2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

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

Sunday is another gloriously sunny day ☀️ High of 15°C (but feels warmer as currently no breeze 😄) & low of 6°C. DH went out for his walk a while ago so should be back soon. DH got back 16:20 after a longer walk than intended 😉Back to Friday’s cheerleading:

dND, your comments about MOJO are so true 😉 although when the mood strikes it can be be very easy to overdo things 😞 Always a fine balance 😉 Sorry to hear that your cats are driving you ‘scatty’ ☹️ Hopefully Gino will stop shedding soon & Jewel’s vet appointment will result in a quick & effective treatment 🙏 This “Talking of long(ish) waits, I picked up my bloods forms this morning and booked the first free appointment day; 23rd!  On the plus side, that is the 23rd April and 2025. 🤣” it is a good job you can laugh 😉 I hope your delivery turned up at the start of the two hour time slot 🤞

Florenceem, I think my tree is a dwarf Japanese cherry tree 🤔 Some excellent decluttering 👏 although very sorry to hear about the ‘accidentally decluttered £10 note’ 😔 This “My friend offered to take me to see Mr F - different one to yesterday - friend - not husband!” really made me chuckle 🙊 So happy to hear that MrF is coming home on Saturday ☺️

Excellent work planting up your garden Yoshimi2025 👏 although sorry to hear that you have overdone it & are having to go to bed early 😞 Although hopefully this means you are getting up early & are not missing any of the glorious weather 😉

Lovely post ionafan ☺️ How wonderful to have robins & their young nesting in your coal shed 🥹 

GrannyKate, a busy Thursday dropping off DS2 & family at the airport 👏 The dangers of skim reading a post - I read that your lawn was treated whilst you were out & then saw the photo ……. thinking well I wouldn’t be paying the gardener 🤣 Great idea to use DS2’s bigger car to do a Tip run of bulky items 👏 Hopefully the chaos of having a new kitchen fitted will be short lived & not as bad as you are imagining 🤞 Then you will have the joy of using your new kitchen ☺️

Excellent decluttering TC77 👏 Can I ask which CS you identify as the ‘posh CS’? 

Concentration is flagging so will post & come back later. Hope everyone is having as good a day as possible 😊 See you later 👋 

MrsSD Awards: 💐 🌟 ❤️ ❤️ 🏅 💐 💐 💐 🏅🥉🏅 🎂 🌟⭐️⭐️❤️ 🍫🐾 😍

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 629/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00

Yoshimi2025

@YBR Thank you for the compost tips, I’m going to shred some brown card and add that then risk stuffing again tomorrow and put more card on the top, one bin has flies, one doesn’t! It’s like a scene from The Mummy when I take the lid off it 😆 

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger thank you for the cheerleading. 💚

Florenceem

YBR - welcome to the thread.
I went to Church by myself - Mr F too wobbly on legs.
I took Mr F out for a short walk using his rollator after lunch.
Mr F does accept that he needs to use the rollator - a stick is not enough support at the moment. Mr F wants to get back to just using a stick although physios suggest rollator for safety.
Now he is on blood thinners - I worry even more about him falling on concrete.
Got a couple of sales on V.

Dizzycap

Evening all & what a beautiful day it's been

@ @YBR. - A very warm welcome to Decutteri Valley & Wellk done on the new role Looking forward to hearing about your decluttering journey and by the sounds of it, you are fighting fit and well under way I too have suffered with rats getting into my general gardening tool shed and when I removed everything, oh the mess & stench It took me a whole week to safely clear, clean, and air decked out like Buzz Lightyear with every session along with repairs, reboarding, and bating with mint which rats absolutely hate. Just as well I had kept some spare wood for repairs and hadn't decluttered it all off to the tip! I really hope yours isn't as bad

@ Brie - You sound very much like me. I had to stop wearing both socks & standard shoes or slippers 3 years ago and now live all year in pairs of antishock memory foam flip-flop mega grip flats, regardless of the season or weather If I hear one more person say "Aren't your feet cold in those?" during late Autumn, Winter, and early Spring, I'm going to politely ask them for a £1 donation for charity to answer

@ vulpix - Lovely pic & that brings back some memories xxx I really hope you have a super time and the more name dropping you can do, the better

I finally had a half decent nights sleep and woke up at an unheard of 10am with babyface snoring loudly in my ear It seems we both ended up having a peaceful nights sleep, eventually babyface finally decided to surface at 11.30am for the loo, a drink & munchies before heading back off to bed - That's my girl I too have been mainly resting today, although I did sort all the general morning HH bin and cleaning chores that I usually do, along with watering all my tubs and putting a single load of washing on and pegging it out before heading back to bed myself. What's good for the goose Woke up at 5pm got the washing in while boiling the kettle and switched my phone off silent while decluttering a lovely mug of coffee. I've taken babyface for a short walk which she enjoyed but wasn't too bothered about continuing after she spend 20 minutes sniffing and pottering along the long country hedge. She turned turned on her heels as soonas she got to the end and pottered back home with crazy waggy tail. Had a few decluttering sales, so items already packed in Mr. Sains free packaging and residing in the hallway ready for postie to collect in the morning. I've got auctions finishing tonight, so at some point I'd better take a look but not before we've had a little dinner I dare not look at the diary for next week until I've finished everything I need to do for today. Tomorrow will just have to wait for now.

Wishing everyone a peaceful & relaxing evening - Tat-ta for now and hugs to all who need them xxx

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

Spent several blocks of 15 minutes sitting outside soaking up the sun. Dinner is on - bolognaise pie with roasted carrots. Finishing off Friday’s cheerleading & starting Saturday’s: 

A very busy Friday weenancy 🤩 It is a good job you are more organised than your roommates 😊, otherwise absolutely nothing would get done 😞 Keeping everything crossed including eyes that 1) you find the insurance card & 2) that the new disabled bus service proves both practical & useful 🤞 Excellent decluttering 👏 It does sound like you have completely bypassed Spring & gone straight into summer 🙂 although hopefully you will get regular rain so as not to have the same issues as last year 🙏

Lovely cheerleading Dizzycap ☺️ I agree that Friday was a glorious day ☀️ Excellent decluttering of laundry & gardening tasks 👏 So pleased to hear that babyface’s second check up went so well 🥹 Although it does sound like you have your hands full when she ‘forgets’ that she is still recovering from a major op 😅 At the rate you are going with sales of your listings, there can’t be too much more to declutter 🤔 Just wondering what other animals are in your area 😉 now that you have revealed that a neighbour has a resident goose 😂

Excellent decluttering of paperwork Brambling 👏 I imagine it was quite interesting seeing prices etc 🙂 Good luck decluttering the contents of the 2005 box 🍀

TC77, hope you had a very successful Saturday with both the decluttering & tidying 🤞Good luck helping DD2 with her decluttering 🍀

Lovely cheerleading CRANKY40 ☺️ I take it “Greedyguts” isn’t really the name of the cat 😂 although she does sound like a real character ☺️ Just wondering how many words a minute she can type 😉

Fizz2015, hopefully the sun came out & brought your mojo with it 🤞I have made a note of your goal for the year & must say I am very impressed with the flying start 🤩 Excellent decluttering of listed items & packaging 👏 

MrsSD Awards: 💐 🌟 ❤️ ❤️ 🏅 💐 💐 💐 🏅🥉🏅 🎂 🌟⭐️⭐️❤️ 🍫🐾 😍

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 629/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00

TC77

@Squiffy fab work on the table
@Florenceem so glad Mr F home and better than last time   do take care of yourself
@CRANKY40 downsized in 3 months .... please come and help!!  
I've been out for a long walk in Kent with friends ( and others) think avoiding my house..lots my mojo  and cannot keep the table clear!
Mrs SD , sense in lewisham has closed down..red cross take electrical.
The poshest cs  is shelter in blackheath and the  cancer research there. The CR shop in lewisham sells most things for under £5. We now have 4 in lewisham within about a 7 minute walk ( to the furthest. )
5 paper etc yesterday 445 but nothing today yet so going to put a timer on and do something ! 

Brambling

CRANKY40 said:

I had to post this quickly and come back to edit before I lost it. The afore mentioned cat is sitting on my lap "helping" with the typing. She wants the ipad on with bird and squirrel videos but also wanted a quick rummage on my desk in case there was anything edible to cats. There wasn't but she likes to check. She's a posh cat with the digestive system of an alley cat. 

I had to smile at this as mine is the opposite a alley cat (think bent over ear, I'm told from fighting with his brother) with a fussy palate, although give him his due he doesn't beg or steal my food. He knows if he hits my tablet screen hard enough it moves which he does when he wants attention 🙄

No decluttering done today other than finishing the shredding, I went with my sister to watch on screen showing of Six and with the offer of lamb shanks she is coming around next Sunday to help rearrange the furniture and to help put together my storage for the small bedroom 🙂

sqwiffy

Hi YBR, I'm fairly new and everyone has been very welcoming although lots of people seem to know one another very well. Sounds scary to downsize but I guess it's true that we fit what we have as they more space you have, the more you fill I think. You could always approximately see how much smaller your place will be to see how much you'll need to reduce. If you're really reluctant to get rid of, you could pay for storage for some, then if it's not missed get rid of it and the fees you'll be paying!

Yes, Dizzycap you're right. I have areas of clutter (drawers  and cupboards  and piles of doom! ) in several rooms but only one room of doom, so maybe it's not as bad as I felt it was . I'm trying to tackle the easier area's first as well as doing small pockets of time in the doom room. I might do a little summary of all the places later? Today after clearing that kitchen table, I also tidied the kitchen island and the living room coffee table top so that it was left tidy for my DH when I went off to my DM's for the night later today. I often feel sorry for my DH as he's not the clutterbug and has often tried to get me to get rid of stuff with me avoiding. At times, I've felt so ashamed that I haven't wanted people to come in to see the house. Anyone else get that?

After that DH and I went out, calling into our DD2 and DD2DH and saw DGS2 too. DH has arranged to do some more individual maths tuition with DGS2 nex week in preparation for his upcoming exams as he's in year 11. Then DH and I for lunch which was pleasant followed by a sunshiny walk before food shopping. We had a quick cuppa, then I left for DM's.

Decluttered 1 broken moneybox, 1 empty wine bottle (was going to make a light out of), 3 old undies, 20 emails, 2 unsubscribed, 1 kitchen drawer, 1 coffee table top, 2 old medicines, and one island and coffee table.

TC77

Abandoned timer and decided timer, so copied my phone to an old (but unopened phone I discovered as mine has large splotches appearing on the screen. Looking for a nice case but DD1 said such a cheap old phone get a cheap case so that's been ordered. Watching a programme and mended and sewed a button on trews from CS (new but faulty bought a few weeks ago)> Realise yesterday as well as dropping off cs bag in blackheath and not buying anything, I tided and swept hall and kitchen and my bedroom (not stayed perfect but tidier and less dust).
I posted a couple of items, with tags and while I fit in them they don't really fit me if that makes sense - Anyone one sold so will package up and post, and if other doesn't go quickly then into CS bag.
It's crockery and cutlery for example which I think DDs as young adults may need in the next couple of years - and also I keep things as who know the style of my next home (when I finally get there and assume its before I need a nursing home). again, so impressed by those who have moved. 
Hope everyone's week starts tomorrow as well as it can do x

weenancyinAmerica

@sqwiffy - I haven't invited anyone over for over twelve years. No place for anyone to sit down. Hard to clean up when everything hurts. And no one else cares.