. however, i did find a few things to let go off, so the updates will come faster now

(42) stamps
(43) tights
(44) shorts
(45) photos on my phone
(46) food from the fridge 
(47) action figure
(48) pimple patches
(49) paper work

what could have been donated was and the rest was recycled have a good day!

ruby_eskimo

Had a busy Saturday with house packing and decluttering. 

630 - 642: random cloth bags given to a friend for various crafting projects
643 - 677: boxes and packaging recycled

2 new overhead lights were purchased for the new house ready for the electrician.  Hoping they'll go with the vibe we want.  The second bedroom is almost packed, just my desk to sort which I will do after work this evening.  There's also a whole bunch of things that I'm taking with me before I decide to declutter them or not, which sounds ridiculous but with everything going on at the moment, I'm struggling to make simple decisions so the less I have to decide the better!  I even had to ask some friends yesterday if I should take our washing machine with us to the new house 😆

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

Monday is an even duller start than yesterday 😕 Very overcast & rather dark + have already had a few spits & spots of rain + it is rather breezy 🙁 however the temperature is already 22C & forecast to rise to 25C 🤔 

-taff, wish I was more like you 😉 If I had found those bits & pieces I would have spent hours investigating unknown to me kitchenalia 🤣

daisy_1571, I was thinking that if I had found the weird rubber & glass/plastic thingy I would have spent hours trying to find out what it is was 🤣 I have resisted any temptation to investigate & will soon be caught up enough with the cheerleading that I won’t see the picture each time I open up the thread 😉

Good steady decluttering Pennypincin 👏

Nice to see you nannywindow 👋 Sorry to hear that RL has been so hectic 😔 but pleased to hear that your Dad is finally home 🙂 Although I can see that he is going to be a handful until he can come to terms with restricted independence 😉 Having said that, I imagine that your Dad hasn’t got to his age by being the easiest man to live with 😉 Please remember to take care of yourself & DH 🙏 Some great decluttering both at your Dad’s house & yours 👏 I think I need to take a leaf out of your book when I tackle my freezers regardless of my desire to avoid food waste 😔 Hope you enjoy hamster sitting 😊 Your comments about the differing personalities of the hamsters led to me wondering if they take after their owners 🧐 

Muddy_Walker, fingers crossed that it cools down a bit & that you can catch up on your sleep 🤞 I don’t think you are a ‘mean mum’ at all 😅 How lovely that your DH has been taking care of you 🥹 - definitely a ‘keeper’ 🥹

TC77, I tried looking up ‘sizzabola’ but could find nothing other than that it does appear to have been an Australian game 😉 It sounds like you & DB are finally getting to grips with tackling your Dad’s house even if it is not quite as quickly as you would like 😊 Keep up the good work 😊

oceanspirit, re your post “Mainly little bits of tidying, housework and some admin today.  I seem to be getting so much more done whilst OH is away, and the place is staying much cleaner.” I agree with daisy_1571, no connection (or correlation) at all 🤣

ionafan, I am still clutching my sides with laughter 😂 

Excellent decluttering florianatwobob 👏 I hope you spent the rest of Sunday relaxing 😊

Interesting post weenancy 😊

London_1, lovely post 🥹 It does my heart good to know that you & your DD are enjoying your joint decision to move to the IoW ☺️ Fingers crossed for your son-in-law 🤞Your decluttering before you left was obviously a great success & you must have worked really hard to only have two boxes left to unpack after only two weeks in your new home 🤩 A great decision 🥳 For that price, I would be expecting a housekeeper to be turning up several times a week 🤣

Liverpool_Anne, sounds like the perfect weekend 😊 I especially like the idea of early celebrations for OH’s birthday 😉

-taff it is that old adage “You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink” in play. Hopefully your friend will have her ‘lightbulb moment’ in the not too distant future & will also be brave enough to ask for help to get started 🤞🙏  As to you coming across as being “particularly heartless and tactless” I am more of the opinion that you are forthright, confident & determined 😊 There are many worse things to be attached to than ‘kitchen stuff’ 😂

vulpix, I think you have described yourself to a T 😊 "………..I have virtually no emotional connection to my belongings or those of others! It's just stuff. I have no emotional connection to property either. Mr V can't understand it, although he has had a light bulb moment recently about the amount of stuff he owns. What I am bothered with is the responsible disposing of stuff. I hate having to send stuff to landfill.” That letter …….. it sent me down a rather large rabbit hole wondering what on earth MrV’s great grandma would have thought at the time 🤨 Seems such a shame that MrV’s children & grandson have no interest in their family history 🙁 Fingers crossed that the offer is accepted 🤞 but meanwhile please try to have lots of rest & recover from the vertigo 🙏

Lovely to see you Fizz2015 👋 Sorry to hear that RL has been so hectic 😔 & I hope that things are calmer now 🙏 Always difficult to factor in decluttering when you have so much going on especially the worry over your DSis ☹️ However, now you have a holiday to look forward to, I think you might be better placed & more motivated to do quite a bit of decluttering especially if you can raise some funds for spending money 😊 Good luck with the car boot sales 🍀

Nice to see you butterfly2507 👋 Some great decluttering 👏 & I look forward to following you on your decluttering journey 😊

Very exciting ruby_eskimo 😊 Good luck with the rest of the packing 

Just to celebrate that I have finished the cheerleading the sun has come out & it looks like it might be around for a while 😊

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

DH Awards: IS A 💎🏅 🌟 🥰 🏅🏅

DSis Awards: 🏅 💐 💐 🤗 ⭐️ ⭐️

Decluttering Target 2024: 1191/2024

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £303.85

TC77

@QueenJessthe garlic press cleaner is the little white plastic stick item with plastic teeth and will only work if holes in the press match! It came home with me but will go I'd wrong size or doesn't work and the ashtray. Old game from mine out and some ood food.
Having discovered  Google lens increased my curiosity about what things are which did slow things down. Old notebook used up, complaint with broadband people resolved hopefully,  helpful person about a dd1 query on the phone. if I bring items back if not used in a short time get passed on