2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

vulpix

Ps, TC, give the plates away, their need is greater than yours. Use your best ones everyday, you deserve it. I really am going to come and physically help you. Just whistle. Xx

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, sorry for not posting, I have been dealing with an emotional issue connected to OH's medical issue. My emotional issue as OH does not talk about it and if I try to broach it gets cross. I have felt exhausted with it.
On Wednesday I got one of the carpets out, emptied the bathroom bin and did some weeding. Yesterday I hung around for someone to collect another carpet but it was a no show which really annoyed me. Why ask for it and arrange a pick up time and then not turn up? I went over the fence and uu some nails, screws and U shaped nail things fixing ln's fence with neighbours on the other side and putting up some support for a clematis on the back fence. I was particularly pleased as at one point I needed to use a drill and managed to put my hands on it straight away 😁 . The repaired fence was given a coat of paint. I also helped her put up her solar powered water feature 😁. I got 2 LDFPA. I have spoken to the roofer and he will hopefully be coming next Wednesday. 

@weenancyinAmerica I am so sorry you are having to deal with a shouty bil. Can I ask does he own the house you are living in? Is it a his property or a jointly owned by the family property? Sorry if I am being too nosey but I am struggling to understand why he thinks he has the right to behave like that towards you. I know you think of your housemates as your responsibility and you want to help them but maybe it is time for a rethink and you should think about yourself now. You shouldn't have to be in a situation where he can treat you so badly, especially as the housemates don't pull their weight and help. Big hugs

@Florenceem happy birthday to Mr F, hope you both have a lovely day 😁

@Brie I have seen that messy/hoader test before and can definitely say I am in the messy category except for the rod which would qualify as a hoarder room 😂. A couple of rooms have improved so good to remind myself that I have made some progress 😁.

@Mrs SD beautiful scarf 😁

@Dizzycap interesting article, I definitely have too many books 😂

@QueenJess you are doing brilliantly, I think with small children in the house there will always be things coming in but you are so on top of things that it won't be a problem going forward. Your parents on the other hand...... 😂

@YBR I sneak some things into the bin / recycling when OH isn't looking as well 😂 they are never missed 😂.

@TC77 I understand the dilemma but I think if you are not sure you like the plates you should let them go. Just because someone else does like them and wants them doesn't mean they are right for you. Would you use them or will they sit in the cupboard as you prefer to use others?

@Floss well done on making the decision to declutter the full time job. Good luck with finding a part time job you like 😁

Right I have to get weaving and do something
Hugs to everyone who would like one

486 carpet
487 bathroom bin
488 weeding
489 & 490 LDFPA
491 nails etc uu sorting ln's fence
Take care everyone
491/2025

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

Forgot to post yesterday 🙊 so here it is: Thursday was another sunny day with clear blue skies but still the chilly breeze - high 16° low 5°C. I finally brought the dried clothes in, spent the afternoon mending clothes - 2 pairs of my knickers, reattached a belt loop on a pair of DH’s jeans, darned the heels of a pair of DH’s socks & finally repaired an 18” tear in the attached petticoat of one of my skirts. 3 x LDFPA. I also sorted out the bag of clothes pegs. Dinner was sausages, mash, baked beans & tinned plum tomatoes. Wudupa

658 - 660 Kitchen recycling, drinks cans, coffee tin - recycled 

661 - 663 Kitchen detritus, pair of Sunday knickers, 1 broken peg - binned

weenancy, the great thing about this pattern is that it is only 4 rows repeated & only one row that is fiddly 😊 Thank you for sharing such lovely memories of your Dad 🥹 I hope that your sister & her husband are visiting to help out with the decluttering 🤞

I have fallen behind with the cheerleading again 😞 Sleep tight 😴 

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

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 663/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00

daisy_1571

Morning all, I've finally decluttered some house guests - an extra 7 people here for almost a week.  It all got a bit much !!! Lol, went to bed and slept for 2 hours when they left lol.  Sooooo nice not to have pounding feet running about this morning and if I never heard the word mummy again it will be fine by me.  Hats completely off to all you mothers on here, gee whizz I don't know how you stand it.

Anyhoo. 

Tc77 sounds maybe like an emotional reaction there - you were happy to let go till someone else wanted it?  A friend's dh was like that.  Selling something for x, somebody seems keen to buy it, suddenly he doesn't want to sell it at that price.   Its like sometimes we suddenly think we must be losing something 'valuable' if someone else shows interest.  Or we have a little nagging doubt that if someone wants it for that price it must really be worth double and I'm getting hoodwinked. Thats definitely just an internal thing for you to work through but if you notice it happening a lot you maybe could write a note for yourself  - x has no use in my life right now/in my stage of life/in my home.  I have no space/never used/it makes me look ill/it gives me allergic reaction/I hate the sight of it etc etc whatever is your reasoning.  Then if you find someone else wants it and you suddenly feel the need to keep it, check your reasons, think about their reason- theirs broke/they have more family to feed at the moment/they are different colouring to you therefore they suit it/they need it and will use it now.  Take it slow, but also keep up the momentum,  you're doing great. 

WeenancyinAmerica wow that must have been hard however it sounds like you know what he's like and it seems like he just is not a good communicator. I'm sure he could have said much the same thing but conversationally rather than shouty but that's his style so you know its not personal.  Ignore anything that's just personal taste ie he doesn't want a cat on the bed, fine, he doesn't have a cat on the bed in his house.  Your house, your cat, he can go pound sand (as I've heard Americans say lol).   As far as the room mates, he's only saying what lots of us here have written at one time of another.   You do a lot for them, seem to have sometimes fallen into having them as roommates rather than actively sought out roommates and they never seem to bring much joy to your life.  Raising rent sounds like a reasonable thing to do if it hasnt been looked at for a while.  Getting them to start thinking about moving on is definitely something to think about.  You've spoken before about downsizing  - is it something you'd genuinely like to do?  If so, maybe for example: tell them that instead of rent raise you are giving them 12 months notice or some other timescale - sometimesshorter is better as it focuses everyone'sattention, too long and things drift.  Tell them in writing you want your house to be on the market in a sellable condition by  for example 1st April 2026 and they have until end April 26 at the very latest to vacate if you are thinking 12 months.  Put in exact definitions to override personal ideas ie "sellable condition means each room, garage and garden tidy and clear for viewers to walk around in".  They (and you very temporarily nearer viewing) can rent storage for whatever they don't genuinely use day to day.  If thats too long then whatever timescale you want. Then you can have your smaller place with a room of bookcases for your books, no animals if that suits you and only yourself, your hobbies, your life to consider 😉 😀  💕  🧡   maybe you and your colorado pal can buy a bit ground between you both and each build a tiny house on one half - no need to house your roommates in their own tiny houses you'd just end up still dealing with them when you should really be focusing on yourself 

I'm so tired that's the only 2 things I've picked up on sorry but I know others are struggling or feeling low - hugs if you need or want one, take care declutterati xxxx

Daisy 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

Friday is another lovely sunny day with not a cloud in the sky - high 21°C, low 7°C I have written a shopping list so DH & DSis can go shopping today. All set with my cuppa & ready to start the cheerleading:

Lovely cheerleading post Dizzycap 😊

TC77, I hope the trip to your Dad’s house went well & that you managed to declutter a lot of items as well as resisting the temptation to bring ‘anything’ home 🤞

Lovely cheerleading Moorviews 😊 & thank you for the compliment about my knitting ☺️ Such a pity that MrMV still hasn’t quite grasped the concept of decluttering 😞 but I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will realise that tidying & re-stacking boxes etc is Not the same as decluttering & generally speaking doesn’t really create any extra space 🤞

Muddy_Walker, pleased to hear that you are now on tablets rather than injections 🥳 Hopefully the bruises at the injection sites will disappear quickly 🤞

Excellent decluttering QueenJess 👏 Your net figure is going down steadily 😊

Excellent decluttering of books/manuals etc YBR 👏 Hopefully your DH will come to the conclusion that at least some of the very old science textbooks are probably obsolete & he might be willing to let a few more go in the not too distant future 🤞

TC77, good luck with the book decluttering 🍀 Remember how ‘free’ you felt when you were on your ‘gap month’ ☺️ I am hoping that DD2 is getting excited about her study year in Australia & is decluttering lots of stuff prior to her departure 🤞 I am also hoping that you have found whatever it was that goblins & pixies moved this time 🙏

Excellent decluttering Florenceem 👏 & before I forget completely, Happy Birthday to MrF 🎂🥳, I hope he has a lovely day

One page caught up so will post before I get distracted & completely forget to post 😉 Wishing one & all as good a day as possible 😊

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

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 663/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00

CRANKY40

Half time from DS's exams today so I thought I'd call in to say Happy Birthday to MrF 🎁🎂🎉

Weenancy daisy has already said what I was thinking. Just imagine a downsized house just for you with peace and quiet and nobody elses rubbish dumped all over the place. 

daisy well done for saying what you did so eloquently even in the face of exhaustion. 

Mrs_S_D i forgot to say how pretty your scarf was the other day. It's lovely. 

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 is busy in the garden: he has filled the bird feeders, changed the water in the bowls, planted up 4 potato eyes, tidied the garden box & removed excess empty sacks/bags, added shredded paper to both wormeries, dropped & broken a large plastic garden pot - contents of which have been transferred to a similar pot which was empty & he has done a bit of weeding. In contrast I have only emptied the shredder bin topping up the sack of shredding for the wormeries, gathered together a few broken bits & done a bit of weeding. 

664 - 668 Broken pot, 4 empty sacks/bags - binned

669 Glass bottle recycled

DH & DSis went shopping, left about 13:50. Now back to cheerleading yesterday’s posts:

Lovely cheerleading Dizzycap 😊 Very sorry to hear that your doctor’s surgery has let you down so badly 😡 especially as you are in so much pain 😖 I have everything crossed that it has now been sorted out & you have your meds which will hopefully lead to a better night’s sleep tonight 🙏 Just thinking that maybe babyface has put herself on a diet as she has swapped her evening meal for extra play with her stuffed toys 🤔 

Great post QueenJess, you have definitely worked at finding the decluttering system that works best for you 👏

CRANKY40, I was exhausted just reading about all the tasks & decluttering you have done from Sunday through to Thursday 🤩👏 Wishing DS good luck for Friday’s exams 🍀 Hopefully  you will manage to get some rest 🤞

Florenceem, yes the stitch is feather (and fan) 🙂 Good luck with your listings on V 🍀  😠 to the inconsiderate people ripping open bags outside the SA - creates so much extra work for you 😞 Hope MrF is continuing to improve 🙏

TC77, now now 🤞 Please try not to second guess yourself re the dinner plates - you did such a good job listing them 😊 & hopefully now you have released them to a new home 🤞

Willowtree222, perhaps you can find a couple of items to declutter once you have decluttered the Prosecco 😉

Dizzycap, thanks for the information about vegetable deals 👏 Hope I remember 😉

Floss, I would definitely class that as ‘peak decluttering’ 😉 Please remember to take some time for yourself in between decluttering & getting ‘jobs’ done 😊 

Lovely post Dizzycap 😊 Hope you managed to get some sleep 🤞

Brambling, sounds like a lovely way to spend a Thursday morning 😊 Hope the walk didn’t aggravate your hip 🤞

TC77 re This “Love hearing how people don't regret retirement, moving and other life changes...” I am looking forward to reading about your life changes as you made such a good start with your ‘gap month’ ☺️

weenancy, sorry to hear that your sister & BiL’s visit was so stressful 😥 I could feel my blood pressure rising as I read This “My sister came with her irate husband - and he yelled for about thirty minutes about the state of the house. He intends to help me get one roommate (J) out. The other roommates will have their rents raised a bit. Still shaking, but I got through it. Just need to declutter the living room and kitchen like crazy for the next week and then start on our two storage rooms. He never did let me finish a sentence.”  I am completely non-plussed, hence no emojis. Although I will say how dare he shout in your home (I truly hope he wasn’t shouting At You) I can’t even find an emoji to match my current emotions 🤷‍♀️ Hopefully his “intentions” translate into actions. I am also wondering what your sister was doing/saying 🤨 Rather than shouting perhaps he should have rolled up his sleeves & helped you move boxes & furniture + arranged other times when he could visit & help out - apologies I sometimes go off into a fantasy world 😞 

Well said TC77 & Muddy_Walker ☺️

I have come to a halt in the cheerleading whilst I ponder whether or not I have suitable words for weenancy’s BiL ……….. I will see you all later 👋 

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

DH Awards: 🏅 

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2025: 669/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £41.00

Muddy_Walker

Suitable words for Weenancy BIL……um……non repeatable here!!!!!!!

Happy birthday MrF! 

I was up much earlier than normal…..waaaay earlier….to have a new washing machine selivered. I have managed to stay up and done lots of gardening type stuff and then watched tv this afternoon….. just fed the dogs and am now tired and grumpy but do t want to quite go to bed in case I don’t sleep tonight.

A request from the pharmacist at the drs for blood pressure readings for another week. 🤬🤬🤬

After frogging most of the scarf have been very carefully re-crocheting it paying particular attention to the edges. I have stitch markers everywhere and bought a cheapy little stitch counter and so far it’s doing the trick.

Pepper has just shouted for Rogan to go play…..

YBR

weenancyinAmerica said:

Thank you to those who were thinking about me. My sister came with her irate husband - and he yelled for about thirty minutes about the state of the house. He intends to help me get one roommate (J) out. The other roommates will have their rents raised a bit. Still shaking, but I got through it. Just need to declutter the living room and kitchen like crazy for the next week and then start on our two storage rooms. He never did let me finish a sentence. 

Before they came I cleaned up spider webs in the living room and kitchen, cleaned the toilet in one of the bathrooms, swept the other downstairs bathroom floor, and cleaned half of the bathroom sink area (my half). Also started the blood testing and the insulin shots for the diabetes and fed the cats. Made oatmeal for breakfast. Still not sure what I am supposed to eat. Also called and requested a large item trash pickup. We get three per year with up to 20 items. I only have 8 items listed so far, so I can add more as we come to them.

It's so wrong that you should be shouted at in your own home, or that you should be left shaking. I hope that actual help materialises without strings attached, and not just more shouting. Praying you have the energy for your crazy decluttering work.

A beautiful day here, and especially so since it's the beginning of 17 days off work, so I took it gently and walked to an appointment rather than contesting with rush-hour drivers. I finished off preparation for Sunday's service, did laundry, read a (text) book in the sun... You can see this is leading to not a lot of decluttering today!

Having said that, I tidied the rest of the shed once things cooled a bit this afternoon. It might need another declutter but I can get to stuff, and there's no rodent nests left. A couple of old sets of poles for fruit/brassica cages are stacked for the yard sale - I can't be bothered with the faff any more and have given up trying to grow broccoli and cauliflower. Just as I did that I spotted a couple of things that should be in the shed, and having relocated them, immediately spotted another!

nannywindow

Hello all, long time no "see", ill health, both physical and mental, plus RL really sent me off the EDT rails. My GP has now organised 3 different specialists to see me. We've also been on holiday but now I'm back and somewhat refreshed.
I'm sorry to have been awol but so happy that this thread is still going and stronger than ever. I have been plodding along with some decluttering though and 2 bags of clothes have gone to the cs. 4 dilapidated fence panels were broken down and removed and today we have managed to cut the lawns, first time in over 18mths. DGS stepped in and helped last year because ill health prevented such physical activity. 
A bag of rubbish was collected from the shed today and disposed of, plus 2 large green waste bins full of shrub cuttings have gone out, I had to reduce the shrubs height as they were too tall. Also gone a torn tarpaulin sheet and the cardboard from several deliveries.
Weenancy big cwtches for you. I hope you can downsize and have a peaceful calm home just for you.
Hugs to everyone, I haven't read back as there are too many pages 😲 so please forgive me.
Take care all
nan