2024 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

Happy_Kitties

391)-395) Dun elm bags of joy x5 dropped off today
396) a gift box that I’ve had for a couple of years was used for one of the bags of joy
397) big bag of cat food sachets- recycling point
398) broken Christmas bag that the cat food sachets were in-recycling
399) was eating my dinner when the fork decided to split into two-recycling

i will get to 500 before December 31st!!! 

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks 

2. Sort out sleep patterns - target bed by 2:00 a.m. & up by 10:00 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

What I have seen of Saturday is damp & overcast with a high of 15°C. I was up very late so will concentrate on catching up with the cheerleading interspersed with detailing with paperwork. DH went out for his walk 15:50 after filling up the bird feeders which he was prompted to do by a blue tit sitting on the door handle looking into the kitchen 😅 DSis has just popped out (16:15) to collect the last of her meds. We have had some light drizzle 😔

Excellent decluttering & completion of tasks Liverpool_Anne 👏 I love the way that you label busy & productive days as “reasonable days” 😊 Very pleased to hear that you have managed to stay safe whilst climbing up & down ladders 😮‍💨 Good luck with your banking App 🍀 & was relieved to hear that your bank manager was so pleasant 🤞although I still think it is a diabolical liberty that your Bank is forcing you to use an App 😡 Thanks for the reminder about waterproof walking shoes/boots - I confess that, for me, it is at least a 10 year old frog or should that be Cane Toad 🤣 I also applaud you for “ranting” on behalf of weenancy & FlowerPot 👏😊 

Excellent decluttering Wednesday2000 👏 Hope you have been successful in booking a bulky waste collection 🤞

London_1, how exciting for DGS Ben to see a red squirrel for the first time 🤩 So pleased that the weather is being kind whilst you & Ben are out & about 😊 It does sound like the builders are cracking on with the conversion 🥳 More excellent decluttering 👏 especially as you had done such a good job when you moved 🤩

Excellent work Brie 👏 Especially impressed that George’s web is still intact 😊 & no it doesn’t make you weird 🥹 

Lovely to see you BudgetingBelinda 👋 Excellent decluttering 👏 So pleased to hear you sounding so positive 😊 

Excellent work in your craft room daisy_1571 👏 You are definitely motoring along 🤩 Good luck with the photos 🍀 

florianatwobob, any chance of a photo of Sidney Spider’s cobweb as it sounds beautiful 🙏

suzeesu2000, nothing sad about getting excited about decluttering so much ‘stuff’ all in one go 🤩 So pleased to hear that you & DH are now recovered enough to tackle the laundry 😊 Well done on getting so much done 👏 However, please take plenty of rests until you are both fully fighting fit 🙏

Excellent decluttering Happy_Kitties 👏

Great work with the reading oceanspirit 👏 Well done to your OH for finishing the shed painting 👏 Good luck dealing with the 6 year old frog 🍀

Excellent decluttering D123456789 👏 especially using up all your vegetables making a soup 🤤 

GrannyKate, sorry to hear that you were feeling a bit “anyhow” yesterday 😔 However you still got a lot done 👏 I hope DD is safely home now 🤞

TC77, you devil you 😈 Not sure I would class a four storey house as downsizing 😂 Personally I would ignore the EA until you are ready 😉 The cynical side of me just thinks that he is trying to drum up business 😱😔 & I do question why he thinks anyone would put their house on the market so close to Christmas 🤨 Steady progress with your decluttering 👏 Good luck dealing with the frogs especially the one involving your ex 🍀

Yippee suzeesu2000 🥳 No wonder you did a happy dance 🥹 after all you now have the space ☺️

I broke off from the cheerleading to do the prep for tonight’s dinner which is mushroom risotto. Must admit to being sick of the sight of mushrooms now 😉 but it won’t last long 😅 DH just phoned 17:40 & will be home in about 15 minutes. Actually took 25 minutes as he was further from home than he thought 😉

Lovely cheerleading Liverpool_Anne ☺️ I do hope you are having a relaxing Saturday after all your hard work in the garden 🙏 A job well done especially as you took all the garden waste to the Tip 👏🤩 I loved this “While at the tip a man in a van came to help me with one of the big tonne bags and just pushed the whole bag into the skip. Luckily I was hanging on to the handle. I gave him a hard teacher stare as I heaved it back out. Oh you want the bag he said. Yes you are not allowed to put the bags in I said, see that big sign!!” I wish I had been there to see & hear 😅 I’m with you, not really sure what has happened to 2024 😥 

Fizz2015, congratulations on passing your Project Management exam 🥳 & great work decluttering the paperwork 👏 Good luck with listing on V*nted 🍀

florianatwobob, belated congratulations on completing your PRINCE2 Practitioner exam 🥳 Hopefully your brain has stopped hurting now 😉

Great news London_1 🥳 The renovations are coming along a treat & by the sounds of it will be completed well before Christmas 🤩 I will keep my fingers crossed that the weather stays fine so that the plaster dries quickly 🤞 You have had a new lease of life since you moved to the IoW 🥹 Becoming a minimalist 🤩 very impressive ☺️ You might just have to write a book 😉

Gers, thanks for the reminder 👏 Just wish I had some toys to donate 😔 

Excellent work TC77 👏 I hope that as well as ‘helping’ you make decisions on decluttering the cats are still on ‘Rug FlatteningDuties’ 😉

Great work dealing with frogs oceanspirit 👏 I think you are just flexing your ‘frog clearing muscles’ before tackling the 6 year old one ☺️

Excellent decluttering GrannyKate 👏 Very generous of you to clear DS2’s cardboard mountain 😇 Grr to solicitor 😡 I imagine it is hard to get excited about moving when you are in limbo 😔 Good luck with the wheelbarrow 🍀

Excellent decluttering Happy_Kitties 👏 Yes you will get to 500 ☺️ By the way I have been remiss 🙊 I owe you a Gold Star ⭐️ which is on its way (should have been awarded when you reached 375/500)

And breathe 🧘‍♀️ It might have taken all afternoon but I am caught up 🥳 Just in time to make dinner after I have a cuppa 😉 I do hope everyone has had a good Saturday 😊 Cwtches to all 🤗 

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

DH Awards: IS A 💎🏅 🌟 🥰 🏅🏅

DSis Awards: 🏅 💐 💐 🤗 ⭐️ ⭐️

Decluttering Target 2024: 1894/2024

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £471.70

TC77

Mrs SD, The house was really a room per floor so kettle in the basement and bathroom at the top - but very pretty! my occupational therapist friend would have been horrified except it had a entrance door level with the pavement so age friendly!
Cats seem to like the rug.
Took the CS bag and rags bag into CS, been reading stuff for dd1 and some filing. Off to watch TV and relax. Have posted a few things on free and sale sites. I find that trying to sell things focuses my mind that I just want the out and often have posted and within a couple of hours moved them in to the CS. However, when people interested to buy I do then rethink maybe if its nice enough someone wants to buy maybe I should keep it! 
@Happy_Kitties and others who are so generous does encourage me to give more away so thank you.
Have a bag of craft things to find a playgroup or similar, added a bag of chalks to this earlier today.
Mrs SD, and others hopefully there will be some sunshine tomorrow!

oceanspirit

1 DVD to go in CS bag.  Found a couple of lamps that OH was supposed to take to recycling centre ages ago, so they can definitely go next time he has enough to make it worthwhile.

Need to put myself in the naughty corner.  Still haven't done the 6yo frog, but have started on another folder of yet more papers.

I am determined to be finished by the end of the year and to start 2025 in maintenance mode so had better get my skates on!

Will have to find more for OH to do off the master list as he has nearly completed his current list.

daisy_1571

Well I seem to be working my way round the room. Emptied a cupboard, lots out to the box of stuff the school may want, stuff bucketed, stuff re boxed into better fitting boxes for the stuff and for the shelves.  Definitely looking at things and asking will my life be any different if I get rid of this.  Cant say the answer has often been yes.

I've got a little box of sentimental stuff.  My grandas old passport and driving licences (from the 50s I think).  My dads paper licence, my grandad in laws diary, individual pages from dilbert calendars that I got most years when working - kept the ones that still make me laugh, some other bits and bobs.  Not ready to let them go yet but im OK with them in a little box just now.  Nice to have it all in one place rather than all over randomly. 

Emptied a rolling trolley, some things into the cupboard, some things elsewhere.   A magnifying light that has sat on the floor for 3 years is now in the trolley.  In the trolley was yet ANOTHER  bundle of cross stitch magazines.   Found three more duplicates, 1 opened the other that hadn't even been opened.   The problem of not knowing what you have so buying another.  Waste of money. 

Watched another Colombo too. 

A flood day

Take care everyone dxxxx

TC77

 @oceanspirit yeah maintenance mode by the end of the year! 
@daisy_1571, i know what you mean about questioning if life would be any different without it. At one level I think I could do without about 70% of my belongings but that's quite scary  but would be easier to find the other  30% and to clean! How lovely to have all the sentimental mementoes together..
Been watching TV and sorting out bank stuff, paper declutter and plastic wallet.

suzeesu2000

Thank you MrsSD, we are almost fighting fit now and certainly feeling MUCH better.

Today was spent going through things and putting stuff back into the sitting room. Found a beautiful set of photo frames, 4 in total ranging in sizes and still in their wrappers so they are getting ebayed this week along with a leather jacket and some of DHs watches he has been collecting. 

Sunday will see me in our downstairs loo, where I have a set of shelving and store all my cleaning products. Have a few washing liquids and some other bits that can go to foodbank and will make some room for my glass lantern to be stored. It was a gift from DH and I can’t part with it. Should make some space anyway.

Dont forget to reset your clocks tonight. Extra hour in bed!!

Happy_Kitties

Mrs SD thank you for my gold star, I will add to my signature now

Thank you @TC77. I’ve been through many life experiences that have shaped me. I  was a child of the 70s that grew up in neglect that my parents hid well. I see some of the good work the projects I donate to and what they do and think how I would of loved something like that when I was growing up in the situation I did, but aswell it was very different in the 1970s. But if I can do it (and I always love a bargain along the way to get more goodies for my pennies) then I will. I know that while  I can’t change the lives of everyone, if I make the change for just one life, that makes me happy and drives me forward to keep doing it while I can and DDs have also inherited the charity bug. 

I was working on my next 5 Bags of Joy last night so will soon be smashing thru the 400 total!

vulpix

 Urggh, sleep avoiding night.

 Hi folks, you are all very industrious.

 Had a lovely day yesterday with DS, DIL and baby V. Baby V, not his usual charming self as he has had some vaccinations, still very entertaining non the less. 

 We are all off to Sheffield for Vulpixtober feasting at DD1's after the visitors have been to see my Mum. 

 Good news on the decluttering front. Out, a big dolls house and a box of dolls and furniture, half a dozen little things for DS's printers tray of curiosities AND 12 forks, 12 knives, and 12 spoons to DD1. She asked us to bring cutlery and I said no need to return it. Also out, the pumpkin hat and a little jumper for DGS. Christmas bunting, advent calendar and probably more things I have forgotten about. In, more books from DS for me to read. Once a teacher , always a teacher.

 Had to laugh at your teachers look Liverpool Anne.

 Gotta scramble. Vx

GrannyKate

Morning all.  For anyone feeling guilty about frogs I have an 11 year old one somewhere in packed boxes.  I think I have concluded I could just shred it all.  DD on her way again after series of mishaps - horse broke fence, SoniL needed rescuing with his bike just as she was leaving etc.  I seem to be making more mess as I go along - place looks chaotic again.  SiL tried to change clock and fell and smashed cat litter tray - she is cat sitting at her daughters. I have left the only clock with wrong time and taken it off wall.  

1361 Microwave to tip - it will no longer clean inside and looks disgusting (think toaster is slowly dying in sympathy)
1362 8 weeks worth of photos downloaded 
1363 Packing stands at 66 boxes and 8 bags

A couple of small frogs to do next.