We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING
Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering
Comments
-
I'm feeling slightly better this morning and have a day off work so I am going to tackle some housework today.
It's a lovely day.Debt Free - 4th June 202517 -
- Write a daily To Do list - only 3 tasks
- Concerted effort to sort out sleep patterns - Realistic targets: bed by 2:00 a.m. & up by 10:00 a.m
- Continue dealing with mail & email on a daily basis
- 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
- Commence ‘Operation Frog Tickling’ using the acronym - I.R.I.S. (Identify, Research, Implement, Sign Off) - One per quarter
- Continue to keep kitchen clean & tidy - before going to bed
Wednesday is another bright & sunny day but there is a chilly breeze - so 11°C feels like 8°C. A forecast high of 15°C & low of 7°C ERNIE remembered me this month - 2 x £25 🥳 & was also extra kind to my DH who won £250 🤩 It is all go in our close - neighbour J is having all his soffits & fascias replaced & one of the rented out houses has been having building work done over the last couple of weeks - new windows, inside decoration & today there is a cement mixer 😉. There was also a BHF house clearance van earlier - parked in the road outside our house. I have fallen behind with the cheerleading yet again so I will make a concerted effort to catch up ….. again 😉
Lovely cheerleading Liverpool_Anne 😊 A busy Monday with some great decluttering 👏 I hope that the ‘union thing’ is moving along 🤞 Sorry to hear that your wrist is still hurting 😔 Please give it a chance to heal 🙏
Lovely cheerleading TC77 😊 Sorry to hear that little cat needs medication 😔 It does sound like DD1 spoiled both cats whilst you were away 😉 Hopefully they won’t be too upset with you whilst you adjust their diet to help them lose their holiday weight 🤞
Lovely to see you foxandflowers 👋 & so pleased that you finally managed to jump back aboard 😊 - I will have to have a serious chat with our lady drivers about curbing their speed 😂 Congratulations on moving house 🥳 & great work with the decluttering 👏 Although a bit annoying that you had to spend money on getting the house cleared of the previous owner’s ‘tat’ ☹️ However it does sound like you are making great progress settling in to your new home 😊 Re This “……..so I gave up and wandered off to the local shopping area (who knew there were such great second hand shops in the middle of nowhere??) and got a bit carried away.” I would reword it to “As a respite from the rigours of moving into a new home, I took the opportunity to get to know the local area & was pleasantly surprised to find great second hand shops & happily contributed to the local economy 😊” Well done on not only decluttering physical items but also frogs 👏 Good luck with ‘Project Empty Storage Unit’ 🍀
Well said Dizzycap 🥹 totally agree with you that foxandflowers has done a great job 🤩
Great decluttering TC77 👏 Two of your comments made me giggle 🤭 This “I've been here years trying to declutter with the intention of moving at some point..in total awe of anyone who moves- the thought of boxing up.thongs makes me feel quite faint!” AND This “Always delayed looking for items but this morning 10 minutes for travel card I'd already put in my pocket!”
Muddy_Walker, thank you 👏 I have already bookmarked Hobbii for Manola Yarn 😉 Some great colours although I think the one you chose is the best ☺️
Florenceem, I read your post (1st April at 12:41PM) & am completely lost for words that are fit to be used 😶 …….. Although I was relieved to hear that the rehab place that MrF was being sent to is closer than the last one 😮💨 Hopefully it will be as good as the previous establishment & MrF will get proper physio etc so that he will be home very soon 🙏
Great decluttering Rootle 👏 Your first Gold Star ⭐️ of 2025 is on its way 😊
Muddy_Walker, loved This “Right then! Slaps knees in true Welsh fashion.” 😁 Excellent work on all your ‘aims’ 👏 & so impressed at how many books you have read that I am awarding you a medal 🏅 Thanks for the reminder about the Penny Challenge - I need to add April’s amount to my pot 😉
TC77, predictive text has a lot to answer for 😉
Dizzycap, This “I find it utterly disgraceful that any hospital would be far more concerned about an apparent missing M&S carrier bag than as is so blatantly obvious, its patients care & welfare 😯😬😖 well said - I was completely lost for ‘polite words’ Yippee to kind neighbour & for sales 🥳 Now that is what I call serendipitous ☺️ I do hope Taz baby helped with the wrapping 😉 Postie will be pleased to see you 😀
_Dolly_Rocker_ sorry to hear that you have been & continue to be so unwell 😞 Keeping everything crossed that you are well enough to attend & enjoy Thursday’s gig 🤞
Brambling, This “I've five sisters and every year my mum used to buy us M&S knickers for Christmas always very large the aim was for our knickers to meet our bras as we didn't wear vests 🫣 And every year we all returned them, one year there was a flurry of phones calls amongst five of us concerned we were getting old as we were keeping them, until my sister who lived with mum advised us she had brought them that year 😁. For some reason my brother escaped the underwear gift!” is sooooo funny 😹 What a stunning place to visit 🤩 & much more preferable than tackling the dining room declutter 😉
Brie, This “The "visit your own country first" is already a thing in Canada. Heard on the news that the number of vacations in the US by Canadians has dropped by something like 75% since last year!!! That's a heck of a lot of tourist money being lost quite frankly!! And add to that that many shops in Canada have cleared or returned any blatantly US products because people just won't buy them. Even coffee shops have stopped selling Americanos - they now sell Canadianos!!! “ is wonderful to hear 🥳 Hopefully other countries will do the same 🤞 Although I do feel very sorry not only for normal Americans in the hospitality industry but also for Americans as a whole (even the ones who voted for ‘him’ 😞
weenancy, it does seem like the ‘lunatics have taken over the asylums’ & not just in America 😢 Excellent work dealing with frogs 👏 (a medal🏅 is on it’s way) & good luck with the rest of Tuesday’s frogs 🍀 Very pleased to hear that a couple of people have volunteered to help with the heavy lifting needed to enable you to continue with your decluttering ☺️
I have made a bit of a dent in the cheerleading but am flagging, so will post & run 🙂 DH had a bath, DSis popped down for a cuppa but is not feeling well (although she wasn’t specific) & I have put a black bag in the wheelie bin 😉 so have accomplished something 🤣 Hope everyone is having as good a day as possible 🤞 Cwtches are available for anyone who would like one 🤗 See you later 👋
MrsSD Awards: 💐 🌟 ❤️ ❤️ 🏅 💐 💐 💐 🏅🥉🏅 🎂 🌟⭐️⭐️❤️ 🍫🐾 😍
DH Awards: 🏅
DSis Awards:
Decluttering Target 2025: 611/2025
1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00Be Kind. Stay Safe. Break the Chain. Save Lives. ⭐️2025 Savings Pot Challenge: As a monthly amount, running total = £299.00
Jan £5.00 Feb £12.74 Mch £23.26 Apr £32 May £43 Jun £50 July £62 Aug £71 Sep Oct Nov Dec Grand Total £21 -
Was looking for our wedding certificate on Monday (still haven't found it.....) and came across lots of duplicate bits of paperwork for my pensions. Lots of queries to the admins over the last few years have resulted in them posting me full application packs each nearly an inch thick. Lots of that could go directly into the recycling. The rest got chopped with big scissors as I don't have access to an industrial strength shredder any more. Net result was I was able to rearrange some art stuff that had gotten lost under the paper mountain.
Now if only I can remember where the marriage certificate is....no doubt someplace very very safe.
I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe, Old Style Money Saving and Pensions boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
Click on this link for a Statement of Accounts that can be posted on the DebtFree Wannabe board: https://lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php
Check your state pension on: Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK
"Never retract, never explain, never apologise; get things done and let them howl.” Nellie McClung
⭐️🏅😇20 -
1 largeish bag of long life food has been rehomed.
13 ikea food storage boxes, 2 packs of ikea food bags, 2 packs of food bag clips have been rehomed.
I've probably forgotten something though
I've 1 box of sandwich bags left to go along with 2 more tupperware containers and some placemats and coasters.
They will go next week.Decluttering campaign 2023
2 🏅🏅 +1 ⭐️ +1🌟 awarded later in year
Decluttering campaign 2024
2 🏅🏅 + 1⭐16 -
MrsSD thank you for my gold star and your kind words.
@Brie ah, The Curse of the Safe Place! I know it well! Either the Pixies borrow things 🧚♀️ and return them in their own good time, or things turn up but only when looking urgently for something else.
@sqwiffy thank you for the info about the crafts cs - it’s within easy driving distance for me so will solve some problems.
@Dizzycap very glad to hear that babyface has made a good recovery, well done for spotting the symptoms in good time.
Hugs (if wanted) to all who are unwell or caring for loved ones ❤️
Started deep cleaning of kitchen. Took a dozen cuttings from my window-sill geraniums. I’m starting them in water (four glass jars intercepted on their way to recycling and repurposed for this). Last year I spent a couple of hours with peat pots and cuttings compost taking 3 dozen cuttings, every one of which died (I’ve done geranium cuttings for years, and that was the first 100% failure!).To help with room-by-room decluttering as I work round to them, I made a list of the furniture required for each room. Anything which isn’t on the list can go! (Well, that’s the plan, anyway. Whether it will survive we shall see!) (My late DM’s vases are trying to persuade me that each bedroom needs a flower vase.)
I thought I’d deterred a tadpole, but it revived and came back as a frog!
I’m starting to get my mind around the idea of sorting surplus crockery, discarding the worst and retiring the rest (maybe even sending it to the CS). It’s a difficult one, as I’m still influenced by remembrance of the years when I couldn’t afford the things I needed.
Box of rechargeable batteries, chargers and cables for items still in use removed from kitchen work top/dumping ground and put temporarily on bookshelves in hall (they don’t actually belong there, but are making themselves useful for the moment).
Things out:
-frying pan I don’t use (to CS)
-heat diffuser I don’t use for gas hob (to CS)
-teapot whose internal glaze has cracked and crazed (binned)
-5 cache-pots (which came in with gifts but don’t match my colour scheme) (to CS)
-Ood joint supplement tablets binned, blister packs to bag for such, box to recycling
-empty parasite treatment (for dogs) box to recycling
-possibly surplus cutlery taken to retirement to minor RoD (it’s retired in case I find I need it after all. And it’s very old-fashioned so I doubt a CS would want it 🤷♀️)
-various magazines and newspapers to recycling
-a talk given to my History group
-hh rubbish and hh recycling to respective bins x 6
-dead stalks, twigs and other garden bits into garden waste bin.
I’m sure there were some other things as well, but I can’t remember what.
Time to get back to the kitchen: the windows need washing, and because of poor design (or my lack of inches - take your pick) I have to climb on the worktop and the draining board to do them. I also have to pay some bills and declutter some dosh.
Wishing everyone some good sunny days and a bit of basking time.
Sorry for very long post - and I can’t get the formatting right, either. 🤷♀️
“Tomorrow is another day for decluttering.”Decluttering 2023 🏅🏅🏅🏅⭐️⭐️
Decluttering 2025 💐 🏅 💐 ⭐️16 -
Woohoo! A medal - thank you xx
I also got this one from the Hobbi shop:photo below
⭐️⭐️⭐️🥇🥇🥇 2024 decluttering
⭐️ 2025 decluttering
Frogs:
Mortgage frog DONE!!!
Pension frog DONE!!!
Will frog about 50%
PIP frog waiting on tribunal date…still waiting 🧐
Medical frogs…..getting there about 75% done
Decluttering: 254//550
Miles walked: 77/500 - not going to stress about this….
Books read: 66 I read very fast!
1p challenge £442.17
More green things!14 -
This will be for me when I make something. The colours are very rich!⭐️⭐️⭐️🥇🥇🥇 2024 decluttering
⭐️ 2025 decluttering
Frogs:
Mortgage frog DONE!!!
Pension frog DONE!!!
Will frog about 50%
PIP frog waiting on tribunal date…still waiting 🧐
Medical frogs…..getting there about 75% done
Decluttering: 254//550
Miles walked: 77/500 - not going to stress about this….
Books read: 66 I read very fast!
1p challenge £442.17
More green things!14 -
Still plodding through the Christmas card donations to recycle into new ones. Decided that as this is holding up other decluttering proceedings we would tackle some frogs today. Our washing line has been down for 2 weeks. Rope snapped and it hasn't been on the pulley right for some time. I handed over tools as DH patiently worked out the pulley system
Result one perfect washing line. My excitement is off the scale. You can't be at the smell of washing that has been outside to dry.
Frog 2 was a parcel that I have finally got packaged up and to the post office along with a new home card for DS and DIL and a birthday card for DGS. It was so lovely to get outside for a walk too although a bit windy by the sea. We treated ourselves to ice creams on the way home.
Frog 3 was 3 Months of craft group accounts. Finally got all of the invoices in order and everything written down. DH ( a retired accountant) will check them for me later. I really don't know why the last 2 jobs had been put off as they weren't difficult but in my head they had grown to be much worse.
Took donated wool up to community club along with some finished cards and a couple of boxes so all in all I am counting everything as 1 bin bag.craft stash 2023 =161, 2024 = 119 2025 = £17.98 spent, 128 made and 5 mended,
GC 2022 = £3154.96
2023 = £3334. 84
2024 = £.3221.81
2025 = £2043.99/£3300
Jan 413.77 Feb £361.32, March £192. April £438.06 May £261.66 June £204.54 July £172.64/ £250
Decluttering campaign. 2024= 75 and half/52 bin bags full. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🏅💐DH ⭐15 -
Brie said:weenancyinAmerica said:Maybe you can start a new campaign - "See Your Home Country First" until The Idiot is out of office. Pick a part of your country you haven't seen before and save money at the same time. I've been to almost every part of the British Isles except Scotland beyond Inverness. There are a lot of wonderful places to visit, Stratford, Inverness, York, Belfast, and Hay on Wye still being my favorites.
May not have to wait until 2029 if he gets impeached and it works. Will also have to impeach the The Second Idiot who would take over though as he is awful. We are being run by a bunch of idiots over here. My best friend is considering moving to Scotland. She is worried about her Social Security (so am I - even if Idiot Number One says he has not plans to touch it. Not exactly known for being honest.)
Watching the news here is so depressing that it hard to get motivated to clean house or write books or even do family history. Slowing me down a lot so I am making lists and trying to keep up with what I put on it each day. But it is piling up on me. Roommate G helped me clean the refrigerator today - at least that was a start. Swept half of the kitchen floor. Cleaned up fingerprints. Need to write three letters and fill out two forms. Will be my afternoon projects.
Hope all of you are staying warm, dry, and somewhat sane.
Dxxx
Ps mr d did start talking about a trip to Canada though instead on the back of more flights opening up from Scotland xx
22: 3🏅 4⭐ 23: 5🏅 6 ⭐ 24 1🏅 2⭐ 25 🏅 🥈 Never save something for a special occasion. Every day is a special occasion. The diff between what you were yesterday and what you will be tomorrow is what you do today Well organised clutter is still clutter - Joshua Becker If you aren't already using something you won't start using it more by shoving it in a cupboard- AJMoney The barrier standing between you & what youre truly capable of isnt lack of info, ideas or techniques. The secret is 'do it'17 -
Yesterday lunchtime C phoned - he wanted the petty cash folder so I took it round to SA. I was offered a lift to the hospital tomorrow.
I walked into town after lunch to get an invisible zipper for Dgd's trousers - couldn't get the right size so I will have to shorten it. I got a bus home but as usual had just missed one.
This morning I spoke to Mr F - his blood pressure was low so he had to rest on his bed but is dressed for the first time in 17 days. As I was talking - a nurse said that a Doctor was coming to see him.
Been to SA friendship/lunch club - not one next week - it will be good to have a free Wednesday.
Before I went out - I had a complaining phone call from one of my regular stall holders.
Short of helpers today but we managed although my poor little legs are feeling all the running around.
I popped home with 2 plates of dinner - usually have enough food for 2 day's meals but just had my meal and there are 2 portions left.
It was announced that the meal price was going up from £3.50 to £4 - lots of muttering complaints. They get tea or coffee on arrival - a dinner and a pudding followed by tea/coffee. Where would that get a meal for £4?
I told C to increase the price after the Christmas break but he was concerned about people's fuel costs. Now everything is going up this week - he should have listened to me. For the first time C did a breakdown of how much a meal costs - people are getting good value.Decluttering Achieved - 2023 - 10,364 Decluttering - 2024 - 8,365 August - 0/45
GC NSD 2023 - 242/365
2023 Craft Makes - 245 Craft Spends 2023 - £676.03/£400
Books read - 2023 - 37
GC - 2024 4 Week Period £57.82/£100 NSD - 138
2024 Craft Makes - 240 Craft Spends 2024 £426.80/£50016
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 350.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.5K Spending & Discounts
- 243.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.8K Life & Family
- 257.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards