2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

Floss

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger thank you!

@CRANKY40 definitely need photos

weenancyinAmerica

Hi, our temperature has been behaving (highs only around 25C), but a heat wave is coming next week. Taking notes on all of the ways to keep cool. Only thing is, we won't get any rain with it. So will have to water the front yard (backyard is nothing but weeds at the moment as we are still laying out the food garden parts). 

Sister K came over yesterday to bring a working vacuum cleaner and stayed for several hours working with Di in her room (still has more to go). We filled the two trash cans yesterday. Before K left she already filled up about a third of each can after the truck picked up the trash. Ended up with three more bags of laundry for Di (I had done two the day before!). K helped start one before she left. Problem is that it is down about three steps and I am not doing well on steps and neither is Di. 

Being clearing emails. Watered the front yard. Getting a lot of my project for the one parish in Switzerland almost done (14000 people plus entered, about 250 to go). It is all on Family Record Sheets that are handwritten - so transferring all to the computer and matching people up with their parents for the two most common surnames in town is what is left to do. When a lot of them have the same names, it requires time to make sure I have the right connection - and then usually changing what my cousin has done in FamilySearch as she never looked at marriage records or death records. She has attached a lot of people to the wrong parents as a result. I have been working on it for over 20 years now. Did have a chance to visit there back in 2005.

@GrannyKate - cats are right - the humans should be able to make the rain go away. And if it is raining out one door, it shouldn't be raining out the other. Our printer keeps telling us it is off-line - and then shortly starts printing. The ink cartridges keep getting stuck in the wrong place too. In that case, I just threaten it a little and turn it off and then back on and try again.

TC77

@CRANKY40 that's so much decluttering.. I have a notebook to write totals  but i often  mislay it..the 5 idea sounds good.
So glad you ds has a kitten and I think a medal for him for looking after the kitten ( also keen to see a photo of the 2 speed kitten). Dd2 promised to look after our cats and the reason we got the 2d rescue in covid.
So.glad she didn't pursue being a vet ... as she only looks after them when she feels like it ( meant to when she's here in holidays) but when I come back from work she doesn't know if they e had medicine , eaten ( important as big cat meant to lose weight and little cat gain).
Dd2' s friend came round to help her tidy.. bedroom floor clear in the middle but carrier  bags around the side and a bag for cs and another to sort. She's going back to brum for an appt and a suitcase she left there  
I will set another target of 50 for the weekend when she's at her dad's but may count her stuff if I get it out of the house .

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 cont’d: 19:00 sunshine & clear blue skies with a lovely breeze. We are having bacon, egg, chips & baked beans for dinner. Wudupa.

1139 - 1144 Kitchen & office recycling, magazine, 0.5” paperwork, glass bottle, drinks cans - recycled 

1145 - 1146 Kitchen & lr detritus - binned

QueenJess, a great start to your July challenge 👏 Great news that your children are on board with the ‘Use It Up’ challenge 😊 & fingers crossed that your DH can be ‘persuaded’ of the benefits 🤞Hopefully there is somewhere you can donate the toothpicks 🤔 

Steady decluttering wishus 👏

oceanspirit, fingers crossed that the “attachments for the gizmo” will be found in the next cupboard or drawer that you tackle 🤞

pink_fluffy_sparkles, it is never too late to join us on the EDT (Electric-powered Decluttering Train) It sounds like you have made a good start by selling on Vinted 👏 & hopefully sales will speed up soon 🤞Are you sure you can’t blame the pet rabbit 🤔 after all he needs a hutch, exercise equipment, food & drink etc 😂 It is lovely to see a new face & I am looking forward to following your decluttering journey 😊

Soontobeoap, sounds like you are almost finished with the wood-chip paper stripping 🥳 Just the really fiddly bits left 😬 Hopefully once the room is decorated you won’t be returning everything that is currently cluttering up your dining room 🤞

London_1, how wonderful to stand outside in the rain after it has been so hot 🥵 Those “tins of water cooling stuff” are brilliant & really do help 👏 Although if you are wielding a pick axe the relief must only have been minimal 😞 The patio lads sound like wonderful young men & definitely not afraid of hard work 🤩 Very pleased to hear that you have been managing to stay cool 😎 

GrannyKate, sounds like you will definitely need a holiday with such a busy week ahead so I hope you find time to pack 😉 Poor Sir Sox - too hot & now too wet ☹️ Hopefully the weather will settle down soon 🤞

Brie, shame about the Birkenstocks but at least you tried 🙂

Well done on the sale, BridgetTheCat 👏

pink_fluffy_sparkles, hopefully the rain cooled everything down & gave any plants a good watering 🤞I have made a note of your target & will be willing you on to success 😊 Good luck 🍀

Mrs_Money_Penny, pleased to hear that you had a lovely holiday in the Peak District 😊 Great decluttering 👏 As you are now on over 9,000 another 3 Gold Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ are on their way.

Muddy_Walker, pleased to see you 👋 Hope you are getting plenty of rest & that Rogan has decided to let you cool down a bit 😉

Lovely post Brie 😊

Excellent decluttering CRANKY40 👏 What a brilliant figure & only halfway through the year 🤩 A Gold Star ⭐️ is on its way 😊 I am joining in with the requests for pictures of DS’s new kitten 🙏

Almost caught up but just seen the time 🙊 Sleep tight 😴 

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

DH Awards: 🏅 ‘Squirrel Whisperer’

DSis Awards: ⭐️ ⭐️

Decluttering Target 2025: 1146/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £228.00

Foofoopuppy

Mid year check in:

Using up candles is going well, but more importantly none bought! Even when I've seen them at a really good price. Also gave away a few small candles/wax melts that I didn't like the smell of that much, focusing on the ones I will actually use and someone else can get pleasure out of the ones I won't 

Condiments and sauce usage is going well, only replacing ones we actually use once we run out. Used up some, using up others, but I am actively making an effort to do so. 
The condiment cupboard looks as full as ever, but that's because we used up enough that I could move them over and now store cat biscuits in there as well 🥳

Managed to avoid buying more clothes. This has actually been a lot harder than anticipated, I've not lost any weight despite that also being a goal, so half my wardrobe is still not accessible. This means although I have a lot of clothes, the ones I can wear are fewer. However it is still enough, and I am trying to focus my mind to lose weight so this still remains.

I also had a load of clothes brought round from my parents, unfortunately these are from when I moved out at 19, and as such 95% of them either don't fit or no longer suit. I've managed to sell some, but sales are pretty slow. Pile of clothes isn't really causing any issues, but I'm still wondering if I should just list them as a free job lot to get them out. 

Very interesting reading along still though, I like @QueenJess idea of specifically targeting items to use up and might have to consider doing a more targeted plan.

Sorry to hear about the poorlies, and hope you get better soon x

pink_fluffy_sparkles

Brie said

Re making 50p vs mental space....we were talking about a similar thing elsewhere.  We need to think also about the time it takes to make 50p.  If the national minimum wage is, what?, £12 then to achieve that we need to have only taken 5 minutes to make that 50p else we're underpaying ourselves.  Being underpaid is not very MSE so sometimes better to give things away.  

This is a very fair point, and one i shall think of more often! When I add in the time to go and post the parcel ive probably lost out. 

Thank you for this new perspective! 

Early start with clearing today- another 44 items gone bringing total to 50! 

Hope everyone has a good day 

Xx

oceanspirit

Sending back most of the dresses ordered.  I will definitely go through boxes on top of wardrobe to find clothes that can go as the village fete want clothes this year - that means there’s a deadline so it’s a good time to do it.

Still haven’t found the gizmo attachments - there’s one more place to look.  Was very pleased with the kitchen cupboard we cleared out because there was less stuff in there than I thought and we use most of it all the time plus 4 items we use just at Christmas.

QueenJess

Hello all - I have tried donating and giving away the floss picks before and no one wants them.  I did realise I messed up the calculation and I "only" have 8 years worth.  I have really bad gums though and it is making me floss everyday, so there are some upsides (my hygienist is finally happy).  Plus they aren't really taking up much space, so don't worry, every single one will be used

I've been looking at buying a console table for the hallway, but DH is definitely not happy with the idea, so I am about to embark on a major declutter of the hallway to see if I can reduce it all before finding ways to actually get in everything we need (i.e. I will pull out everything).  There are some things like my hat and sunglasses I currently keep upstairs that is really annoying as I keep running up and down the stairs - I would love to keep them in the hallway instead.  The hallway is a place I dread decluttering and am very good at ignoring it (and not helped by my parents over giving clothes in the past so coat sorting is a nightmare with kids clothes all different sizes even if the labels claim not!).  Wish me luck

Digital:
15 - photos deleted

Physical:
1 - bag that’s too small for my purposes (Buy Nothing)
1 - freezer overstock used up
1 - destroyed oven gloves (recycled)
5 - plant pots not needed (Buy Nothing)

New total 2,427
Use it up total 223
Mini kitchen challenge 43/50

Kitchen cupboard/freezer overstock 2/5
Bathroom supplies -/5
Stationery/craft stuff 2/5
Packaging 1/5

Soontobeoap

@MrsS_Salad_Dodger Thank you for the stars for DH and I. I agree all of the books etc from shelves cannot go back into living room.  Today I have cleared 2 of the bookshelves on the landing to be replaced by DHs football memoir books. Whilst I was at it I also rooted through my bedroom wardrobe and cleared a bin bag full of rags. None of it was good enough for a charity donation. Why was I keeping it all!!! Lots of small bits of furniture were sold or taken to tip last week so there will not be much more to go back in. Mirror came from our bedroom and I prefer it to the one that replaced it so it will return there. A good morning session.

QueenJess

Just so no one feels alone - I spent a full 30 mins looking at the mess I pulled out from the hallway cupboard and eventually felt so overwhelmed I went to get lunch instead.  I am so good at decluttering generally, but for some reason, the hallway is my nemesis.

To be fair, I may need some kids bodies at some point for size and I do have to tackle DH on getting rid of some of this stuff, but he's in permanent calls all day.  So far I've managed to get rid of 1 coat and that's it    I need to see if I can find some easier wins in there to make myself feel better.  It's not like we have tons as I've decluttered many times before, but we do have too much for the space we have available.