2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

Willowtree222

Hope everyone is ok. Sending positive thoughts to those that need it. 

I've not been on but have been busy. Managed to declutter loads, including a ton of postage bags given to me that weren't needed. Recycled to the original place that provided them and they will be used rather than just in my bin. 

Got a plan of action in July to go through some sections of the house. It will reduce at least three large items taking up unnecessary space. I've also got to clear out some crafting items as the local scout centre have requirements and I have more than enough for them. That will then free up two boxes ready to reuse which is a positive. 

I've been quite motivated which is good. Everything has been reused though which takes a little more time. I'd rather do this then just bin something though. 

oceanspirit

Emptied a box of books onto the new bookcase and found 3 that can go.  There are several others that can go once they have been read - just need to stop borrowing so many from the library to give me time to read them!

OH has cleaned black mould off the bedroom ceiling - it’s only been there for over a decade.

Brie

sorry but have missed a couple of weeks of chatter.  Hope all is well with everyone.

And a big mess up on the huge 15 room declutter planned at my mom's house.  Tension was a bit toooooooooo much so instead of doing the intended my OH and I decluttered ourselves elsewhere and came home early.  Else there may have been bodies decluttered in the manure pile.  Might have included my nephew's crack head dog (seriously) who ate 10% of one of my OH's books (apparently my fault as I left a door open and the book at nose level - silly me to think a 2 year old dog has some manners)

Unfortunately while we were away the gardener has decluttered himself and so will no longer to work my messy yard.  Might try to entice him back with the offer of biscuits with his tea.  But I doubt it will work.  And in my absence the slugs have decluttered all my squash plants - lovingly grown from seed - courgettes, butternut, honey bush.  Not happy but someone was offering free tomatoes on freegle so that make me a bit happier.  

clothes bought for trip brought home, mostly unworn.  a few extras bought as the exchange rate was so good.  One actual declutter of a mini hair brush that had just started to drop bristles out - a small bit to leave but a good one.

Floss

👋 @Brie I was wondering how you were getting on, sounds like it was an eventful trip...

TC77

Large broken plant pot in bin as collection Friday and not much in it, some bottom of fridge leftovers and some out, cs bag dropped off with extras in it and heavy text book to  bank of things.
New total 1025. This includes bundles of old receipts and paper 

Brie

Floss said:

👋 @Brie I was wondering how you were getting on, sounds like it was an eventful trip...

eventful makes it sound potentially nice.  I wish it was. 

We were staying in the family farmhouse, with my bro who was mom's carer for the last few years.  He was obviously stressed but didn't recognise that.  He then had a friend die on the day we arrived, and another soon after.  And a big party to plan for my mom's memorial.  I was cooking breakfast a week back and he went ballistic and basically we walked out.  I had gone to help him organise the memorial party as well as house clearance but everything I tried to do he'd already knew what was needed so my help wasn't needed.  Basically my brother made me and OH feel completely unwelcome so we changed our flight to come back early.  Party isn't for another 10 days which we will of course now miss.  Not sure how to feel about it all.  

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

Wednesday was a bright sunny day with a high of 24°C & low of 14°C. DH got up, had a bath & then went to the barbers. I on the other hand have put a new bin bag in the wheelie bin 😅 DH is now out front trimming the hedge & has completely tidied up after himself. 

YBR, congratulations on finding a new to you car so quickly 🥳 Great work re-tidying your fabric collection 👏 Fingers crossed your DH is as quick as you sorting out the trays of ‘stuff’ 🤞

charlies_tribe good luck finding a new trampoline in the not too distant future 🍀 Excellent work fixing the hoover & getting so much cleaning, decluttering & tidying done 👏 Nothing wrong with a detailed breakdown especi when so much work has been done 😊

Florenceem, hopefully the new medication & the antibiotics will help MrF 🙏 & allow you to catch up on your sleep 😊

Duchess2, I will keep my fingers & toes crossed that the weather picks up & that one of your DH’s fishing matches is postponed - so that you can get to a car boot & earn a few ‘bob’ 🤞Hope you managed to get a few hours of more comfortable sleep 😊

TC77, a short visit by DD2 although not too long to wait for her next visit 🥹 Fingers crossed that one of the minimalism videos strikes a chord & jump starts your decluttering 🤞Annoyed for both you & DD1 at the appalling treatment from the Energy Company 😡 & quite understand why you have drawn a temporary line under the issue. Hope you can get someone in quickly to clear & repair the guttering & hopefully they will be able to use the same scaffolding as the painters 🤞

vulpix, when I read This “There are three offers on my Mum's house.This estate agent is marketing it much better than the last one.” my first thought was how typical especially as you had ‘almost’ resigned yourself to moving in temporarily 🤔 whilst you continued your house hunt. Lovely cheerleading 😊 Sorry to hear This “I am feeling a little fraught about the house move, I am the "fixer" of the family and just have so much on so I haven't done as much sorting and packing as I would like. Nor can I find anywhere to move to! I am also stressing about the sale of Mum's. Thank goodness we emptied it last year. If I was having to pack up two houses it could be the end of me.” 🥺 

Excellent decluttering Soontobeoap 👏 Good luck encouraging your DH to start removing the wood chip wallpaper 🍀

London_1, no wonder you are enjoying life on the Isle of Wight 🥹 Regular buses, quick & efficient medical appointments & care + independent small shops 🤩 Shame about the lack of NHS dentists 😞-  sadly that is the state of affairs on the mainland as well 😔 Although DH, DSis & I are very lucky to still have our NHS dental practice even if it is the other side of London 😮‍💨 The island sounds idyllic & hopefully when the tourists start arriving in droves, the shopkeepers will still be able to find time for a chat 😊

suzeesu2000, just wondering if you & London_1 have bumped into each other yet 😉 Excellent work sorting your DH’s shirts & decluttering enough to empty a whole drawer 👏 A medal 🏅 is on its way.

short_bird, thanks for that - I will look forward to seeing the last 4 episodes 😊

Florenceem a very busy Wednesday as usual 👏 Pleased to hear that you managed to get MrF out of the house for a while 😊 and that although he spent quite a bit of time on the toilet, you were able to persuade to go home 👏 Good luck altering the dresses 🍀

One page caught up 😉 For dinner I took a bag of bolognaise sauce out of the freezer which we had with spaghetti. Wudupa. Two bright spots today: DH received a 45 second video of one of his great nephew’s proposal to his girlfriend 🥹 she did say yes 😉 + DSis got a long call from her son 😊 Although it was a lovely day, the wind picked up late afternoon & evening & made it feel very chilly 🥶 

1021 - 1025 Kitchen recycling, plastic jar, magazine, drinks cans, glass bottle - recycled 

1026 Kitchen detritus - binned 

Nice to see you Willowtree222 👋 I am awarding you a medal 🏅 for donating crafting items to the local scout centre 👏 & just to add to your motivation I am making an early award of a Gold Star ⭐️ in anticipation of getting rid of large items 😊

Great work decluttering books oceanspirit 👏 I am awarding a medal 🏅 to your OH for cleaning the black mould off the ceiling…….. finally 😉

Trying to go to bed a bit earlier than of late so will finish the cheerleading tomorrow 🤞 Sleep tight 😴 

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

DH Awards: 🏅 ‘Squirrel Whisperer’

DSis Awards: ⭐️ 

Decluttering Target 2025: 1026/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £228.00

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, catching up again 😁. Monday I spent hours looking for mini football's for cake decorating and failed miserably but at about 3.30 the lady who runs the class posted a message to say she had some edible stickers we could use so gave up and went home. The only decluttering I did was the bedroom recycling.
Tuesday was a bit more productive 1 LDFPA, bathroom bin, made a dentist appointment for next week as I am still having problems with a couple of loose teeth, went for a blood test and spent about 4 hours working on the bamboo, I stayed in the garden until 9.30 as it was so pleasant and still light 😁. Will count as 4 sessions 😁
Yesterday was cake decorating and I gave away another tin to my friend E. I had been using it to keep various bits of roll out icing in last week and she said she liked it, looks like a custard cream biscuit 😁. So this week I had sorted another tin to use and gave her that one 😁. When I got home got 2 loads of washing on the line, had some lunch and a bit of a rest. It was very warm. Headed out to the garden about 4.30 and the washing was dry 😁. Had a quick coffee over the fence with ln before heading in to do tea. After tea back out to tackle the bamboo 😁. Didn't come in until gone 10 by which time the light was going. Will count as 3 sessions 😁.
I fell asleep on the couch and have just made it to bed now but I have put another load of washing on the line as OH is prepping for our holiday in 2 weeks so all sorts of things are being added to the laundry pile 😂. I have started a bag for food stuff to take with us. Essentials like Brown sauce that OH can't live without 😂 and I am starting to sort out some clothes to take. 
The weather forcast is possible showers this afternoon so I hope to get a couple more hours sleep and then get back out into the garden in the dreaded bamboo before any rain arrives 😂. 

@ Vulpix just so typical that you get offers on your mum's house now when you might need to camp there but at least it was emptied last year and you don't have to worry about that. Dare I ask if your brother has removed his box of rocks yet or are they being donated to the new owners?😁.

@Brie oh that trip sounds quite distressing. I think families can often be very strange beasts and when we are stressed they can be very difficult to cope with, especially as people tend to think it's perfectly ok to treat other family members in ways they wouldn't dream of doing to their friends. It is not acceptable but I have seen it happen too often. I am sorry you will miss your mum's memorial service, that really is a hard one. Is there any chance it will be available to see online, I have been able to do that once when I couldn't get to a funeral. Big hugs.
Also sorry about the slug infestation, I feel your pain there, I am guarding 2 strawberry plants right now with a grand total of 6 fruits on 😂, well we have eaten 1 so only 5 now 😂 and the 2 blackcurrants on that plant before we lost them to birds 😂. As for feckless gardeners, well I have just given up on them and resigned myself to having to do it myself but it's hard work 🙄. More big hugs. Take care of yourself.

@Florenceem I honestly don't what to say, poor Mr F must be feeling quite ill and poor you having to cope with it all big hugs

@London_1 lovely to see you again, we all miss you. You are making the IoW sound so inviting we'll all be looking to move there if you're not careful 😂 then you won't be able to move for us all 😂. So glad the move has worked out so well for you all 😁

Well I think it's time to try to get a bit more sleep so hugs to anybody who would like one

830 bedroom recycling
831 bathroom bin
832 - 834 LDFPA
835 dentist appointment booked
836 blood test
837 - 843 bamboo
844 biscuit tin
Take care everyone
844/2025

Liverpool_Anne

Hi again, thought I'd post a picture of what we made at cake decorating. It's supposed to be for father's day even though we all said we didn't want to do anything as E and I  have no father's around anywhere in the family and the other lady J said her daughter would just eat it.it is made with a chocolate orange in the middle so OH and I  will no doubt get to that soon 🤣

Take care everyone 

daisy_1571

You are doing so well at your class Liverpool_Anne, that looks fab 

Lol, I had forgotten about the box of rocks Mrs sd 😅 🤣 😂,  I am wondering too now vulpix?

Florenceem,  hope you get an easier day soon

Brie so sorry to hear your trip was not great, maybe you could have your own memorial fir your mum in your own way over here with one or two close friends or even just quietly on your own?  

Hugs replenished in the hug cupboard 

Dxxx