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: surprise 😮 I am back 🙊 I did actually leave the house & caught the bus to the P.O. As I was passing a pharmacy I popped in & was lucky enough to chat to the pharmacist. A lovely lady who took one look at my face & suggested getting an appointment with a GP or dentist. Once I explained the difficulty about getting an appointment with either she suggested cold compresses, gargling & paracetamol. She also advised that, if there is no improvement in a couple of days & I can’t get an appointment, to phone 111 & see if they can get me an emergency appointment at a local dentist. Then onto the P.O. where I bought a supply of 2nd Class stamps & a few International stamps only to discover that the price had gone up 20p - they kept that quiet 😖 Checked when I got home & the price increase was from 6th October 😞 so just the 3 birthday cards sent with the incorrect postage 😬 DH went for a walk & managed to miss the heavy rain - just a couple of very short showers. The rain started at 18:30 - a bit earlier than forecast & we have had a few heavy showers. It has carried on raining into Friday (03:30) Dinner was the remainder of the Bolognaise sauce with conchiglie (shells) + some garlic bread. Wudupa.

2115 - 2118 Kitchen recycling, 2 newspapers, drinks cans - recycled 

2119 Kitchen detritus - binned 

vulpix, poor MrV & poor Fomo 😢 I hope that they are both OK 🙏 As I was reading the 2nd part of your post, I was ranging from despair to anger & finally relief that you were strong enough to remain firm & not be fobbed off by an unqualified receptionist 😥 I am sending you many, many cwtches 🤗🤗🤗 & a fervent hope that you are feeling better 🙏 

weenancy, yikes to your 200/100 BP reading 😦 Yippee to both a successful outcome working on family history & a good BP reading 🥳

Moorviews, fingers crossed you retain your good level of GP services 🤞

Excellent decluttering GrannyKate 👏 Hope the meeting went well especially the ‘difficult issue’ 🙏

vulpix,I agree with MadamMim2013 - you were decluttering 🥹

Well said MadamMim2013 🥹 Hope you have a lovely time with your friend 😊

Lovely post CRANKY40 😊 Shame about DS losing his uni pass & you being unable to do any decluttering on Tuesday ☹️ but you certainly made up for it on Wednesday by decluttering so much of your yarn stash 👏

London_1, that butcher sounds brilliant 🤩 I do miss having a proper butcher locally but you have reminded me that meat from a proper butchers is so much nicer than sm meat 😋 albeit more expensive. There is a butchers in the City which was close to where I worked, so I will have to start visiting again 😉 Hope you enjoy your lamb chump chop 😊

Great decluttering Willowtree222 👏

Green_hopeful, what a great result 🥳 Your adult step son made such a quick decision 👏 & hopefully he will enjoy his new room ☺️

suzeesu2000, excellent work by your DH sorting out books 👏 I am impressed enough to award him a medal 🏅 which is on its way 😊

I am just one day behind now & as it is gone 07:00 I should really go to bed 😉 Sleep tight everyone 😴 

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

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

DSis Awards: ⭐️ ⭐️ 🏅

Decluttering Target 2025: 2119/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £569.00

GrannyKate

@brambling - I laughed at the 'guess the baby in the photos' as I have had similar experiences and it is only other things (not the face) which enable you to identify the likely child.  I only had one pram for three children but different pushchairs, only one was a thumb sucker etc.  We also do the same with 'guess where we were on holiday' - late DH was better at this as he could identify his cars by the order we had them in.  

Glad you eventually got medics engaged @vulpix - reminds me of my tale a couple of years ago when trying to see a doctor on a Friday afternoon.  I knew I needed antibiotics as insect bite had led to cellulitis - I'd had it before and spent 3 days on IV antibiotics because I didn't get it treated fast enough. It is particularly annoying when you are fortunate enough to be someone who makes minimal use of NHS and they don't take you seriously when you do ask for help.  I got referred to pharmacist who took one look at my leg and said you need a doctor now.  The surgery eventually got a nurse to ring me and she asked for photos and ordered antibiotics - that took 5 hours altogether.  It is no wonder people fetch up at A&E for the wrong things and I speak as someone who spent more than 35 years working for NHS. 

Up early and weather horrible.  I need to drive 25 miles to dentist but will try and do a couple of other things whilst I'm there. NHS dentist so hanging on to him as long as I can.  Fairly successful day yesterday.  I have started doing a shopping list but forgot to take it out and only remembered half the things on it.  I did get to park right outside the hospice book shop, found a box at Mr M to pack my books for sale and got a few more stocking things.  I feel I'm wasting time at the moment and know I need to be 90% organised for Christmas before I go away on 3rd.  I will write my overseas cards over the weekend think. Agreed with DS2 no more renovations or decorating until after Christmas.  Stuff is still leaving slowly but a year after moving in (15th) the boxes of photos and pictures are still untouched in the loft.  They are the only things up there apart from Christmas boxes and an area I gave DS2 to put his lego stuff.  There is a large clear area in my loft with good head height but ladder is very rickity and I won't venture up there alone.  My previous loft was probably larger but very low and most of it obstructed by beams, tanks etc. THis one should be easier to manage but think I need to buy a new ladder.  

Right I need to get dressed as taking children to school at 8.  

1119 Plastics to SM
1120 Haircut organised for next week
1121 Bags to CS shop - individual items already counted - resisted the urge to buy more jigsaws - I still have 10 to do
1122 Parcel of books sold dropped off at post office

vulpix

 I know I said I would shut up about illness but it's a theme isn't it, not to be believed that we might know our own bodies. Glad you did get some advice Mrs SD.

 Lovely photo's Brambling. Now, lets have all your baby photo's, it would be lovely to see them and your baby teddies. My baby teddy was given to me by my Grandma and Grandad along with the premium bonds which have never produced a single prize in 66 years. I have had to repair teddy as his tummy seam gave way. Hmm a bit like my good self!

Mr V gone to the barbers then it's time to pack for holiday tomorrow. I will be restricted in my glad rag choice due to tummy seam problems!

 Vx

Floss

This was my usual trick - empty out my Chad Valley toy box & sit in it!

The big bear nearest to me was blue, and my brothers called him Winston & performed a post mortem on him....

daisy_1571

You must be part cat floss 😆   hope Winston survived the early post mortem! 

Granny kate/brambling  i feel your pain on dating photos.  I've ended up writing index cards, one for each year with where we worked, what vehicles we had, pets, houses, holidays that year etc to try to work out some of our photos.   Its making things simpler.

Vulpix and Mrs sd hope the medical issues keep getting cleared

Hugs to all

Dxxx

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: it has carried on raining on me & off with temperatures of between 13°C and 15°C. Having gone to bed so late I did not wake up until 13:15. DH was busy in garage - zizzing worm food followed by a bit of tidying. He has also filled the bird feeders & raked up the leaves from the front lawn. I have managed to write a shopping list but sm visit will be this evening as DSis wasn’t up (she had a bath at 03:00 & fell asleep - waking up at at 06:00 suitably wrinkled 😉) The only other thing I have done is get soup bits out from the freezers. I will now try to catch up with the cheerleading for yesterday’s posts 🤞

vulpix, pleased to hear that you were feeling at least a little better yesterday. From what my DH says the 24 hour blood pressure cuff was OK - barely noticeable apart  having the monitor hanging round his neck & having to stay still every 15/20 minutes (when he heard & felt the cuff starting to inflate) which got a bit tedious & like you he was relieved to get it off after exactly 24 hours 😉  Good luck with the blood sample 🍀 Great work decluttering most of the ‘stuff’ from your DMum so quickly 👏 Poor Fomo, I do hope he didn’t hide for too long 🙏 & that he will settle down enough for his stay in the cattery 🙏 

Excellent decluttering of books GrannyKate 👏 especially the 17 that will earn you a teeny amount of money 😊 This “Two empty shelves in bookcase (Sox immediately tried to fit himself in there) and I have more space in bedroom as well” did make me smile 😊 Sox obviously feels that every space you create is specifically for him 😂 Pleased to hear the ‘tricky meeting issue’ was resolved 😥 

Lovely cheerleading ruby_eskimo 😊 I do hope you manage to get your “woes with your GP” sorted out soon 🙏 This “Had some friend's randomly pop in last night for us to witness some signatures for them, and was amazed that all our recent decluttering and actually-putting-things-away-now-they-have-dedicated-spaces is paying off to the point where I didn't have to run around and throw things in cupboards or chuck them upstairs.  Just swished round the downstairs toilet to freshen it up and put the kettle on!  First time ever I've been happy to have people over and not stressed myself out about it. “ was such a joy to read 🥹  A medal 🏅 &  💐 are on their way 😊 Well done 👏 & good luck with tidying up the ‘sort of’ room of doom & the last of the kitchen cupboards🍀

As I didn’t sort out my passport yesterday, I will break off here & sort it out now. Hope everyone is having as good a day as possible 🤞 See you later 👋 

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

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

DSis Awards: ⭐️ ⭐️ 🏅

Decluttering Target 2025: 2119/2025

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £569.00

florianatwobob

@Brambling meet Red Ted  his one remaining eye is bright blue. He’s also got a scorch mark in the back of his head from where he fell on the electric fire when he was drying when I was little  Red is 47 this Christmas and was a present from my neighbours  Apparently it was love at first sight for me and Red  Everyone else wondered why a bear would be red with blue eyes  

suzeesu2000

No photo but my baby teddy is a little brown and black one. Earliest memory is skipping up the ward at St. Thomas Hospital in London to visit my DDaddy. I was singing “Over the wall we go, all Coppers are nanas” by David Bowie. I was about 3 maybe 3&1/2. The man in the bed beside daddy was a policeman,  so much merriment caused. He offered to buy my teddy for sixpence. Of course I said no and ran to daddy for safety! 

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger, DH says thank you for his medal and he will wear it with pride! Hoping he’s going to sort more books over the weekend.
Dinner totally freezer today.
Been very dull and wet today, such a difference from yesterday. Nice and cosy indoors though.
Have a great weekend all, night night & sleep tight xx

Green_hopeful

When i was a kid we didn’t have much money and presents tended to be functional like a winter coat. My granny bought me a couple of soft toys from a shop in shepherds bush near where we lived. I can remember being enchanted by the shop window. The shop was called Vera Small Toys. I still have the bear and owl. I googled to see if I could find a picture of the shop and i found Vera Small’s obituary. I assumed the small related to the toys not Vera! But it was her name. The funny thing is my granny was a very skilled dress maker. She could have made the toys but she bought them. My husband wanted me to declutter the toys and for ages I have ferreted them away but then I realised why I won’t let them go and I think thats fine. 

Brambling

Green_hopeful said:

When i was a kid we didn’t have much money and presents tended to be functional like a winter coat. My granny bought me a couple of soft toys from a shop in shepherds bush near where we lived. I can remember being enchanted by the shop window.

We didn't have much money either, I know my older siblings had boots and winter coats as Christmas presents from my grandfather who died before us younger ones were born.  Until I was ten one of my sisters was married to a carpenter, he made up a beautiful large dolls house when I was 5 or 6 which my sister carpetted and wallpapered, my mother gave it to my nieces after we left home and it got left in the loft when they moved. He also made us a puppet stage which is why we were given puppets, a rather random bunch of characters to try and do a play with looking back I'm assuming they were probably the best prize 🙂

florian Red Ted has kept his colour better than poor Blue Ted.

I volunteer on Friday so just a little sorting through the drawers in my dining room I used a old pillow case heading for the bin to put the rubbish in and I've filled it about 3/4 of the way.  Three years worth of old car insurance policy paperwork has been shredded as well as some old building society books