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

Thursday continued: so the “pleasant occurrences” I mentioned 

No 1. concerns my nephew T. A bit of background first - he stayed in England for 3 weeks after his dad’s (P) funeral waiting to visit his dad’s home & get a few photos to remember him by & for the reading of the will. However BS aka WS kept fobbing him off saying that she was too upset for him to visit. It then transpired that there was no ‘signed’ will but there was a Death in Service policy for P’s children - all 3 of them (T & his 2 step sisters) & nothing to do with BS. So T was contacted directly & opened an English savings a/c. This all leads onto the ‘pleasant occurrence’  - an unexpectedly large sum of money was put into T’s account today 🥳 🥹 😊

No 2. concerns me 🙂 You might remember that on Saturday I finally applied online for my State Pension. Well can you guess……………. yes you are correct - I received a letter today advising me of the amount & start date 😊 Not only was I surprised by the speedy response but I was also exceedingly surprised & pleased with the amount 🤩 as I had been expecting a lot less due to being contracted out for nearly all my working life. Happy days 🥹

Dinner was pie, mash & baked beans for DH & DSis whilst I finished off the bolognaise sauce with some mash. Wudupa.

1895 - 1897 Kitchen recycling, glass bottle, drinks cans - recycled 

1898 - 1899 Kitchen & lr detritus - binned 

Congratulations BlueJ94 🥳 I hope you got a badge 😉 As to This “Christmas.. for the last 5 years I've hosted Christmas, my OH has helped cooked the beef and I've done the rest on Christmas day which I've no problem with but now OH says he wants someone else to do it next year, so I have the lovely pleasure of letting everyone know that 😅” surely that is up to OH as he has made the decision 😉 Being curious, will you be travelling around Scotland or staying in one place? Whichever it is I will keep everything crossed that the weather is kind to you 🤞Great work chipping away at your Barclaycard debt 👏

Thanks TC77 😊 The surprising thing is that although I was feeling stressed my BP was almost normal 😉 Excellent decluttering 👏 It sounds like the article struck a chord so hopefully will help going forward with your decluttering 🙏

Moorviews, thanks for that. Never did have a consultation but I do have my new prescription & I will know better next time & will take whatever face to face appointment is offered 😉 Good work cooking old beans - prevents food waste 👏 Shame about the curtains 😔 Hopefully you will find some fabric that you love & as you say can hopefully “channel Florenceem” 🤞

Just seen the time so am off to bed. Sleep tight 😴 

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

DH Awards: 🏅 ‘Squirrel Whisperer’ ⭐️🏅🏅⭐️😇🏅🥇 

DSis Awards: ⭐️ ⭐️ 🏅

Decluttering Target 2025: 1899/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £469.00

BlueJ94

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger I agree! I told him he should be telling them not me 😂 

On 18th we're travelling from Wales to Lake District which will take 4 hours and staying there until Monday then we're heading off to Dalmally and staying in a lodge for a week and nosing around local areas, the weekend we're heading off to Skye and staying on a campsite in our Transporter! See below! 




Then we're heading off to Kiltarlity for another week of lodge with a hot tub this time! Then on the friday we check out into another campsite on the way home! We're going to stop around Scotland in Ben Nevis etc. Im so excited as we've never been to Scotland and I know the dogs are going to enjoy it too!

TC77

Mrs SD, great to hear about the 'pleasant occurrences' 
@BlueJ94 that looks amazing, and hope we hear about your adventures. Love Scotland, childhood holidays at my grandad's but wrap up well.
Just cleaned fridge shelves and off to tidy abit. Waiting for small window to be replaced - they measured wrong do delaying final decoration and scaffolding coming down. 
Haven't released any fleece blankets yet....

vulpix

Hi, just a quickie,

 Very pleasant occurrences indeed Mrs SD.

 New baby J is in scbu. He has had some grim sounding procedures. I so hope that will help and he will not need any more treatment.

 Happy Kitties, I don't seem to be able to reply to your PM. I am just making one of the blankets a little larger then I will get a parcel off to you. There will also be some things my Mum has knitted too.

 Vx

Brie

TC77 said:

@Brie I'm in awe! Grade 13! I didn't know they went that high..I got to grade 3 or 4 in piano  ( well I had the books til last year) and friends who got to grade 8.
3 seater sofa out , feel I may count as 3 as back and seat cushions.  Only thing is the room is now more obviousy full of carp

oh no no no!!! We started learning recorder in what you would call middle school.  And then I continued playing when I was in high school which went (at that time, in Ontario) to grade 13, nowt to do with the music.  It just meant that the people that went that far were likely to go to uni or college instead of getting an apprenticeship or directly in to the work force.  I never took any official exams for music beyond the general music classes and then a course called Collegium Musicum at uni.  

daisy_1571

Brie thank you so much, if they still play I can pass them on to the recorder group leader so they are ready for anyone who wants to swap to a new type and learn a new set of fingerings or maybe someone who joins the group but doesn't have a recorder.  I informally can do descant but am learning on the alto/treble, very much enjoying it.

Just let me know, no problem if you have another place in mind to pass them on to 

Daisy xx

QueenJess

daisy_1571 said:

Brie thank you so much, if they still play I can pass them on to the recorder group leader so they are ready for anyone who wants to swap to a new type and learn a new set of fingerings or maybe someone who joins the group but doesn't have a recorder.  I informally can do descant but am learning on the alto/treble, very much enjoying it.

Just let me know, no problem if you have another place in mind to pass them on to 

Daisy xx

I still have my recorder from first school (still got the sewed name tag on the cover  ).  Kids don't seem to learn them these days, which makes me sad.  I thought it was a rite of passage?

Just a quick check in as I seem to have hit maintenance mode, so little in or out, but I am on a very slow use up project here for where I have too much of something in reserve.  I had 1 hand cream and now suddenly have 4 in my bid to find one I like best (why do companies insist on changing products so much?).  I will slowly use them up.  I have a few things lingering on, but really hoping to finish some more things soon.  

Just paper decluttering to declare today and I did have to add more pages to my hm work notebook... it's just that busy at the moment and I am on a bit of a crash course!  DH is laughing at my pencil that I stubbornly refuse to give up on until I can't turn it in the pencil sharpener anymore... I think it is 3.5cm long now.  Well this is MSE and I don't like to waste things...

Kids seem to be growing silly amounts, so I'm sure there will be more clothes to declutter soon.

Physical:
4 - paper, reused then recycled 

New total 5,229
Use it up total 395
Big kitchen declutter challenge 132/150

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: very overcast & dark today. I have had to turn the light on already 😞 Temperatures are slightly down with a high of 17°C, low 13°C although only a slight breeze. DH went out about 10:15 - trying to tick off a few more bus routes. I am now settling down with a hot drink, timer on & ready to start with the cheerleading Wednesday’s posts 

vulpix, I have been a patient at this practice for 25 years & apart from the first few years when if I needed to see a doctor I saw a doctor, I have rarely seen an actual doctor - just practice nurses & last year the pharmacist. So although I was a tad stressed this time around, I count myself extremely fortunate that in the end it all came right & I am better prepared for next time 😉 As to This “Well done Mr SD on your weight loss. I have found every one of those pounds you lost and am keeping them safe!”, I am anticipating that once you have moved into your new home, you will be so busy that each one of those pounds will disappear although not necessarily as quickly as you would like 😊 Wow 8 lap blankets in 5 weeks 🤩 Sorry to hear that both you & MrV are unwell 🤒 Sending healing vibes & gentle cwtches 🤗 plus a reminder to visit the TLC Carriage 😊 Yikes to the forgotten peppers 😱 & a pity about the ruined oven tray ☹️ Please take care 🙏

DH got back 13:50 having ticked off a few more buses. I made him a coffee whilst he was making himself a bacon sandwich - I am so easily distracted.

Nice to see you MadamMim2013 👋 It was all very odd in the end - no call just an email from the pharmacist saying my prescription was ready 🤔 Sorry to hear that your Mum’s surgery is so difficult to access 😞 presumably the receptionists were trained at a different school than the ones at your surgery 😉 Re the name change saga, you would have thought that it would have been the other way around - cat ID chip easy & everything else more involved & difficult due to numerous checks that your identity isn’t being stolen 🧐 This “Thankfully a cuppa and giggle with my mum has helped me chill out about it all.”made me smile 😊 Good luck adding to the Tip pile in the garage 🍀 Re your listings it does sound like you are ready to bite the bullet & donate to CS 😉 Thank you for MrSD’s medal 🥇 I am so proud of him & he intends to carry on & weigh himself on our scales at the same day & time as he weighed in at Fat Club (his name for the WLP 😉) Good luck with your weight loss journey 🍀 Thanks for the dark chocolate dipped honeycomb 🤤 I was very restrained & only took a small(ish) piece 🙊

TC77 very interesting 🙂😉 Of course, I then went down a rabbit hole & looked up Zhuangzi ……….. my favourite quotes so far are “Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness” & “Only he who has no use for the empire is fit to be entrusted with it”

charlies_tribe, hopefully DH is on the mend now that he has stopped being sick 🙏 Whatever he has sounds very nasty so I am relieved to hear that no one else has come down with it 😮‍💨 You have been busy with some excellent decluttering 👏 I think a couple of people may have already mentioned it, but you should be able to exchange the £22 for usable currency 🙂 I think This “……..and decided its probably cheaper to have my makeup done each time I need it doing as I probably only wear makeup once every 5 years and end up buying new.” is a great idea 👏 sadly it probably wouldn’t work for me as I would be too lazy/disorganised to book an appointment 🙊 As to This “I was hoping by now with my half hour bursts the house would be looking better but it really doesn't (doesn't help that most of what I've done isn't visible,  inside drawers etc)” the bonus is that you KNOW you have done it & will have space to put things away as you come across them 😊

Distracted again as the phone rang - the dentist really wants my money 😂 I now have an appointment next Thursday for the less painful dental treatment - some cosmetic work. Will take the opportunity to book an appointment for the more painful & expensive bridge work treatment 😱 Distraction continued as the window cleaner turned up 😂 He is on his own as his DW is at home recovering from a minor op. We had a short chat & I am all paid up. I will post this & try again once I have made myself another hot drink. Hope everyone is having as good a day as possible 🙂 Remember the TLC Carriage is always open & I can recommend the dark chocolate dipped honeycomb 😉

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

DH Awards: 🏅 ‘Squirrel Whisperer’ ⭐️🏅🏅⭐️😇🏅🥇 

DSis Awards: ⭐️ ⭐️ 🏅

Decluttering Target 2025: 1899/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £469.00

TC77

Mrs SD thank you sharing the quotes. My rabbit hole led to a PhD student studying  life, subjectivity and time which  reminded me of the person someone here came across who said they don't believe in time! 
Now go in the office wed and Fri instead of tue/ Thursday which I can't get used to and means I want to do little on Saturday.  We will see if I can declutter anything ....

Brie

QueenJess said:

I still have my recorder from first school (still got the sewed name tag on the cover  ).  Kids don't seem to learn them these days, which makes me sad.  I thought it was a rite of passage?

Apparently ukuleles are the instrument du jour.