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

Oops, I thought I had posted this last night 😅 

Whilst DSis had her toad-in-the-hole with gravy, DH had cottage pie & I had bacon & pea linguine + we shared a garlic bread. Wudupa.

1992 - 1994 Kitchen recycling, glass bottle, drinks cans - recycled 

1995 Kitchen detritus - binned 

DSis & I then watched the 3rd of the Dumbledore films. I did remember to change the kitchen clock & my watch before going to bed. DH was still up watching MotoGP races as due to a serious accident the races were running very late. Sleep tight 😴 

P.S. apparently DH came to bed at 09:30 😧 

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

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

DSis Awards: ⭐️ ⭐️ 🏅

Decluttering Target 2025: 1995/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £469.00

Brie

Met a friend for a catch up yesterday and we were talking about decluttering as her brother and SiL have a 3 bedroom house with a garage and loft and have needed to rent a storage unit to clear some of their things out of the way.  And stuff is still stacked quite high.  So we ended up talking Marie Kondo and what we've got that we want and don't want.  I mentioned the problem of getting rid of MiL's china thimbles and she declared they are just what she needs for a craft project.  She's going to get her dad to drill a hole in the top so they can be threaded and made into chimes and other various things.  Just need to get the OK from the OH that he's ok with them going in that direction. The alternative is to sell them, charity shop or bin them so I think this is a fairly good alternative.   

Green_hopeful

We have to wash duvets surprisingly often because our cat pees on our bed when she is stressed. People laugh at how often I have to go to the laundrette to tumble the duvet. Anyways i have found feather duvets very easy to wash and dry and if you tumble them they come out super fluffy. Fortunately i have reduced the cat pee incidents significantly so hopefully fewer duvets to wash. 

I am a bit nervous to buy new feather duvets because of the risk of cruelty so I bought the last one second hand on Vinted. 

I don’t bother trying to wash big artificial ones although i spot treated my sons when it got blood on it. I just find they get too clumpy. 

I dont wash artificial pillows (too much risk of clumping) but this summer i washed loads of feather ones.  I was worried how they would dry but they were fine. I also worry about how we have so many but we have a six bedroom house so i guess it’s just because we have four per room. I use pillow protectors and wash those to try to get the artificial ones to last longer. 

I helped my son tidy up the garden at his rented house yesterday. He had let the ivy get a bit mad on the shed. I love ivy and have loads growing in our garden but with his landlady coming today we had to cut it back. Some of the branches were thicker than my arm. Anyways after we had released the shed of its ivy hair we had loads of debris to get rid of. I got my shredder from home and we spent a few hours trying to shred ivy spaghetti. I brought two builders bags of leaves and shreddings home. Was fun getting them in my Mini. Anyways I think they will compost down ok. We have plenty of space to spread it once it is composted. 

TC77

@vulpix still sound lots to do, how ever great the cats can find their way home.
Down at my dad's and deciding what I bring back. There will be a van at some point partly as I cam find good homes in London for more things and I do have an empty bedroom.- OK lots of packaging and a big trunk ! 
DB coming down later this evening. 

suzeesu2000

Did the washing today, whites first and on the airer while the darks washed. Hope it’s a good drying day to put them out tomorrow. 

DH cooked 2 x 4 bird roasts this morning, now all sliced, bagged and in freezer. Took a chicken and rice out to defrost for tomorrow.
Hoovered around the base of the newel post upstairs as Frankie likes to practice his carpentry skills there, little monster. Little hand held picks the bits of wood up much better than the biggie. Did all the difficult to reach bits anyway.
Been quite quiet here today, remembered to change the clocks too. 

Sold first item on Vinted. Packed and ready to go. 

Have a good evening all, sleep tight xx

oceanspirit

OH came over to remove his things from the shed.  He will be back on Tuesday to take a bit more.

Emails down to 177.

Final part of frog done.

Hoping to have enough brain power to tackle some more frogs tomorrow.  If not, there is plenty more tidying and rearranging to do.

florianatwobob

‘Doing Shed’ got sorted yesterday. Pulled out some bits that had been earmarked for rehoming after the summer. They’ve not yet left the building but will be at the end of the week. Annoyingly I ‘pinged’ a muscle in my back somehow. I remember it happening but why it happened is another story as I was standing!! Anyway generous application of a cream recommended by physios is helping. 

Today 3 kitchen cupboards have been pulled out, gone through and restacked. There is harmony for 5 seconds. 

DBro1 however was baffled as the baked beans had moved 6 inches to the right and therefore he couldn’t see them nor did they magically leap into his hand. Talk about tunnel vision. 

Currently working through the NT Book of Scones. This week’s bake was leek and onion scones. Delicious with some goats cheese! Only another 47 recipes to try. 

Brambling

I love the thimble idea Brie, making something pretty from them sounds a good way of rehoming them. 

The usual issues volunteering at Petworth yesterday 🫣 three books jumped into my bag!  However I did take a bag with 25 in so I'm just winning this week 

Books in - 13 (10 from friend, 3 from second hand book shop) 

Books out - 29 (25 to Petworth, 4 to my sister left whilst she was out 😁)

I spent a couple of hours in the smaller spare bedroom this afternoon, purposely ignoring the crafting/ hobby stuff and books but tackling a couple of boxes, a couple of bags and three small drawers.  One black sack filled and binned, one bag of life filled for charity shop, four travel guides to go to book shop on Wednesday and I finished filling a bag for life for shredding. The bags and boxes have now been emptied and the contents either disposed of or rehomed in space cleared in the drawers.

I haven't been able to wear earrings for nearly 30 years and have held on some favourites, the gold ones were given away a while ago but today the rest were sorted, some went into the charity bag and the rest I've added to my sewing box I'll incorporate them somehow into a project.  They were moved from my jewellery box a long time ago and put into my old one in the spare room, but time to go along with some other bits also in the old box, nothing of value unfortunately.  

Quick question please re knives I have a knife block with cheap knives which were gifted to me and have been upstairs for years after I had my kitchen done, not great but ok for basic cooking.  Will charity shops take them? I don't want to put on freecyle TBH I'm not sure I can 

SpikyHedgehog

10 clean tea towels returned to church,  4 brought home for next boil wash.   

I've got a bag of knitting and crochet books for the new craft group at church,  and bamboo knitting needles.   I've got loads of knitting needles,  with my grandma's knitting needles,  and ones I've bought for projects,  and ones people give me...  and I realised I don't like bamboo ones.   The tricky thing is,  we don't yet have a storage space for the craft group... but my house can't be that space.   

Finished sock blanket,which is seriously crooked.   I only laid out on the floor with the 7th strip attached or I might have noticed sooner  Well,  I've got the socks out of the bag they've been lurking in,  used up several balls of yarn,  and got another layer for cold days. 

Old papers to the burn bag or recycling.  Went to get pyjamas on,  and removed a pair for the charity shop.   There's no pockets in them and I don't love the synthetic fleece.  But they're still in good condition,  so off they go,  along with a pair of trousers someone gave me,  but I don't like the colour of.