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

DH has had a flurry of activity: filled bird feeders, pruned next doors tree which was overhanging our shed, *zizzed food for worms & fed them & washed out our kitchen compost tub. *the garage food blender finally gave up the ghost ☹️ fortunately DH had already bought a replacement some time ago 🙂 (which was sitting on the floor in our living room 😉) Broken blender now in Tip bag, new blender set up & cardboard box recycled. 

995 Broken blender in Tip bag

996 - 1000 Kitchen recycling, cardboard box, magazine, drinks cans, glass jar - recycled 

1001 - 1002 Kitchen & lr detritus - binned 

Dinner was chicken & chips/fries for DSis, salmon & chilli fishcakes + chips/fries for DH whilst I had the lo sausage & spinach linguine. Wudupa.

YBR, Excellent decluttering by both you & your Mum 👏 Such great work that I am awarding each of you a medal🏅🏅 

oceanspirit, excellent decluttering by both you & OH 👏

Great work QueenJess 👏 Well done on maintaining the exceedingly high net out figure 😊

Excellent decluttering vulpix 👏 you are definitely on a roll 😊 I am curious about the “Gift of warmth Summer challenge. It's knit as much as you can in June, July & August” & wondering if you could provide a link 🙏

We had a couple of light showers during the day but the rain didn’t start until about2.00 a.m. Sleep tight 😴  

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

DH Awards: 🏅 ‘Squirrel Whisperer’

DSis Awards: ⭐️ 

Decluttering Target 2025: 1002/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £228.00

BridgetTheCat

Hello! Newbie here so I’m not sure of the rules 😀. Does cleaning out the fridge count as declutterring? If so yesterday I got rid of 8 pots of out-of-date cream, 2 tubs of festering coleslaw and assorted mouldy vegetables.

The gas boiler was serviced yesterday and I realised my airing cupboard is literally stuffed with fabric - a lot of it scraps and offcuts from from previous sewing projects. So that’s another job on the to-do list.

Thanks for letting me join in!

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, realised it's days since I posted so will try to quickly catch up

@BridgetTheCat welcome aboard 😁, clearing the fridge definitely counts 😁.

A couple of photos for you 
The completed fruit salad tray for the 2 year old who is obsessed with cake but also dinosaurs so was distracted enough to eat a lot of the fruit and loved it and the latest cake decorating attempt  😆. Next week we are doing something with chocolate oranges. 
The weather has been particularly disruptive over the past few days and I have only managed to get into the garden a couple of times between the rain bursts so 3 LDFPA and 3 sessions on clearing the bamboo. I spent over 4 hours at the garage waiting for what was supposed to be a 2 hour job getting my airbags replaced after a recall letter. The garage is too far away to get home and back on public transport but I did go for a walk to a local shopping area as I was falling asleep sitting waiting 🤣 but I didn't buy anything. I spent another half a day at OH's house with an electrician who was supposed to be fitting a new electric shower but we couldn't find a way to turn off the water. There has been some work done on the pavements and the stop !!!!!! in the street has been blocked. We looked in lots of places including the loft which the electrician said needs emptying but didn't look too bad to me but we were unable to find one in the house so the job didn't get done. OH has contacted United utilities and they will be coming out to help us find the stop !!!!!! in a week or so. I was quite surprised how quickly they said they would be there so hopefully that will be sorted soon. Lots of pottering around and general tidying and a couple of phone calls made, one to the energy company who still haven't sorted out my smart meter and didn't get back to me as promised so starting to get a bit cross with them, two calls to sort out an issue with my tv box. The first call resulted in an appointment with an engineer being made for an unspecified day next week but I went away and had another play with it and called them back and got a much more helpful person who told me to do something different and the issue was resolved, I think 😁 and the engineer has been cancelled. I also contacted the builder who I thought was coming at the beginning of July to install the understairs toilet but he can't now come until September or maybe October.  I am a bit upset about this but as builders are so thin on the ground I am going with it. It does give me a bit more time to sort the space out but it took the wind out of my sails a bit. 

I have tried to keep up with the posts and I had a whole raft of things I wanted to say but my brain is still half asleep 🤣.

@vulpix great news you have sold your house, good luck with finding a new one soon that you love, hugs. I am also curious about the gift of warmth thing, Google didn't throw up anything that looked right 😁.

Ok I need another cuppa so hugs to anybody who would like one and I will try to be better at posting 😁

801bedroom recycling
802 lots of fruit
803 - 806 presents delivered
807 bedroom bin
808 bathroom bin
809 - 811 LDFPA
812 - 814 bamboo
815 car sorted
816 kitchen recycling
817 birthday card from stash posted
818 meds collected
819 & 820 phone calls
821 - 824 400 emails permanently deleted
Take care everyone 
824/2025

vulpix

 The Gift of warmth is a face book group recommended by Wicked Lady4. I have made 2 things already but one is so cute, I might keep it for the new baby due 31st October.( DS says he is going to call it Caspar.) What I knit is dictated by the amount of a colour I have. I am knitting all the part balls up first then I can do some blankets with the full balls of wool.
The shoe box appeal that happy Kitties is involved with also takes hand knits. They particularly would like hats, gloves, scarves and knee blankets for elderly people. People are very generous with children's gifts but adult gifts are fewer. I must admit I had never given a thought to people in care homes with the shoe box appeal. They use blankets to pack around deliveries of shoe boxes. A fabulous way to de clutter a wool stash I think.

 Going shopping then off to view a house. Love the view but zero chance of any passers by. Cats would like it though.

 Still most impressed by your dinosaur Liverpool Anne, I can't get my head around how you have done the teeth at all.

 Vx

GrannyKate

Hi all - quick post.  Just chatted to a friend and agreed to a week in Cyprus (never been) in May next year.  We used to holiday regularly together but haven't since Covid.  Sorted out a few things for Edinburgh later this month and contacted the University about viewing a portrait of 3 x great grandfather which is in one of the rooms at the Old College. Waiting for Dsis to confirm her flights then I will look at booking some of the accommodation.  

Mrs SD builder can't do tiles until July as he is away the last 2 weeks of June and had 2 kitchen jobs to work in before them - his part is time critical for the fitters and he doesn't want to rush my tiling or leave it half done.  Mystery fencer has contacted me again and asked if I still want job done but no date provided.

Welcome @BridgetTheCat - anything counts as decluttering whether it's physically getting rid of things or decluttering a task from your brain.  We also like to hear tales of travels, gardens, cats and dogs etc.  On that note here is Mr Sox, the small grey cat, (or Sir Sox as he prefers) having a standoff with a neighbours large fluffy cat over ownership of the gate post.  The brick one is actually mine.  The flowers are Valerian I think which some class as a weed but it does look nice down the side of the path. 

529 Yet more papers sent out for meetings
530 Some family history stuff updated and university contacted
531 Instruction leaflet box sorted and at least 4 booklets to recycling - 3 were for TVs I no longer have

florianatwobob

Box of books finally despatched to World of Books yesterday….we were lacking a suitably sized box! 

Decluttered a 50l bag of compost (that arrived on Wednesday) into the pots so the plants bought on Monday are nearly all repotted. (I’m feeling very efficient.) Rain stopped play though before I got to the yellow courgette plant yesterday. 

I also decluttered my ironing pile for a whole 3 hours! 🎉 DSis then brought a load of (mostly) dried washing in….such is life.

Meanwhile in Pigeon Watch they’re still on their nest and kindly not pooping on the washing. I’m still talking to them as I walk up the garden…… I swear I’d have been tried as a witch in the 1500/1600s the amount of talking to the birds that goes on in my garden! 

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

Saturday is a dull overcast drizzly day with a high of 17° & a low of 11°C. DH is watching the last practice session & then the qualifying for tomorrow’s MotoGP races in Spain. Straight into cheerleading:

BridgetTheCat, so lovely to meet you & welcome aboard the EDT (Electric-Powered Decluttering Train) 👋 Hopefully you will be pleased to learn that there are NO Rules - just hints, tips & ideas to help you declutter not only physical items but also to dispose of digital & mental clutter 🙂 I see that you have already made an excellent start, as you not only have a To Do List but have also cleaned & cleared the fridge 👏 which definitely counts as decluttering 😊 I am looking forward to following your decluttering journey 😊

Liverpool_Anne, love the pictures 😊 What a wonderful theme for the cake. Like vulpix I cannot work out how you managed to carve the dinosaur’s teeth 🧐 A brilliant idea to have the dinosaur as the feature of the fruit platter & it sounds like it worked 🥳 The weather has been particularly disruptive this week, so I am very impressed that you managed a few more sessions in the bamboo & did so much laundry 👏 Also great work ticking off so many phone calls 👏 shame about the mixed results but hopefully most will be resolved over the next week 🤞 Everything crossed that the water company turn up as promised 🤞 Just thinking that the reason for a hopefully quick visit is the possibility of being fined  🤨 Such a shame/disappointment about the builder not being able to turn up until later in the year 😞 no wonder you were “…….a bit upset about this but as builders are so thin on the ground I am going with it. It does give me a bit more time to sort the space out but it took the wind out of my sails a bit.” Although the way this year is whizzing past it might not seem so far in the future 😬🤞

vulpix, thanks for the information about both the Gift of Warmth & the shoebox appeal 👏 Your DS is a bit of ‘wag’ - Caspar indeed 😂

GrannyKate, sounds wonderful to have another holiday to look forward to ☺️ I also have never been to Cyprus so googled it. Not only does the island look beautiful but the usual weather in May sounds ideal 18° to 26°C. Some great decluttering 👏 Also a lovely welcome for BridgetTheCat 🥹 Love the photo 😊

florianatwobob, excellent & eclectic decluttering 👏  This “I also decluttered my ironing pile for a whole 3 hours! 🎉 DSis then brought a load of (mostly) dried washing in….such is life.” did make me chuckle 🙊 (shame on me 😉) Keeping everything crossed that the pigeons continue to be ‘polite’ 🤞

All caught up so will wish everyone a good day & will settle down to sorting out today’s mail - all 7 pieces 😧 

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

DH Awards: 🏅 ‘Squirrel Whisperer’

DSis Awards: ⭐️ 

Decluttering Target 2025: 1002/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £228.00

Florenceem

I have been AWOL again.
Mr F has been the problem. I posted that he was back to spending ridiculous amounts of time on the toilet - on the evening of the day I last posted - I phoned 111. A Paramedic phoned me and arranged for an ambulance but stated there was a long wait. Mr F got off the toilet after 5 hours and I was so tired that I cancelled the ambulance and went to bed. It was 2am and I was exhausted.
The next day I went to bed and left him on the toilet - he spent a total of 10 hours on there in 21 hours.
I went to Church on my own as Mr F went on the toilet as soon as he got up.
I got back from Church and cooked his dinner - it got cold as he refused to come out of the cloakroom.
I called a taxi and managed to get him to A & E - he had a blood test and chest xray.  The A & E dept was unusually quiet. 
A Dr prescribed antibiotics - his blood work wan't bad enough to admit him so it was a taxi home. 
I went to bed and left him on the toilet again.
To be contd.....

suzeesu2000

decluttered a rusted metal bathroom storage thingy. Also got rid of a load of toiletries with a tiny bit in the bottoms of them. Decided that I dont need the frame of a mini 2 drawer thing that I keep cleaning brushes for the bathroom in. Drawers went in bottom of cabinet nicely with room for sprays and loo cleaner.

Put new towels and floor mats in and everything is now where its to live. Just got to wait for the new toothbrush mugs and the blind to come and all is done.

Wet and overcast here but not cold enough for me. Happy weekend all xx

QueenJess

I somehow managed to lose my bookmark to this thread and it's forgotten where I had read up to, so I am probably missing a number of posts.  Sorry, and hugs if anyone needs it.

I cleaned the worst cupboard in the kitchen today - no decluttering needed, but it was really dirty.  I can't get rid to the corner because there is a pull out saucepan thing fixed to the cupboard and I am not removing it simply to clean.  I did the best I could and it is miles better and I finished the old kitchen cleaner in the process.  A few more bits also left that I came across whilst I was doing a bit of tidying.

Packaging still features strongly on my use up list and at the last count I had at least 25 bits of it in the cupboard.  I also have a bag absolutely rammed full of plastic bags despite having zero very recently.  Sadly all the stuff I picked up on Buy Nothing came with a plastic bag and so I need to try and use some of these up too.

6 - DD paperwork recycled
1 - DD tat binned
1 - destroyed sandwich bag binned
1 - shorts I never wear (Buy Nothing)
2 - packaging reused
1 - puzzle (charity bag)
1 - cleaner used up

New total 2,115
Use it up total 159
Net physical things in/(out) -598
Mini kitchen challenge 40/50

June - Use Up Challenge:
1. Screen cleaner
2. Packaging
3. Whole almonds
4. Frozen candied orange juice
5. Frozen mango
6. Almond milk
7. Floss pick
8. Cotton pads
9. Seed packet
10. Floss pick
11. Packaging
12. Packaging
13. Packaging
14. Stationery
15. Kitchen cleaner
16. Packaging
17. Packaging
18. Packaging