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

Monday continued: DH didn’t go for his walk as it started pouring 😞 An hour or so later the rain had almost stopped so DH did go for his walk & was quite lucky as he only had light drizzle whilst he was out 🙂 I finally put away the laundry that I did last week then stayed upstairs & had a mini sort out of our bedroom wall unit 🙂 Sadly nothing decluttered, but a lot tidier & I have earmarked  a few bits for the CS. I have brought down a couple of balls of wool & will start knitting a matching hat & scarf. Having finished off the hm soup for a late lunch, DH used up his calorie allowance by having some yoghurt with crunchy cereal. Whilst I cooked omelettes for me & DSis - with grated cheese, bacon bits & sliced mushrooms 🤤 Wudupa.

1963 - 1968 Kitchen recycling, 3 cardboard boxes, paper packaging, drinks cans - recycled 

1969 - 1970 Kitchen detritus, plastic packaging - binned

Teaparty_mum, hopefully not too much chaos 😉 I imagine you will sleep well tonight 😊

Excellent decluttering Rootle 👏

Lovely to see you _Dolly_Rocker_ 👋 Excellent decluttering & completion of tasks & all on a WFH day 👏 As to This “I'll be finishing work soon so will get the dogs out a bit earlier to try and miss the fireworks that are going off constantly up my way. Nightmare as the dogs are absolutely terrified.” ‘nightmare’ is the exact word 😱 So annoying that it goes on for weeks & starts almost as soon as it gets dark 😖

BlueJ94, great pictures & lovely weather 😊 I hope the weather stays this good for your whole holiday 🙏

surprisinglynice, a busy day indeed 👏 Love the idea of decluttering the grandchildren 🙊

suzeesu2000, well done on persevering with the downloads despite the “internet having a hissy fit” 👏 I would probably have given up 😉 Good work creating space in the freezer to take advantage of the Clubcard savings on pork 👏

Good work oceanspirit 👏 Reminds me I need to go through my emails 😞 Good luck dealing with the rest of the emails 🍀 Hopefully ‘technology’ will work properly & quickly 🤞

Welcome back GrannyKate 👋 Sounds like you had a lovely time with DS1 & family ☺️ Hope DS1 has a good journey & that the 5 weeks he is away aren’t too onerous for his family 🙏 Poor Sox must be wondering what is going on 😔 Congratulations to DD on her new role 🥳 Well done you on reducing your sugar levels 👏 especially as the doctor was pleased with your progress 😌 Sounds like the doctor has a great bedside manner & realises you get better results from your patients with praise & encouragement rather than scolding 🙂 I am also looking forward to vulpix being back online 😊

Excellent decluttering Happy_Kitties 👏

TC77, pleased to hear that you had a lovely weekend & managed to declutter some stress ☺️ I have to say you ‘sound’ more relaxed 👏 Grr to having to go into work on a WFH day 😖 I nipped in quickly to the TLC Carriage & thoroughly enjoyed my scone & jam 😋 I was very restrained & only had one 😉 TC77, can you recommend a CS in Lewisham which has a crafting section & is best to donate fabric to?  

All caught up 🙂 Now I will settle down & do a bit of knitting before going to bed. Sleep tight everyone 😴 

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

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

DSis Awards: ⭐️ ⭐️ 🏅

Decluttering Target 2025: 1970/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £469.00

Happy_Kitties

Another 15 general items out.
12 bits from a kitchen drawer, most of which went into the recycling including a plastic ‘George Foreman’ slide which I haven’t owned for years 
3 cats toys, very worse for wear!

454)+15)= 469. 

Very happy things are leaving the house

_Dolly_Rocker_

Good day, no decluttering for me today. Been so busy. 

I don't have any dog walks this evening so when I get home from the dog walk I am going to get the kitchen looking tip top. Feel like I have to tackle one room at a time otherwise it overwhelms my ADHD brain. 

I shall report back later and I am hoping that during this tidy up I can manage to declutter something. 

oceanspirit

50 more emails dealt with and deleted or filed.  250 still to go - the speed will slow now as the easy ones have been done.

The CS bag has been delivered and some general rubbish binned.  A frog started last week now complete.  Had a SM delivery and abandoned it in the hallway as too tired to deal with it now (fridge items put away).

Need to start with a couple of frogs tomorrow and continue with general tidying and sorting plus put SM delivery away.

suzeesu2000

Been a good day. Tacked the hall. All the tools stacked rather neatly on top of hall unit and look fine.
Thoroughly cleaned the stairwell. Oh my goodness me, you could have planted potatoes in the dust it was that thick! We have a totally useless space between the banisters and the wall. No idea why they didn’t either extend the sitting room wall by 6” or widen the stairs by same. All this space does is hoard dust! Anyway, enough with the whining. I did have a slim box containing 3 very large folded flat boxes, they have been moved - can’t get rid as I need one definitely for sending Christmas stuff to mums carers. 

Have asked DH to go through all his coats on the hooks in the hall. I own one coat. It’s folded and in the bottom of my wardrobe. DH owns a gazillion coats and I think all of them are hung in the hall. And the fishing rods need moving too. Other than that, all is good. 

The pork joints from Tesco are superb, couldn’t be more pleased and definitely worth the money. 

Didn’t fancy dinner today so had a fish finger sandwich, fingers from freezer. DH had a curry also from freezer.
Been a nice sunny autumn day. 

Hope everyone else’s day has been good. Have a good evening xx

ionafan

suzeesu2000 said:

We have a totally useless space between the banisters and the wall. No idea why they didn’t either extend the sitting room wall by 6” or widen the stairs by same.
... I did have a slim box containing 3 very large folded flat boxes, they have been moved - can’t get rid as I need one definitely for sending Christmas stuff to mums carers....

 And the fishing rods need moving too. 

The pork joints from Tesco are superb, couldn’t be more pleased and definitely worth the money. 

Could you store the slim box and/or folded boxes in the 6" space?  Or the fishing rods?
And thanks for the heads-up on the pork joints.  I'm hoping to get to Tesco tomorrow and see if they've got any left.

Decluttering has taken place here: I had to empty my bedroom for the decorator to work, so anything that was kept for Justin has gone, plus a few more bits and pieces.  I've been so ruthless recently that now all my clothes (except outerwear and shoes, which take up less than half of the cupboard under the stairs) fit into two large suitcases

suzeesu2000

ionafan said:

suzeesu2000 said:

We have a totally useless space between the banisters and the wall. No idea why they didn’t either extend the sitting room wall by 6” or widen the stairs by same.
... I did have a slim box containing 3 very large folded flat boxes, they have been moved - can’t get rid as I need one definitely for sending Christmas stuff to mums carers....

 And the fishing rods need moving too. 

The pork joints from Tesco are superb, couldn’t be more pleased and definitely worth the money. 

Could you store the slim box and/or folded boxes in the 6" space?  Or the fishing rods?
And thanks for the heads-up on the pork joints.  I'm hoping to get to Tesco tomorrow and see if they've got any left.

That’s where the slim box was before, just looked horrid. I like it now it’s clear and clean. If I take the folded boxes out of the slim box, I’m pretty sure they can go behind the airer in the downstairs loo. Shall try that tomorrow. 

One of my pork leg joints weighs over 6lbs! I reckon we have at least 40 meals from what I got today, happy me. 

Hope you’re well xx

TC77

Mrs SD, unfortunately Scope which had the best fabric section in their shop closed. The Red Cross has reopened but has decided clothes go in colours and not sizes and sells wool but no fabric at the moment.
I'd suggest BHF which has a section at the back on the right with some fabric and cushion covers etc and I've given fabric to them. The lady from Scope now works at Cancer Research and said they no longer have a linen/fabric section and they are seen as a discount store with some things they get being sent to their blackheath shop (one of the posh ones).
I bought a great extendable microfibre duster from Cancer Research much better than the one I bought (and returned) from A***** which  had a sharp point which could damage delicate items.  Been dusting ceiling and picture rails and hoovered stairs at lunchtime.

I've got bags of buttons and unsure where they can/should go?
Did meter readings, financial frog and paid bill etc,
Small bits of paper out, and some garden stuff

Brambling

Things had stuttered to a holt but over the last few days I've picked up the decluttering mantle again, I have completed a crafting WIP.

A friend gave me 10 books which I'll read and pass on to my sister but I still went through my book shelves again and found 15 to take to Petworth on Saturday.  My book shelf is floor to ceiling in the spare room and standing on steps to reach the top shelf which I haven't been able to reach for a while probably wasn't a good idea, I had a oh !!!! Moment and the phone was out of reach, I was tossing books onto the bed.  Only three steps and I was standing on the platform on the top, but I had to think about how to come down, it's been a while since I've climbed any steps with my hip. 

I sorted the freezers this morning and listed everything down ready to menu plan for the next month or so! 

New great great niece born this morning, eldest sister wasn't sure on name as mum is half Icelandic which is where baby's first name is from.  A great niece or nephew is also due this week but is running a little late.  

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, quick post to update. The builder didn't come today as planned, he sent a text on Monday to say he wouldn't make it, but should be here tomorrow. So over the past couple of days I have emptied and packed up everything that was in the cupboards that are being removed stacked up in the lr which is not ideal but it is what it is. During this process some ood stuff was binned found lurking at the back but not all checked yet as I just wanted the cupboards empty 😁. The bedroom recycling emptied. 3 plastic sweety tins into the recycling, these are what I allowed OH to keep last time I cleared them but they have just sat on the top of the kitchen cupboards since then and not been used at all so they have gone. 1 cardboard box too broken to use recycled. I then decided to empty all the top cupboards in case there is a problem getting down the ones that are to be removed as that is where I keep all the crockery and if they fell down it would all be smashed 😂. So plates and bowls put under the sink, cups in a draw on the lr floor 😂, all the rest of the stuff, soup bowls, measuring jugs, casserole dishes, teapot, coffee pot, milk jugs, etc etc stacked in various places around the lr 😂. It all gets used fairly regularly so I didn't want it up in the loft. 1 bowl slipped and chipped so that was binned. We also had a big container of medical stuff, plasters and flu drinks etc which I went through and binned lots of out of date stuff. The oldest being some gross cough medicine bbf 2007 I am ashamed to say. It really had a horrible taste which is probably why it was left unused for so long, glad to have an excuse to bin it 😂, bottle washed and recycled, other stuff I probably should have taken to the chemist, ood flu drinks and ood painkillers but I just binned it, though the boxes were recycled 😂. So lr bin and lr recycling emptied 😁.  Then I thought well I might as well take the doors off the cupboards so they were removed as were the shelves counting as 2. Put them in the car along with a dead torch, an old wifi hub, a dead light bulb, on old bit of curtain rail and a massive bag of hard plastic and I took them to the tip 😁. While I was there one of the operatives came and asked for one of the small shelves for them to use as a tea pot stand 😁. Very happy to help 😁. Lots of things put in the loft and the landing and stairs hoovered. The kitchen bin and kitchen recycling were emptied. In between times 2 LDFPA and a dead pen binned 😂 . I think I have done everything I can for now though the ironing pile is massive and I did mean to tackle that but I might get to it tomorrow 😁. 
So early night tonight for me as he should be here at 8 😲. I have told OH to be up and at em by then or there might not be any water for a shower 😂.

@Mrs SD meant to say I love the hat 😁


Right time for bed
So much work being done by everyone 😁
Hugs to everyone who would like one

1450 pen 
1451 ood food binned
1452 bedroom recycling
1453 cardboard box
1454 - 1456 plastic sweety tins
1457 dead torch
1458 wifi thing
1459 light bulb
1460 bag of hard plastic
1461 chipped bowl
1462 medical stuff binned and packaging recycled
1463 & 1464 cupboard doors and shelves
1464 kitchen bin
1465 kitchen recycling
1465 lr bin
1466 lr recycling
1467 & 1468 LDFPA
1469 curtain rail
Take care everyone
1469/2025