2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

Green_hopeful

My Lonely Jar Club Christmas presents were really well received. My son said it was an excellent present. I made him and his kids a pop up Christmas card from my crafting stash. I saw the idea on a facebook reel. Quite fun to do. My son was very keen on making pop up cards when he was a child. It made both of us remember his card making. 

TC77

@Green_hopeful that's great to hear esp the pop up card and memories.
Awake early so tidied shelves in hall, moving things that don't belong there with miscellaneous going in set of drawers for sorting another time. Likely will finish job in the spring so focusing on like with like so can have better sort out. Keep finding bulldog and fold back clips and other bits in 4 or more places.
Out old card and dried up make up.

_Dolly_Rocker_

Morning all, 

So I cleared 2 counter tops in my kitchen, loaded up the washing machine and done all the recycling. 

Grabbed all the Christmas pressies out of the big cupboard plonked them all on the dining table, time to get them all wrapped and organised into bags. Not much left to get, mostly sweeties and a some jammies for the kids. 

I need to try and swap a pair I bought for my nephew, I took them out the cupboard and realised how girly they look! Don't have the receipt but I'm in the shop a lot so hoping they let me swap, if not I'll put them on the local giving page and a wee girl can have some nice jammies on me. 

TC77

Forgot the large coffee table ( and v heavy) taken by bhf on Tuesday.  
1886
Tthinking if dd and cousin each help me with 50 items ( I will be resisting as can't see that many things i will willingly lose ) the  hopefully I can manage the other 39 items on my own.

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, busy couple of days here 😁. Tuesday at the dentist, he greeted me with "what have you broken this time?" 😂 All sorted and I am hoping not to have to go so often next year but I do have a normal check up in January 😂. While in the area I called in to OH's house, delivered cards to the neighbours there, picked up the post, a part used tin of white gloss paint, some tile fixative and grout and some paint brushes to use in the new toilet as I have no white gloss here. Decluttered the blown rubbish from the front garden.
When I got home I was totally overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in the lr. Boxes of stuff from the kitchen and wrapped presents everywhere so I started to have a bit of a sort out. Difficult to do anything when there is no room to move but some progress was made and some floor was cleared, some carp binned and the lr bin emptied 3 times 😁.
Yesterday I continued with the sorting, presents stacked sensibly and the kitchen stuff was looked at. 7 boxes of food stuff checked and consolidated into 3 boxes, 4 cardboard boxes recycled, dates checked and 7 items found to be ood, jar of mustard, something I never use and have no idea where it came from .... 2012 🙄 and various other things not quite so old but still ood. Jars emptied, washed and recycled. I damp dusted as I went along and 2 rags binned. Pointsettia OH had been gifted and left on the kitchen worktop for several days was de bagged, dead leaves removed, watered and put on a saucer and put in a reasonable place. I am not expecting it to live beyond the christmas period, they never do, but it is festive 😁. Lr bin emptied again. Then I did a tip run with a bag of hard plastic which included a handle less bucket that has been hanging around for ages and a dead light bulb that has also been taking up space 😂. The kitchen bin and bedroom bin were emptied, the neighbours cards delivered and 1 LDFPA. 
I also put 4 mugs aside for friend's church project.
Today I have to pop to the sm and will get some of the things on our christmas food list and then go through the boxes of kitchen ware in the lr to see if there is anything else to pass on. Probably won't leave the house until after Christmas but at least it will be sorted 😁. 

@_Dolly_Rocker_ as others have said do not use the f word, you have made progress and done the best you could and that is definitely good enough. Please don't compare yourself to other people who have been at this decluttering lark for ages, they are experts 😁 we are still learning 😁 but we are all here because we have carp to sort out and although physically it might appear easy for some of us it is hard work, then when you take into consideration the emotional toll it takes it is very hard work. Congratulate yourself for what you have done, be kind to yourself, you will get where you need to be and remember that place might not be where other people are but if it's right for you then that is also good enough, hugs

@Vulpix that crochet blanket looks very doable 😁, might give it a go when I get some time 😁. Shame about the gardener, fingers crossed you can find someone else.

@Muddy_Walker love what you said to _dolly_rocket 😁

@Mrs SD thank you for my flowers 😁

@GrannyKate it must be the time of year, I have been woken by some awful dreams lately.

@Moorviews we love mince pies here as well. As soon as they appear in the shops we buy them to try and decide which ones we want for Christmas 😂. Not made any though as my pastry is not up to the standard of my dMums and is always a disappointment. Neither of us can afford to eat as many as we do but we do love them and life is just too short not to have what you love. On that note I saw a clip of Victoria Beckham refusing a small chocolate bar David had offered saying she hadn't eaten chocolate since 19 something and wasn't going to start now. She might look good to some people but jeez how boring her life must be 😂

Right time to stop procrastinating and get to the sm.
Hugs to everyone who would like one

1669 dentist
1670 bathroom bin
1671 cards to OH's neighbours
1672 blown rubbish from OH's front garden
1673 - 1675 lr bin
1676 hard plastic to the tip
1677 kitchen bin
1678 bedroom bin
1679 - 1685 ood food
1686 - 1689 cardboard boxes recycled
1690 & 1691 rags binned
1692 lr bin again
1693 cards to neighbours
1694 LDFPA
Take care everyone
1694/2025

GrannyKate

Done very little again today.  DGS4 wants to make a chocolate log to take home to his mum's on Friday - we make them every year.  I'll fill with butter cream not fresh cream as I think it is a little early if he wants it for Christmas Day.  DGD3 has said she will collect her birthday cards from 3 weeks ago this evening.  We will see if she turns up. (10 minutes walk).  DS2 put together ladder desk/dressing table for bedroom 2.  I saw an ideal chair but 'none in stock' they said although there were at least three on display in the shop.  Nearby towns all have them so I may see if I can fit a trip in to collect.  Some stuff for the tip tomorrow as one near my hairdressers then I need to go to horsey shop for DD.  Second to last one of my pre-diabetes class tomorrow.  I hope to go as I missed the last one as very icy and a forty minute drive on rural roads.  

1209 General tidying and putting away done
1210 Kitchen and bathroom cleaned
1211 Microwave cleaned - paint is coming off in places and I only bought it a year ago although not expensive. 
1212 Banking done
1213 January birthday cards written - just 4 adult men - two sons and two nephews.  Only two February birthdays but both USA so I will look out for cards
1214 Photos downloaded to date
1215 Emails read, answered, filed, deleted etc

This is my Christmas tree - nothing matches really - ornaments from trips abroad.  I try to get something made locally rather than imported stuff.  Glass bells from Czechia, wooden and metal miniature toys from Scandinavia, things from USA, dried gourd angel from Budapest, wooden and lace things for Germany.  Sox keeps tapping the items lowest down so there is a recurring pile of needles around the tree.  

_Dolly_Rocker_

Tree is gorgeous!

Green_hopeful

Cleared our utility today. Its our main entrance to the house so it becomes a dumping ground for stuff to go out and when it comes in. Everything not essential has gone to its home except a roll of chicken wire that inexplicably is still on the work surface. I will take it to the garage tomorrow. Our up and over garage door is a bit racy. It has aspirations to be a guillotine. If you don’t get it right to the stops and stationary it comes back down. I am a bit short so it’s always touch and go but I am especially careful. Anyways not going to play chicken with it in the pouring rain. 

daisy_1571

lovely tree Grannykate 

Come on tc77, fifty things should be easy, start with those little bags you kept off the covid tests and progress from there.  I bet afterwards you wouldn't be able to name what you released.


2025 roundup 
Only another few weeks and we'll be in a new year.  This one seems to have gone so fast.  I've been getting rid of quite a lot, some sold, some binned, some tidied, some passed on.  Including a huuuuuge wasp that came down with the Xmas stuff we think, then woke up in the slightly warmer house compared to freezing cold attic.  Spent about an hour trying to identify it.  Have you ever tried to get a clear photo of a wasp's face?  Best way to identify them, who knew?  Anyway, definitely not an Asian hornet as we initially panicked and thought.   Most likely a vespulas germanicus which is apparently quite normal in this country although I've never seen a wasp so huge.  Anyway we can do without a huge dozy wasp living in the house so I'm afraid he was ejected forcibly when we realised swatting had stunned rather than dispatched.   Sorry waspy.

All in all, pleased with progress in the daisy household this year.  Things just feel more......easily kept i think is the feeling.   Its easier to tidy, easier to do normal housework, easier to find things, less sense of omg when a cupboard is opened.  Yes things have been binned, to the recycling or to the bin depending on their constituent parts.  Things are going to end up there anyway eventually so sometimes thats just the correct place for them.  As long as I'm not bringing more things in to the house than I need, and wherever possible these things are as natural, compostable, recyclable, long wearing as they can be but most importantly not excessive then I no longer agonise over chucking something out like I used to.  Going forward consuming less is by far more important to me. Reading Less by Patrick Grant this year has definitely clarified my thoughts on Things and goes along with what we've unconsciously been doing this year.   I know we are no longer excessive consumers any more so overall, im content with my footprint on the world this year.  Next year I'll continue my drive to purchase less and less oil based Things, more natural resources, trying to get more local things, trying to support as close to the maker in the supply chain (ie a person at a market who made the handbag rather than a faceless organisation selling me a bag thats made of several untraceable often plastic based/oil based parts going through several countries thousands of miles away).


If I forget to say later, thank you to all the regulars, the popper-in-ers, the disappeared who slope back in not to be judged but to be welcomed back with open arms, the lurkers and of course the irreplaceable Mrs sd, Mr sd and the salad sister who provide her with the real life support and encouragement that she has virtually provided us with almost every day for the last few years - as ever, please don't feel you must do such a lot in every new thread - we'd rather have you cheer us on occasionally than burn out and dissappear completely. 

Daisy xxxx

suzeesu2000

daisy_1571 said:

If I forget to say later, thank you to all the regulars, the popper-in-ers, the disappeared who slope back in not to be judged but to be welcomed back with open arms, the lurkers and of course the irreplaceable Mrs sd, Mr sd and the salad sister who provide her with the real life support and encouragement that she has virtually provided us with almost every day for the last few years - as ever, please don't feel you must do such a lot in every new thread - we'd rather have you cheer us on occasionally than burn out and dissappear completely. 

Daisy xxxx

Here here! This is such a lovely group, so kind and friendly giving Immense support and motivation. Well done everyone. I’m hoping @Mrs_Salad_Dodger is going to be “mum” again for 2026 please?