2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

oceanspirit

OH has received yet another little brown package and then told me I have more books than him. In our home, maybe but he has several boxes in a storage container which he is paying for.

We did our 20 mins ivy clearance yesterday - progress seems slower as we are now on the smaller bits at ground level and neither of us are good at bending however the green bin is full for emptying this week so if the dry weather continues we will be able to do more at the weekend.

Tackled a reading frog which has been ignored for over 2 years.  This delay has cost me money - it isn’t the end of the world, just annoying.  Need to do more on that one today.

Need to prepare my list of questions for a hospital appointment tomorrow - have waited nearly a year for it so want to make sure I get all the answers I need.

vulpix

Hi, 

Nice to see you Liverpool Anne. My back has come out in sympathy with yours. I sat for a couple of hours on an uncomfortable chair at craft club last week and spent the next few days hobbling, bent double. I have just weighed myself and stood up tall and am back to square one! Pants I say pants!
 
I am trying to hurry up and making even more typos than ever!

Charlies tribe, Meadowhell, commiserations.

An old school friend is coming to visit at 11 am, need to get my skates on and actually be dressed.

Anyhoo, what I actually wanted to say was I made a second phone call about frog 2 yesterday and it can be put to bed.It does have the possibility of resurrecting but fingers crossed.

Gotta go, love n stuff Vx

Siebrie

1 frog dealt with: dd2 (13) was having some behavioural and social problems (as in: easy to make friends, but hard to keep them, and frustrated because of that) and we the parents went to a psychologist over a year ago for an intake meeting for treatment. This psychologist immediately gave us a 20-page questionnaire about high-intelligence..... With our renovation it got shoved in a pile, and I hadn't realised it had been that long. DD2 seemed to be doing better, but recently started stuttering, so I contacted the psychologist again, received the questionnaire, filled it out and emailed the psychogolist for a new meeting. Waiting for her reply now. We are also thinking about changing schools for dd2. The choice for secondary school always was between the technical school and the art school; we had picked the technical school, but the technical lessons often are purely theory, or 'self-study' (= do whatever you want on your laptop), or cancelled, so we are thinking about switching to the art school.

We live behind a small castle-turned-spa and a few months ago I had asked them to trim the trees surrounding the castle yard, as they blocked the sunshine on our home and even our backyard behind the home. They were unwilling at the time, but last week the trees were trimmed! The sunshine is already giving me lots of energy!

CRANKY40

Good morning....it's confession time. On Sunday I pulled out every bit of makeup that I owned. I'm trying to think of this as a life overhaul so armed with the knowledge that it doesn't matter how much it cost I can still get rid I made a start. I still had the (expensive and hardly used) blusher compact that was part of my wedding make up. I may have used it once or twice since and my wedding was 22 years ago (I've been widowed for 15 years) 🫤  I've put some of the better things aside for my sister as she wears makeup a lot and I've only kept the things that serve me/suit me now. 

Possibly part of this was my ever changing hair colour which meant some colours suited me at the time and then didn't when my hair was dyed. . I grew out all the dye during lockdown so I'm back to my natural light brown hair which goes blondish in the summer if we have any sun so the colours I have are the ones that I will be keeping.

Anyway (whispering) I disposed of 50 items including the expensive lipstick that was so dry it wouldn't even go on properly and it's matching but useless lip gloss. I think out of this I've put away some decent stuff for my sister who has an olive complexion (mine is fair bordering on ghostly).  

QueenJess

I've slightly redeemed myself this morning with some decluttering, but then got waylaid by my washing machine that is now in washing machine heaven.  So I will be online shopping for a new one this evening.

Physical:
1 - paper, reused then recycled
2 - DS too small clothes (charity bag)
1 - bathroom supplies used up
1 - art stuff we won’t use (charity bag)
2 - single gloves (recycling)

New total = 777
New Use up total last = 44
Net physical things in/(out) +33

Wednesday2000

I saw a challenge on YouTube called Project Pan, it is a challenge to use up beauty products before buying new ones. It can apply to household items too. The goal is to "hit pan", or reach the bottom of the container. I do tend to buy the basic things I use like eye makeup remover and cotton wool in bulk though as I find it annoying to run out.

My birthday weekend was nice. We went to an all vegan pub in Hackney which had lovely food and drinks. The area of Hackney wasn't as lovely as I did see a man smoking a crack pipe on the train on the way there! Instead of staying in the area afterwards we went to the O2 and it was jam packed as it was the Brit Awards that night. Lots of people were very dressed up. I went out again on Sunday for brunch to a local cafe with my husband.

I dropped off the donation bag to the charity shop on the way to the station on Saturday and I did go through my underwear drawer and binned some knickers and a pair of socks.

I have been tidying up the living rooms this morning, dusting and vacuuming and moving things around. There is an area that is dead space by the fireplace so I'm thinking of replacing my husband's large computer desk with a new L-shaped one and that would mean we could fit another sofa in the room. It was sunny, but chilly at the weekend, but today it is actually quite warm when I went outside.   

QueenJess

Wednesday2000 said:

I saw a challenge on YouTube called Project Pan, it is a challenge to use up beauty products before buying new ones. It can apply to household items too. The goal is to "hit pan", or reach the bottom of the container. I do tend to buy the basic things I use like eye makeup remover and cotton wool in bulk though as I find it annoying to run out.

There is a reddit group as well, but also one called PanPorn if you like looking at various makeup and beauty items that have been used up

Florenceem

I had a lazy evening yesterday - I found another dvd so watched it - Brief Encounter.
This morning there was a hard frost but sunshine too.
I went into town to take a parcel to the post office and to post a Birthday card. 
As it is 10% off day - I stocked up on some mints and chocolate at Icel...
Dropped off a bag of donations at the charity shop and got a bus home.
I did a stir fry for our meal.
The Doctor's surgery phoned this morning - Mr F was getting confused during the call so I handled it. Nurse said that Dr has requested that he wear a 24 hour heart monitor - we weren't told this yesterday.
So now Mr F has an appointment for an ECG and another one to be fitted with the heart monitor which has to be returned the next day. I will take the monitor back as the surgery is not easy to get to without having a taxi. I can get a bus and walk which would be too much for Mr F at the moment.

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

Tuesday is another bright sunny day with a forecast high of 13°C in the sun & a low of 0°C. Third month in a row that ERNIE hasn’t loved me ☹️ but at least DH won £50 🙂 I have cancelled milk deliveries for a few days to use up the backlog.  Good news from Germany - my DB has been sent home as the scans didn’t show any issues 😮‍💨 🥳 Straight into cheerleading & am starting on posts dated Sunday 2nd:

Dizzycap, sorry to to hear that you woke up Sunday morning feeling “very tired & fatigued” 😔 although I see that you were still busy whilst waiting for the kettle to boil & had also put the wm on 👏 I also see that you have a busy afternoon planned including a visit to see Gorda & her staff 😉😊 Please make sure you get plenty of rest through the day 🙏 P.S. I had a quick look at your “Free Christmas” thread 🙂

Excellent decluttering Yoshimi2025 👏 Hope you have a lovely time visiting your friends 🤞 Good luck with your plan to sell fabric scraps 🍀

SuperLooperSaver, a good start with your packing 👏 & good luck with the rest of it 🍀 Hopefully you will find plenty to declutter 🤞

vulpix, how kind & a good way to declutter a knitted hat without leaving your house 😉 Dog adoptions seem to be in the air & hopefully your knitting lady will be keen to start knitting dog jumpers 😉 This “I’ve done it again, talked myself into trying to sell the house again. ………I will talk to the Estate Agent tomorrow. If they have people actively trying to buy them I will hold my horses. If not I will get the house on the market. If there is no chance i will wait till Easter.” - I had wondered how long it would be before you got itchy feet as it has been several months since you were last actively looking to move 😂 Hopefully your stepson will also have time to help MrV tidy his shed 😉

Beautiful picture Soontobeoap 😍 Looks like you have done an excellent job on the bay window 👏 & fingers crossed that the paint works 🤞As to the ceiling, could you afford to get someone in to do it 🤔 

Very pleased to see you nannywindow 👋 & absolutely no need to apologise ‘wagging finger emoji’ 😊 I just hope that you are now feeling a lot better & that your health issues have been sorted out 🙏 As to your ‘Oomph’ not having a passport, it doesn’t seem to matter as airport security are noticeably lax & seem to take pleasure in letting our ‘Oomph’ jet off to sunnier climes 😂 You might have “been plodding along quietly” but you have done an excellent amount of decluttering & repurposing 👏 worthy of a Gold Star ⭐️ which is on its way 😊 You might not think it has made “much of a dent” but to me it sounds like there are now lots of not only tidier areas but also more room in areas that have been tackled 😊 Fingers crossed that the CS are taking donations 🤞Please take care 🙏

Florenceem, sorry to hear that MrF seems to be so unsteady on his feet 😔 Hopefully the doctor/physio can ‘persuade him’ to use his rollator at least until he builds his strength back up 🙏 I do hope you did actually have a ‘lazy afternoon’ on Sunday 🤞

Dizzycap, I hope you managed to get plenty of rest Sunday afternoon 🙏

Brie, reading your tale of the ‘stainless steel clothes pegs’ I am just astounded at your restraint 🤩 If your OH doesn’t do the laundry then he is ‘not entitled’ to an opinion 😉 😅 I would probably have had a hissy fit even though I know it is not good for my blood pressure 😅 However I am pleased to hear that you have found a new use for them 👏

Soontobeoap, when the mood strikes it is surprising how much decluttering gets done 🥳 Great work 👏 & good luck cleaning out the cupboard on Monday 🍀

Excellent decluttering Yoshimi2025 👏 Sounds like you had a lovely weekend 😊 & what a great use of £10 🥹 such a lovely treat 😍

Broke off from cheerleading to do a mini task - I finally swept the front doorstep 🥳 which brought a smile to my DH’s face as he has been making ‘comments’ every time he comes in & out 😉 He is now in the back garden & has emptied the garden box used to store bird feed. Called me out to look & it seems that our mice have been moving the contents of the compost bin into the garden box see picture 

The area to the right is about 3 inches deep 😧 He has his builders vacuum out & will be emptying it back into the compost bin. Once that is done he will check the supplies of bird food then fill the bird feeders before moving onto putting shredded paper in the wormeries. Meanwhile I will continue with the cheerleading 😉

Nice to see you oceanspirit 👋 Excellent decluttering & great work dealing with frogs 👏 Sounds like your OH is finally starting to come around to the ‘Decluttering Ethos’ 😊 Talk about MSE - 2 months between sm deliveries 🤩 that is worth a medal 🏅 

QueenJess, I am rather upset that I missed out on the orange drizzle cake 😢 that will teach me to fall behind with the cheerleading 😉 Excellent work with the crafting box & using up of freezer contents 👏 Grr to the washing machine breaking down 😠 hopefully the engineer can fix it at minimal expense 🤞You might have spent some time resting in the TLC Carriage but you still got a lot done 👏

Dizzycap, This “Update on Decluttering today: I'm afraid not a lot but still a little.” is the understatement of the year 😉 Excellent decluttering 👏 I do wish I could see your postman’s face when he turns up Monday 😅 

Willowtree222 This “Another reporting backwards. My parents are moving and so they're clearing out and they keep giving my DD things.” oh dear  😞 If you have time perhaps you could ‘educate’ your parents in the ways of decluttering But NOT to your DD 🤞

Very excited as I have finished the cheerleading for posts dated Sunday 🥳 

DH had to empty the vacuum twice 😥 Garden box is now tidy - compost &  rubbish free 👏

423 - 424 Greasy boxes binned

425 Large cardboard box (from garage) broken down & recycled

DH is now out in front of the house - he has cleaned the car windscreen inside & out, vacuumed the inside & checked tyre pressures 👏  He is now in the garage doing a bit of tidying although I doubt he will be out there long as the garage is freezing 😉 I hope everyone is having as good a day as possible & that the weather is being as kind to you as it is to us 🤞 See you later 👋 

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

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 425/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00

Yoshimi2025

Recycled 5 toothpicks at boots and got £5 worth of points on my card, my son wanted some toiletries so I didn’t spend anything. Now have £30.25 on my boots card to spend at Christmas. Noticed they have a blister pack recycling point now in the bigger boots so I’ll take a bunch of empties their next week and see how that rewards.
also recycled 3 boxes posting things and made up some fabric bundles to list on e of the bay. 

Watched Anora & Last showgirl at the cinema, saved the book token off my happy meal and the toy to go in the Christmas stocking box. 

Lovely day out with Son3. Cinepass used and cea card and a snickers & water from home so a pretty cheap day out x