2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

QueenJess

Just a quick check in as I can tell it's going to be a jam packed week at work already.  Did a good job weeding some more things out last night.  It's definitely harder when it's the odd thing here and there as you have to open absolutely everything!  I'm trying to get back into the habit of looking at every room/drawer/cupboard I naturally open during the day to determine whether there's something I don't use/want in there as I go.

Physical:
1 - DS shoes grown out of (charity box)
1 - shoes I don’t wear (charity box)
1 - candle used up
2 - packaging used up
1 - DD shoes outgrown (charity box)

New total 852
Use it up total 55
Net physical things in/(out) +154

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

Monday is another bright day but cloudy - high 14°C & low 7°C. I received seven pieces of mail which I have opened & managed to deal with 2 items by recycling or shredding 😉 The other 5 need dealing with ☹️ 

Starting with posts dated Saturday I am about to make a concerted effort to catch up on the cheerleading - wish me luck 🍀 

Lovely post weenancy 😊 especially This “Nowadays, my thing is, "Can you live for three days in whatever you are wearing". Not comfortable enough, loose enough , strong enough - forget it. I've had too many emergencies to buy clothes I can't live in for several days if necessary. If it wrinkles or is too crinkly or not soft enough - out it goes.”

Fizz2015, very pleased to hear that you enjoyed your holiday 😊 Great work getting all the holiday clothes washed, dried, ironed & put away already 👏 Congratulations on the decluttering & good luck finding more items to list 🍀

Lovely cheerleading Dizzycap 😊 Hope you remembered to put the washing machine on when you made your second cuppa 😉

Lovely cheerleading Liverpool_Anne 😊 Great idea to go back to bed on Friday & wake up when the rain had stopped 😊 Excellent work in the garden 👏 & what a nice treat from OH especially as you got to chat to ln over the garden fence 😊 Thanks for sharing This “OH's dniece sent us a video of their baby toddling along a track when he found a puddle. Typical stomping to make a splash then he promptly laid down in it. Luckily he was dressed appropriately but we laughed so much 😂😂😂” it has really brightened up my Monday morning - so one good thing about being behind on the cheerleading 😉

retiredinfrance, good luck with your continuing work in the garden 🍀

Great work in the garden Yoshimi2025 👏 Time flies when you are enjoying yourself 😊

Florenceem, glad to hear that the ‘mystery of the curtains’ has been solved 😊 Good luck to R for her upcoming marathon 🍀 Sorry to hear that you are still feeling so unwell but relieved to hear that you are at least ‘trying to slow down’ by still being in your pjs 😉

Excellent work in the garden GrannyKate 👏 Sounds like DGS4 is being a great help 😊 How wonderful to have a garden pond & already have the wildlife just waiting for you to sort it out 🤩 I do hope that you are keeping a photographic record of the garden makeover 🙏 Fingers crossed DS2 gets the bedroom ceiling painted 🤞

DH went out for a ride on the motorbike - so far he has been out an hour (16:00) I have emptied the shredding into a sack for use as worm bedding/food.

Hope everyone is having as good a day as possible 😊

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

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 466/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00

Blue_Doggy

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger 😱 nooo! nooo!! Don’t tempt me to keep my DMum’s things! That’s part of the reason I’m in a mess now. (And there are two pairs of vases!)
 
@vulpix “Happy Birthday!” for whichever day it is this week 🎉 (in case I don’t write anything else this week)
 

I was happy to find that this little spell of warm weather has brought my little bulbs in tubs into bloom, especially since last autumn I amalgamated the contents of several small, neglected pots and tubs, which had produced little for several years, into three bigger ones. The bigger tubs now have a lovely show of pretty pink chionodoxas, and lots of hyacinths (which were either gifted in pots-of-three or rehomed from doing potted duty on my parents’ grave). There are tulips and crocuses to follow on. Amazingly, a handful of ancient dried-up anemone corms which I found in the garage (must be ten or fifteen years old at least, and which I poked into a tub on a sink-or-swim basis) have popped up and are in flower.

Some mini-decluttering (very random)

- ironed washing put away
- removed a tick from puppy-wuppy’s head
- trimmed p-w’s hairy paws which had had a sudden growth spurt
- three trays of food which gave p-w tummy trouble
- ood treats found at the back of p-w’s cupboard
- two plates with crazed glaze out
 
I’m sure there were some other things, but I’ve forgotten what.

Florenceem

Late with my end of the week totals.
All that came in was food and a few bits to sell so they won't be permanent dwellers.
I did bring home some vintage woollen blankets - not had chance to check them for condition/moth damage yet.
Out - 2 Die cutting machines + a storage case + box + packaging + newspapers + bubble wrap + bag of donations + dish + Birthday card/envelope + stamps + plastic packaging + DVD + sandals + vase + trainers + box x 2 + packaging.
So still on the right track.

QueenJess

Still chipping away...

Physical:
4 - craft supplies I won’t use (charity box)
1 - plant spray (donated to neighbour)

New total 857
Use it up total 55
Net physical things in/(out) +149

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

DH got back 16:20, pottered about for a bit before heading out for a walk at 17:30, returning home an hour later.

QueenJess, eek to the hike in nursery prices 😥 £10 a day seems excessive 😬 I will keep everything crossed that your work contract is extended 🤞It is never a mistake to rescue items that will definitely be used 😉 This “…….am playing a game of trying to get rid of 1 thing in every room in the house this weekend.  It's pretty hard when those rooms include a downstairs loo …  It's quite fun and I might do that more often, although I think I'm going to have to give myself a pass for some rooms as it's unrealistic to keep finding something in every room!  Maybe I could do X items from downstairs and X from upstairs instead” is a great idea 🥳 Hopefully your DH finally understands that decluttering is a ‘good thing’ 🤞 You never know he might tackle the garage…… or is that too much to hope for 😉

I was so enamoured of your ‘game idea’ that I broke off from cheerleading to go into the downstairs loo & managed to use up a bathroom spray (so did a bit of cleaning) & decluttered a takeaway box which only had a jar of vaseline in it which I relocated to its proper place 😊 As there is nothing to declutter in the hallway, I won’t be counting that as a room 😉 I also went through a cupboard in the living room & found a broken personal CD player which has been binned.

467 - 468 plastic spray bottle & takeaway box - recycled

469 CD player - binned

I have also started dinner - sliced pork, mashed potatoes & baked beans. Back to the cheerleading:

Welcome aboard the EDT Jellybaby 👋 So pleased that our lovely Declutterati family have enticed you out of lurkdom 🥹 Thank you for sharing a bit of your background 😊 & congratulations on your early retirement. Good luck with your planned house move 🍀 - hopefully you will find your ideal new home & your current home will sell quickly🤞 I am looking forward to following your journey & wish you every success in decluttering all the cupboards & drawers 😊 

Just about to dish up dinner so will post & run. See you later 👋 

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

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 469/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00

Florenceem

Feeling slightly better today.
Carried on with the curtains - 2 widths of a thick cotton lining is heavy and awkward to move about. I got them pressed and attached the heading tape - fiddly job   - you have to lay the edge of the lining inside the tape as I am making separate linings.
I have been looking to see if I have any heavy interfacing anywhere in my stash but not found any.
Someone local was offering sewing bits - I went out for the first time in 4 days to collect clips and cottons.  I got a tub of cottons - a lot are Gutterma.. which are expensive. I got some milk and fruit - felt exhausted when I got home - my friend said definitely a flu virus.
Mr F has tried again to use his computer -  engineer is coming to look at it tomorrow morning.
I have 2 sales on V.
Photo of my freebies - 

Dizzycap

@ Florenceem - Great going with the outs and ins Wonderdul useable freebies too!

@ vulpix Wishing you a very “Happy Birthday!” now 🎉just in case I miss your b'day this week, as it's a little hectic for me

Decluttering Update:

All tasks I set in my plan have been completed, except for clearing up a few leaves in the front garden and taking pics and listing more items. My energy level went down suddenly & remained low for most of the day, so I ended up resting & sleeping in bed this afternoon which was ok because we had unexpected very cold rain showers here, a few had ice mixed in which made the temperature suddenly drop and my chronic pain set in, so I snuggled up with babyface

We've decluttered our dinner and now babyface is playing ball while I'm decluttering a cup of coffee after packing up a parcel which I'll drop off at the RM Quad Locker with babyface after I've finished coffee and emptied & cleaned the kitchen bin.....

Take me for a walk or the ball gets it! Little Miss Tyke

_Dolly_Rocker_

Missed quite a lot as this steam train moves fast!

@Florenceem - Great work with your end of week totals. Hope that your blankets have no damage. Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better today. Yay to the freebies!

@QueenJess - Every little helps! Also nice to pass things on to others if you know they will get some use out of them. 

@MrsSD - Hope you enjoyed your walk. Dinner sounds yummy! I had toast for dinner - been such a long day and I don't even have the energy to cook.

@Dizzycap - You do so much so rest when you need to. Babyface is the cutest. 

I had a lovely weekend away with my Mum and Niece to a hot tub lodge in Ayr. Straight back to it today with dog walks booked for an hour after I got home - I don't know why I do this to myself. 

I'm just chilling now and will be heading to bed soon. 

Will do some decluttering tomorrow. 

Florenceem

I got my pattern weights out ready to make the tie backs. I love these little weights that I made - just scraps but used up some of my stash.
I can remember buying the fabrics that I used to make the weights - 40 years ago - also what it was for!
Photo of the huge roll of lining plus a sneak look at the curtains.