2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

basketcase

@sqwiffy
So sorry about Aussie.  Budgies become part of the family too. We had one (Mickey) who just turned up one day as a young bird and nobody claimed him.  So he stayed with the family for the next 23 years.

Florenceem

Better weather here.
I have already been to get some shopping at Ald. I nearly left my phone at the self service checkout - my mind is all over the place.
I have also taken a trolley and bag full to the charity shop.
Just having a cup of tea and a chocolate bar.

jacwins

I'm still struggling to keep up on the beauty front, but other areas are going well.

I finally finished a moisturiser that I won't replace, but that was it.  When I went to meet some friends for lunch, it was by a clothes bank.  1 full bag taken 5 items and double whammy as they were in the playroom - the room of doom.

I ate a pad thai kit from the cupboard that's been lurking for ages and a ood tin of sweetcorn into sweetcorn soup.  DD won't eat tinned sweetcorn so it just sits there.  I also cooked and froze the end of a bag of green lentils, so easy to use in ice cube size from the freezer.  Not counted, but nearer using them up.

Cross with DH as he went into town and didn't take anything to the charity shop!  We both want the playroom sorted.  He wants to go big and do it all, but I say until we get time to do that, take stuff when we get a chance.  He won't start unless he can finish it.  Not sure how to get over that...

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks
2. Concerted effort to sort out sleep patterns - Realistic targets: bed by 2:00 a.m. & up by 10:00 a.m 
3. Continue dealing 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: I woke up at 08:40, put my dressing gown & came straight downstairs, made a cuppa & decided to catch up on the cheerleading 😉 The weather is far better today - bright & dry 🙂 Both the household waste & recycling wheelie bins have been emptied.

Lovely cheerleading vulpix 😊 Excellent decluttering by MrV - he has caught the bug …….. finally 👏🥳 & earned himself a Gold Star ⭐️ Congratulations on the continuing weight loss 👏 Where has the time gone, it only seems like last month that I was looking at Up Helly Aa photos 😉

Florenceem, another busy morning of decluttering & dropping off bag loads & trolley loads of items to the CS 👏 Please, please be careful out & about in the awful weather 🙏 I hope that yesterdays hospital visit resulted in a more measured & reasonable conversation from the hospital therapist/s 🙏

Wednesday2000, well done on taking another class 👏 3 in a month should see you sail through your challenge of 25 classes in 2025 😊 Excellent decluttering of toiletries 👏 & I like the idea of having hand cream in every room 😊 

daisy_1571, Good luck with Mr daisy’s book 🍀 I will keep everything crossed that you find an agent quickly🤞which will encourage you both to complete the writing 😉

QueenJess, sorry to hear that you are also having to battle the medical system 😔 I will keep my fingers crossed that you won’t have to wait too long for a treatment plan 🤞

Crazycatlady2, excellent work tidying under the bed & dealing with solicitor 👏 Good luck to your eldest for today’s job interview 🍀 lots of positive vibes heading to the crazycatlady household 😊

Florenceem, I am appalled at this treatment 😨 The NHS at its very worst 😡 no wonder you just walked out. I do hope common sense finally makes an appearance & that MrF is Not discharged 🙏

I will break off here to thank all our truly wonderful Declutterati family for all their support & concern for Florenceem & MrF 🥹 Just wish we could do more in practical terms 😢

suzeesu2000, good decluttering & well done to your DH for starting the laundry & doing the cooking 👏

sqwiffy, so sorry to hear about Aussie 😢

Muddy_Walker I hope you are on the mend after you emergency hospital admission 🙏 Please take care 🙏 I will pass This “…… that the very naughty dogs said in their defence: They had never seen wool/yarn before. It was ball shaped. Mums treats come in carrier bags so that was obviously a new treat for them. It was ball shaped 🤣🤣🤣🤣” to my DSis 😉

🤩 Dizzycap, What an excellent day’s decluttering 👏 It does beggar belief that a single doctor’s surgery could be so spectacularly disorganised 😔 Very impressed that you didn’t spill your coffee 👏 if I fall asleep with a drink in my hand I am usually awake within minutes as I have spilt it all over myself ☹️😉

Lovely cheerleading Liverpool_Anne 😊 Excellent decluttering 👏 & very well done on getting your AA membership renewed & at a discount 🥳 Your prompt action & persistence has earned you a medal🏅 

Florenceem, I see that common sense still hasn’t managed to reach the hospital 😔 What on earth did they think you could do at 10:10 p.m. 😠 

GrannyKate, I had a quick scan of the document you mentioned - very heavy reading ☹️ Sorry to hear about your upset tummy 😔 rest & relaxation is the order of the day 🙂

Lovely post Duchess2 😊 Good luck with your washing & ironising 🍀

Moorviews, a lovely & wonderfully supportive post 🥹 Hope you feel better soon 🤞

Florenceem I am keeping everything crossed that today is a better day 🤞Cwtches for you & MrF 🤗 

Great work jacwins, both on the decluttering & using up of food supplies 👏 No ideas re how to get your DH fully on board with the decluttering ☹️

All caught up 🥳 Will have a 2nd cuppa, write a shopping list for DH & DSis, get dressed & then head off to the P.O. Hope everyone has as good a day as possible 🤞

MrsSD Awards: 💐 🌟 ❤️ ❤️ 🏅 💐 💐 💐 🏅🥉🏅 🎂 🌟

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 189/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £5.00

vulpix

Aww squiffy, that is so sad. He had a lovely life with you, be comforted by that. x

Thank you for Mr V's gold star Mrs SD.

 Liverpool Anne, the thingy Mr V made was an "equipment rack", I am none the wiser.

 I am sorry to hear of people unwell, Take care and feel better soon.xx

 I know what you mean about January lasting forever, It has felt even longer than ever before this year.

Took yet another handbag to the charity shop yesterday. I think I must have halved my collection over the past year.

All of a sudden we have about 30 surplus coat hangers. I will keep a few and recycle the rest. I have a surplus plastic shoe storage box now too. I have got rid of almost all my fancy going out shoes. I have had to admit defeat with da feet! I have screws in my left heel which I can feel when I try to wear a fancy shoe.

Laters Vx

London_1

Good gracious the site is definitely flying away.This morning I thought as my eldest DD is coming over for the day next week I would sort her out some photos.

.After decluttering lots of stuff from unpacked boxes from our move 6 months ago I found I have so many photos I have just bundled them all up together and they are in a plastic storage box, and when I next go to the mainland I will drop them off at her house and she can pick the ones she wants to keep and I'll bring the rest back with me.I've spent around 50 odd years before I got my mobile phone taking photos of family and the children growing up and there must be hundreds to go through so if she takes her pick then her sister does as well the rest I will sort through and declutter the ones not needed/wanted. 

I dropped off a bag of odds and ends at the charity shop yesterday when I went into town to the dentist. I know I will have another bag to go by the weekend. No point keeping so much junk /clutter it just takes up space I'm definitely in a minimalist mode now

Hope everyone is OK and surviving the storms we had a corker a couple of days ago, thunder, lightening hailstones and torrential rain followed by a half hour of bright sunshine until it went very black overhead and down came the rain again
Today its at least dry so far just cloudy, but we have sunshine forecast for tomorrow.

Golly January is such a loooong month isn't it.But the bulbs are galloping away, and I spotted the first primroses in the garden this morning and the snowdrops are still going strong,  only just over a week and the boys are coming over to see us for the weekend

Henry shot off to Porto for two days last week his pal was out there with his girlfriend, and they split up, so last Friday he grabbed a cheap flight for £35 and went out to commiserate with him (aka a buy-my mate- a -pint-or two) then flew back home on the Sunday.
He's definitely a traveller that boy, he says its cheaper to nip away for a couple of days with a last minute flight than stay at home and just go down to the pub he also got the chance with his mate to tour the Porto football club where apparently some famous footballer plays for (I know zilch about footie)
He's off to Thailand with some Uni pals in April for three weeks then I think he has a few days in Malta in June. Luckily he has a good job, and his hobby is to travel when ever he can. 

I'm quite happy to stay put where I am I think I've seen everywhere I've ever wanted to see in my life and where I live on the beautiful Isle of Wight is ideal for me, 10 minutes from the beach and only a few minutes to get out to the countryside. 

Started going to a couple of knit and natter groups and a coffee morning here so getting out and about (at least when it stops raining)

Onwards and upwards chums 

JackieO xx

QueenJess

Floss said:

@QueenJess ask for a referral to your nearest Women's Health team (maybe in a local Women's/ maternity hospital if you have one). If the GPs refuse, ask them to seek Advice & Guidance on next steps from that team for you.

Thanks Floss.  I am now at the stage where I have one GP who is lovely and really helpful (it just doesn't work if I need to see someone else such as an emergency appointment).  We have agreed on a solution, but the GP surgery says they cannot tell me how long the wait will be apart from "at least a month".  Is that 1 month, 5 months, 1,000 years?  Who knows.... this is the bit I think is worth going private for and then circling back to the NHS again if it doesn't help.

Continuing my aim of doing a little bit of anything everyday.  It isn't always decluttering, but often tidying, tadpoles or frogs etc until I am right up to date.  As I am now working from home in my library, I can no longer ignore the mess of things that are "pending" to sort out.  Some things are simpler than others, whilst others are part of a much bigger job.  I am slowly chipping away at it, but expect this to be a long haul.  However, I have significantly improved the space with some easy wins already, some of which show in my decluttering:

Decluttering
Digital:
8 - photos deleted
2 - documents deleted

Physical:
1 - flower stem (1 of a bundle I didn’t need, back in Buy Nothing)
1 - photo frame (1 of a bundle I didn’t need, back on Buy Nothing)
1 - packaging reused
1 - picture (Buy Nothing)

New total = 369

New use up total = 11

Ooh - I'm already at my first decluttering target, so I will be awarding myself a bronze medal

Wednesday2000

I went through my wardrobe again and have two full Tesco bags to take tomorrow. I called the charity shop and they seemed very enthusiastic to take them. Strange as I kept seeing signs in shops saying they weren't taking donations a few weeks ago.

I need to be more mindful of what I bring in to the house, especially clothes. It is very annoying standing in front of my wardrobe full of clothes and not seeing anything I want to wear.

I started another book today as I had forgotten I preordered one. It felt milder out today, but I think sitting still made me feel chilly again. Time for a cup of tea.

Brie

@sqwiffy
sorry to hear about Aussie.  Would you be willing and able to share a couple of favourite shots for us to enjoy?  If not now, when you feel up to it.  

Florenceem

I went to SA friendship/lunch club.
Tried to phone the hospital to find out what time Mr F was being discharged - they had to ring me back after I left a message.
I gave my phone to my friend as I was busy carrying plates of dinner.
We had yummy shepherd's pie/cauli/carrots/gravy followed by treacle tart & custard. I took mine home as too busy to eat at SA. I was given a dinner for Mr F but he had his meal in the hospital.
My SA friend gave me dinners and puddings for tomorrow so I don't have to cook. I don't think I will need to worry about dinners until Saturday.
They phoned to tell me he would be home by 3 by hospital transport.
Mr F is home - very bad on his legs. I read his hospital discharge letter - says he is frail.
I just told Mr F that I am taking stuff to the charity shop tomorrow - he said that he would see how he felt but may walk down with me! No way.
We realised that Mr F went to the hospital wearing his slippers - they are lost. I have ordered new slippers - he has to have the extra wide ones with extension straps.
The waterproof mattress cover has just arrived so after getting Mr F something to eat - I will put it on the bed.
If Mr F is settled I will go to singing group - decide later.