2026 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD - our Year of Redistribution

retiredinfrance

@Moorviews , Thanks for your welcome back.
we are now in a no extra toiletries situation and same with makeup , although my stock of lipsticks is not decreasing much .SABLE stocked!
Glad to know I’m not the only one making each car trip very worthwhile. I’m a member of a Lunch club here, different restaurants , different towns so I get messages/ errands to some of you,done in the morning. Fortunately most small towns in France don’t charge for parking so more cash saved. Out this morning

I DH shirt and a pile of pop socks - never use them now.

Pile of magazines and 2 books for the CS.

Total 159+5=164/365.

Hugs for all,R.

Yorkie1

@Mrs_Salad_Dodger you can't beat a good cheese course!

@Dizzycap I hope that taking it easier this weekend helps with your arms and hands.

@TC77 I'm a great believer in things getting messier before they get better. Unfortunately, in practice, I'm less good at the getting better bit … 🤣

@GrannyKate well done on the ticking off of big jobs

@Florenceem what lovely gloves and robe

@retiredinfrance congratulations to your OH on coining the term declutterati

It's chucking it down here and has been since late last night. Definitely a day for not gardening, though I did manage to start driving again yesterday. Just to the allotment, so not far. No pain when using the gear stick or hand brake, but had to say ouch when using the left indicator with a couple of downward fingers. Will have to use the whole hand to move it for a short while longer, but at least it means I can go back into the office and see people.

Dizzycap

Good afternoon all xxxx

Well it rained for a whole hour last night and that was it. It's been overcast for most of the day and threatening to rain, but nothing so far 🤔. Babyface managed to squeeze in 30 minutes of morning sun on her swing chair before it disappeared, much to her disgust. I always get blamed for switching the sun off, so I go with it 😂🤣. Just had a nice beef roast dinner; which babyface couldn't have, 😫😕 total sulking mayhem before washing up and putting everything away and cleaning up. I do like a tidy clean kitchen. Even the bin has had another empty before the usual nightime stint 😂.

The extra rest is doing me good and now the numbness has transferred itself fully to my left side which I can live with as I've already adapted to cope with it as best as I can, so my balance is much better today 😜😝. I'm just having a large mug of coffee before we potter off and get some afternoon rest. Babyface burnt herself out again this morning with her crazy antics, so she's definately on rest for the rest of the day 😉. I was intending to watch the snooker final on the iPad in bed this afternoon but it's so unusually slow, I just can't bear to watch it 🙄😂🤣.

Time to potter off and rest for a few hours. Wishing everyone a peaceful day. Take care all & Ta-ta for now xxxx

Rootle

18/52 - Box of old drinking glasses, a jumper and a bra to the bin.

19/52 - a pair of joggers, a going out top, 2 x casual tops, a pair of trousers and 1 t-shirt to charity recycling.

20/52 - DH put 3 x shirts into charity recycling.

suzeesu2000

Afternoon everyone. Was a nice drop of rain yesterday afternoon, just rain no wind or coldness. I've decluttered some of the really unfixable lizards off the garden wall. Anything that can be repainted has been washed and is in a bag in the kitchen, I'll need to go over with some sandpaper before I can repaint them, then a good coat of varnish and should be good to go back on the wall.

Made a lovely chicken arrabbiata in the slow cooker yesterday - was enough for today as well which fits nicely as DH has gone to his club.

Decluttered a ton of notes on family tree, spent all Saturday afternoon doting the i's and crossing the t's and am now happy with that line of the family. Just have to copy all the important docs over to files on laptop.

Its been a lovely, quiet, peaceful and restful weekend and I am so grateful for that. Hope everyone elses weekend has been good for them. Nice to see you having a good break @Mrs_Salad_Dodger and @Florenceem I love your robe.

Have a great rest of the day xx

Yorkie1

@suzeesu2000 do you use any particular software for your family history? I have some from decades ago but it's not really usable these days and I don't really want to upload the tree to either of the main websites.

It's interesting looking at other peoples' published family trees. You do wonder at the psychology - some people obviously want to gather as many names as possible, without any critical analysis. Mum and I were viewing her aunts and uncles on some peoples' trees, and a couple of them had one of the uncles as a step-brother to the others. It was completely untrue!

I decluttered a certain amount of money at the garden centre 🤗

GrannyKate

Thanks for your kind thoughts @Moorviews - I suspect I create an illusion of organisation whilst paddling furiously below the surface. I felt a bit down last week - no idea why really just a couple of silly things - slighty overwhelmed by the challenge of doing all the jobs to get the house how I want it to be. I realise I have to slow down - the house is half done but I need a break once hall is complete and I want to sort outbuildings. There is stuff in the lounge to make decisions on and I think I need to do that before I consider decorating it. Bathroom just needs to wait - functional with good shower so it can wait. The sink has a crack but it doesn't leak. Nothing matches in there.

DS2 came up today and put bed together - not without problems and I have had to ask for replacement struts as several were in poor condition with flawed and split wood. He also fitted the window blind and curtain pole. It looks nice in bedroom 3 now. Door still needs wood shaved off but joiner got a bit stroppy (or his partner did) when I chased him up. I will ask the other joiner whom I have used.

Day trip booked for Madeira on the Tuesday - one late DH and I did years ago which I think my friend will like. I have also paid for villa for our July holiday with children. Flights are going to be expensive because school holidays. I think next year there will be less holidays if I want to get house finished. I need to pack, do some frogs and sorting and filing tomorrow.

Idling on computer whilst having morning tea I solved at least a part of a small family history puzzle. A lady born in 1831 who 'married' (or probably didn't) the brother of my 2x great grandmother. I only knew her first name and the fact that she was born in Leicestershire. I now know she had 5 surnames and only 1 definite marriage. 1831 Catherine A born in Leicestershire; 1851 Catherine B living in Grimsby (unmarried) as a servant: 1852 Catherine C after her marriage to George C citing both surnames A & B on her marriage record; 1861/1871 living in Wales and Elland, Yorkshire as Catherine C - George seems to have disappeared by 1871 but they have 5 children with surname C; 1881 Catherine is still in Yorkshire living with a different George (my relative) and several of her children - Catherine and George are now using the surname D which is the second George's legal name - the children are still using the surname C; 1891 they are living at the same place but they now all have the surname E which as far as I can see is not the legal surname of any of them. Catherine is buried in1900 as Catherine D but George carries on living there as George E. - Clear as mud and no idea where all the names came from. There is nothing new about co-habitation, name changes and blended families.

441 New bed assembled - fault reported (I was 35 in the queue on their live chat!) and replacements ordered

442 Some small frogs done

443 Weeding done but not enough rain to make much progress

444 Bedroom 3 - Curtains and blinds put up, packaging in recycling.

Apart from the door and some pictures bedroom 3 is now done. DGS4 mostly sleeps in there so he has his favourite grey and yellow theme. He asked about the picture of late DH stroking a young cheetah in S Africa which he always liked when it was in our old living room - I will find it for his wall. I was able to re-use the curtains from the old place which I had shortened professionally. I have loads of pictures stacked in the loft which will need to be used or decluttered eventually.

After a 5 hour sleep on settee Sox has disappeared and will no doubt not want to come in later.

Yorkie1

Blimey @GrannyKate 😲

GrannyKate

@Yorkie1 - I have used Family Tree Maker for years but I do not link it to the major site which it is now connected to business wise. There are others -you can find articles on google about stand alone systems. I do have a private tree on the big site but it is not open to view except to a very few people. There are so many trees on line that are a complete mess where one person has just copied another blindly many of which show serious errors. I try to triangulate every 'fact' and I remain open to being corrected or challenged but there are a lot of people who get offended if you politely query their findings. The fascination for me is seeing British history reflected in the individuals who make up my tree - the social and physical mobility over the years is fascinating as my ancestors range from paupers and criminals through all ranks up to the aristocracy and royalty. They also cover all corners of Britain and across to Europe. I have based my research on the 8 lines of my great grandparents. Forty years ago when I started I didn't even know the name of my father's paternal grandmother but she eventually proved to be the one with the most well documented and illustrious forebears.

Yorkie1

That's amazing and fascinating! I have lots of agricultural labourers. Oh, and Mum's family in North Wales. Surname Jones … !!