2026 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD - our Year of Redistribution

florianatwobob

Busy garden day today;

1. More weeds decluttered from the garden.
2. Also got rid of some old cinder blocks that we were using as ballast in some large pots.
3. 2 large pots emptied for the strawbs and peas
4. Built an obelisk for the peas to grow up
5. At least 6 sycamore seedlings (under 6 inches tall) removed (one of our neighbours is still ignoring the (now) saplings they have growing in their garden. Fortunately not my side of the garden.
6. 250l of compost arrived and the delivery man kindly dropped it in the back garden
7. 6 ladybirds spotted, 4 of them busy together as a prelude to making more ladybirds

In between that we’ve eaten very well today started the day with ‘posh porridge’ (frozen berries and a couple of spoons of mixed seeds and chopped nuts, lunch was some avocado and sourdough toast and dinner was lemony mushrooms and poached eggs on sourdough toast

GrannyKate

Evening all. Thank you for the medals Mrs SD for myself and DGS4. Dropped DS2 off at hospital and thankfully there is no tear in his shoulder but significant swelling and bruising. I guess it is just time that will heal - he is going to try and speak to Dr tomorrow. His landlord has decluttered the attractive but extremely large tree that covered most of his rear garden and which had completely distorted the fence. Hopefully the lawn grass will grow now. I attended a meeting then came back and managed two hours in the garden. Three large boxes filled with weeds and a few potatoes planted in area in front of my new fruit bushes. Covered some of the ground with weed control fabric between the bushes - I need to decide what to put there - wood bark perhaps.

The painter came this morning and has done most of the work. He needs to do a second coat on kitchen skirting and door frame but it was still too sticky today. Sox very unimpressed because things are out of place in kitchen to clear the way for painting. His food bowls are 6 feet from their normal place which he has taken as a personal insult. I have another meeting tomorrow morning then I will try and do a bit more gardening. I did pot up DGS4's small Christmas tree which is looking well so hopefully we can use it again this year. I may try and do a tip run tomorrow pm as there are random things on the drive which can go.

391-3 Three boxes of weeds into recycling bin.

394 Repotting and planting out done

Soontobeoap

Got home from singing at lunch time and DH had emptied the shed and sorted into stay and go piles. We have discovered that 3 floor planks have rotted when the roof leaked but the rest seems sound. Waiting until I have sorted through my craft cabin next door before we arrange a tip run. Also removed 3 bedroom units from our bedroom today ready for 2 large chest of drawers that are coming tomorrow. Once the clothes have been transferred I will list the old units on Wightbay to see if there are any takers. Also have a few other bits to list.

DH reattached the post for the gate to latch into today. Made a good job of it too.

I have washed 4 lots of bedding and dried it outside in this lovely weather. Only 3 sets to go and then I will make beds up again ready for when Dd SIL and GSs come again later in April. Move to the sea and you will never be short of visitors someone told me and it was perfectly true.

vulpix

soon to be oap, same goes for living in a National Park, never short of visitors. 🤣

Great minds think alike Daisy. I used to have loads of those wimsey animals when I was a kid. ❤️

Everyone has been so busy but not as busy as Yorkie1. You have had a weekend to remember!

Florenceem, I have decided on that claret colour you have for the dining room when the time comes.

We are on the way back from Nottingham. Been for a meal with Mr V’s old bandmates.

I have been given a bag of old tray cloths and table cloths. Most are damaged. I am looking forward to making them into something and giving them a new life. Be a change from decorating.

Vx

Brambling

loving that colour Vulpix and the rabbit thrown.

Very little done over the weekend and I was annoyed by a telephone conversation with elderly friend so stepped back for a few days, she didn't apologise but did say it was said because I was the only one she could say it to! I did go back tonight to pick up two bags of books for Petworth tomorrow and I will finish what I started as there isn't anyone else although she is threatening again to come home so she can die there.

My sister came around yesterday and we filled the garden wheelie bin and wheel barrow clearing some of the back garden and sorted the greenhouse. My sister tackled the brambles taking over behind the greenhouse. She wants payment in tomatoes from the green house and bean, courgette and cucumber plants I'm growing on from seeds.

As it's that time of the year I dealt with one financial frog and have another which I'll probably look at and complete on Thursday.

Dizzycap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81953661#Comment_81953661

@ suzeesu2000 - I've also been looking at reducing expenses, but found there really was nothing left to reduce / cut out / cut down on. It's more of a case of bulk buyng absolute necessities when things are on offer/ sale or at a great reduction, which does seem to happen often, at the moment.

@ Florenceem - Great going with the deliveries and shelves etc. Looking fab xxxx

Lots going on here today & hasn't it been a beautiful day? Decluttered 2 loads of washng out on the line at 5am, usual HH bin decluttering & clean up, even though I do all these things before I go to bed, but when not sleeping the kitchen gets used, for my obvious coffee fixes etc. I fed and watered all the rose this evening along with giving the peace lillies a good watering. Rain is expected here on Thursday & Saturday for a couple of hours, but there's rain and then there's drizzle which is useless for the garden.

Someone is sending me a couple of 3 litre pink lillies for the lily patch at the bottom of the back garden; already with wild pink lillies which some have died off a little and a couple of patches do need replacing, along with 300 in the green snowdrops! Goodness knows where I'm going to put those, but I do have a vague idea in front of the 2 large pink lilly patches at the bottom, so may start preparing the space early tomorrow morning before it reaches 23 degrees. I've got the tools to make the planting holes which should only take me half an hour and then shove some compost in ready for the rain before they arrive and I can plant them out straight away after soaking in water for an hour come rain or shine. It wouldn't be the first time I've planted plants / bulbs in the rain as it's usually better for them to take 😉.

Babyface is much better although she seems to be sleeping a lot today. She's not liking the steroids, but they've saved her life along with good homemade dinners, lots of patient confidance building, & TLC when she wants it. I'm hoping to be able to at least reduce her daily amount or get her off them from tomorrow after her blood tests & checkup in the early afternoon. There are more periods now when she's more her Missy self rather than a dog whos character I haven't recognised or known over the past 5 weeks which has been scary to say the least, epecially when she didn't recognise me visually or orally and I've had to use scent using my worn or clothes I'm wearing to get her to relax & trust me. The steroids make her personality flip from Jekyll to Hyde in a moment, but fortunately, she doesn't have an agressive bone in her body xxxx

Time to go and grab a very well deserved coffee before hopefully, an earlier night.

Take care all & toodle-pip for now xxxxx

suzeesu2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954010#Comment_81954010

Trouble is, Dizzycap, I’ve been doing that forever. I try to buy in bulk and have got to the point where buying meat is starting to become a luxury unless it’s greatly reduced. We’re trying to not spend and certainly no supermarket spends for a while. I can reduce my mobile phone bill down to sim only at the end of this month and will do same for DH when his contract expires in a couple of months. I’m wondering do we really need to keep the home phone? I don’t use it to make outgoing calls and only about 3 people ring us on it so I’m thinking of letting that go. It’s not a huge saving but all the little bits add up don’t they. If eBay and Vinted would pick up it would be a great help. Got lots of people “favouriting” lots of things on Vinted but no one’s buying, just the odd bit. We don’t have any subscriptions to anything, no TV things, we don’t buy magazines, we don’t buy alcohol, we have no children to pay anything for so I am at a loss. It will all come out in the wash, I’m sure. Time to pull my big girl pants up and get on with it, no good maudlin. 😁

Dizzycap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954022#Comment_81954022

@ suzeesu2000 - I do understand as I've been doing it for a lifetime. I've stopped buying meat unless it's on a fantstic offer, which Morrisions had over Easter: 3 large 2.8kg legs of lamb (max) and 3 large 2.4kg beef joints (max) for a 1/3rd of the total non special deal price. That'll last us 6 months. I also stocked up on the cheap 7p veggies now stored in a cool shed, so the shopping is done for a few months. HH items, I already have in bulk. I'm on a cheap Lebara sim only monthly mobile phone deal, but I found that there was very little difference, £1 a month; excluding calls which I never make, between keeping my landline or not, so I've kept it as its a part of a cheap broadband deal I have had for the past 3 years.

What I've personally found is that where you manage to save in one area of your monthly budget, it's then eaten up in another somewhere or at some point during the year. So it's now a case of balancing the books more than anything else.

You will sort it out in the end and as you know, it's never as bad as it seems at first 😜

Definately time for bed as I'll be up again in around 3 hours as the day begins 😜🙄. Ta-ta for now xxxx

suzeesu2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954044#Comment_81954044

As my lovely old boss used to say “we don’t deal in problems, we have the solutions” and we usually did! Nite nite xx

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. Daily To Do List - written the night before
2. Sort out sleep patterns - initial targets: bed by 03:00, up by 10:30
3. Don’t put it down, put it away + deal with mini tasks as soon as they are noticed e.g. refill olive pourer or salt cellar, stitch up a hole in a garment etc.
4. Commence ‘Operation Financial Frog Tickling’ using the acronym - I.R.I.S. (Identify, Research, Implement, Sign Off) - One per quarter
5. Continue to keep kitchen clean & tidy - before going to bed
6. Plan & Execute ONE Major Project - 2026 New Bathroom
7. Target 2026 items out

Tuesday was a gloriously sunny day with a high of 19°C & a low of 7°C with a light E wind during the afternoon. However the wind picked up & now feels 3° colder. DH spent some time trying to sort out a fault on the bike - ABS light on - but with no success. Seems to have occurred since the alternator issues 😞 I spent the afternoon sorting out paperwork & reading booklets & magazines for recycling.

Dinner is rump steak with dauphinois potatoes & garlicky green beans. Wudupa

614 - 620 Kitchen recycling, plastic bottle, magazine, 3 booklets, drinks cans - recycled 

621 - 623 Kitchen, lr & office detritus - binned

Excellent work decluttering books weenancy 👏 Finally seeing spaces emerging on your book shelves confirms how well you are doing so a Gold Star ⭐️ is on its way. Sounds like you had a lovely Sunday at your sister’s despite the overly hot day ☺️ Yikes to all those bills you have to pay & all at once 😱

Deb4, good luck with your listings 🍀

suzeesu2000, a busy day & great work getting so much done 👏 I hope you have saved me a slice of quiche 😉

Dizzycap, fingers crossed that you slept through the night 🤞

Florenceem, such a shame that your DD probably won’t recover in time to run the London Marathon 😔 Hopefully she will be allowed to defer until next year 🤞 Hope your middle daughter has a lovely holiday in the Maldives ☺️

florianatwobob, wow that is complicated 😱 Excellent work in your garden 👏 Good luck sorting the sheds 🍀

suzeesu2000, at the moment we are as lucky as you with just the 2 bins which are/should be emptied on a weekly basis & a separate garden waste collection 😊 There is a food waste bin available but the local foxes are in the habit of knocking the small caddy over & scattering the contents everywhere 🙁

florianatwobob, hopefully nothing will change 🤞

BlueJ94, hope you enjoyed your warm day 😊

Deb4, hope you enjoyed your farm visit & that the weather was fine 🤞

Good luck with Project Pan BlueJ94 🍀 as well as with your top tasks for 2026 🍀

Florenceem, thank you for the lovely compliment 😊 Please to hear that you had another pain free night 🥹

Excellent work Rootle 👏 A Gold Star ⭐️ is on its way for reaching the first milestone of 2026 😊

What a gorgeous room vulpix 🤩 so well decorated & furnished 👏

daisy_1571, your ‘housey display boxes’ are wonderful 🤩 I especially love the “wimseys” & “random childhood stuff” 😍

Floss, I totally agree with This “vulpix, the walls look fab with that paper underneath.” ☺️ 

I really must get back into the habit of posting early p.m. & late evening to keep up with the cheerleading 😉 Sleep tight 😴 

MrsSD Awards: 💐 🙏💐💐🌟⭐️❤️💐💐⭐️💐❤️ ⭐️🎖️

DH Awards: 🏅🏅🏅

DSis Awards:

Decluttering Target 2026: 623/2026

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £73.00