2026 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD - our Year of Redistribution

vulpix

Aaaaah, relief, it's 20 degrees and over cast… bliss.

The last of our house guests has just left, time for a spot of lunch then putting the house back together, ready for a new over nighter tonight.

I love this house. I loved the last house but it was just too tiny to have numbers of people come to stay or sit together and eat.

I slept 12 hours last night, never woke up once. Making up for the previous several nights of heat torture… and we didn't have it as hot as further South.

My southern visitors had nightmare journeys like you Mrs SD. Surprise road closures and 1.5 hour stop dead on the motorway. The heat makes everything just such an endurance test. I hope you are both feeling revived today Mrs SD.

Siebrie, I have often wondered how you were getting on. Great that the girls are thriving. Time for a new chapter for you. Wishing you the best for the future. Please keep us updated if you can. We are all behind you.xxx

Sounds like you are doing really well with the conservatory Liverpool Anne. Great job considering how challenging the heat has been .x

Mr V's friend has given us some bunk beds which when I have revamped them will replace the trundle bed in the small bedroom. The room is just slightly too small to have the trundle out and open the door!

I am aiming to have a week of not very much to do at all. Some decluttering may take place as I put the house back together and find homes for stuff.

Vx

QueenJess

Mostly done and got 3 boxes and 3 bags for charity (very small ones, but I am using up all the packaging I can find). Maybe I can get dressed, have lunch and then tidy up the house now? Then perhaps I can deal with some of my stuff?

Disturbingly you can't tell we got rid of anything… the house looks exactly the same (although my rooms are all now worse as I have the resulting mess to sort out and packaging strewn across the floors.

36 - DD tat recycled
5 - DD tat binned
9 - DD tat (charity bag)
1 - DS tat (charity bag)
14 - DH tat (charity bag)
1 - bag I used to love, but never reach for anymore (charity bag)
2 - packaging reused

New total 2,322
Use it up total 515

daisy_1571

QueenJess if you are seriously asking for input read on otherwise ignore 😂 this is only my take on what you write, dont be offended

I think everyone asks for your help as you have made yourself indispensable to the process because you have to look at everything, decide whether it can go and decide where it goes. If you really want to remove yourself from the process, even just for a while, then just put buckets in each room or 2 on the landing and let the kids/husband throw out what they want to as things naturally come to their attention. It honestly won't harm the planet that much if a couple of bins goes into landfill/recyclng in the next few months directly from your house or if it drips in via charity shops and other people in a year or so. Its all going to end up there at some point.

If you can, try to ease up for a while on the idea constant idea you have 'too much', I worry you are making yourself ill with self-imposed stress and giving yourself work. Try to stop trawling through drawers for a while, if you can throw out hundreds of items and the house doesn't look any different then it must have all been away in cupboards and drawers therefore enjoy the summer, read a book, play with your puzzles or the kids, go a walk with them, watch TV for a while, sit in the garden while they play in the sun, it will be winter soon enough, get out and enjoy the sun now❤️

😘all said with love and the best of intentions, not to undermine or derail your efforts, just to give you a fresh perspective from someone who obviously doesn't know you or your house, just what you choose to post

daisy xxxxxxxxx

Florenceem

Sofa & footstool collected and delivered yesterday. I sent the delivery men off with ice lollies.

Builder J came yesterday to ask if it was okay to finish the summer house on Monday.

I got my package from Asd. and did my ironing plus a wash load in my clean machine.

I spent a lot of time in front of a fan knitting.

I am having someone come to measure up for new carpet in the lounge tomorrow.

Been to Church with bestie this morning.

As we were early - went in the charity shop. Someone had priced a 50g ball of yarn the same price as a 100g one. I spent time changing prices.

I called at a friend's house - L - not seen her for a while - I did try last Sunday as well. I went to the next door neighbour and gave her my phone number as I am sure I still have L's house key. When I got home and looked in the tin where keys are kept - there are so many keys in there - I only recognise L's key and my next door neighbour's one. Mr F usually went to that tin - it was here when I moved in 29 years ago.

Decluttered - hat, shorts, shirt, long sleeve top, 2 dresses and a tee shirt.

Yorkie1

It's a bit cooler today here in Herts at mum's, and I return north tomorrow, so it's a Jobs day: watched my service online with mum; scrubbed the study carpet twice to try to remove some ink stain that had transferred from a milk carton; emptied and washed the cat litter tray and underneath placemat; put the used litter out with the used puppy pad that also went underneath the tray; waited for a delivery of carpet pet stain & odour cleaner from the river place; scrubbed the study carpet with that cleaner when it arrived (and will replace the litter tray etc when it's dried); replaced the rechargeable batteries in two of mum's three phone handsets with some also delivered by the river store; hung out her sheets; scrubbed the bathroom floor and walls; washed the fronts and handles of all the kitchen cupboards (they just looked grubby); took a feather duster to some cobwebs I'd noticed; reattached a couple of curtains whose hooks had detached from the eyes; got mum logged onto F*Book so she can watch morning prayer via it; vacuumed a bit.; fed the cat

Still need to get her to write down how to ring my brother overseas via WhatsApp on her mobile phone - it'll cost a fortune on her new tariff; connect one of her old handsets to the base unit once the battery has recharged; use shears to prune the forsythia (taking care not to fracture my hand again!); do something with a rose that has drooped; possibly look at how to reduce her iCloud storage as she's near her limit (I have no knowledge of Apple devices … !).

And have a Zoom call with brother and family, and watch the Grand Prix highlights at tea time. Phew!

Green_hopeful

Finally took the gazebo down after the party last weekend. First it rained unexpectedly so it was wet and then we thought we would wait until after the heatwave.

We are going to put the other gazebo without a cover on a free page. I don’t need to keep it but someone might want the parts.

I mentioned a little while ago that both our bbqs were very poorly. Finally had time and gloves to take them apart. We managed to make a Frankenstein bbq out the two. I kept the frame from mine and made it into a potting bench/plant stand. The dead bits have been piled up by the gate for the scrap man.

GrannyKate

@Yorkie1 - I have all Apple things because of late DH - I upped my icloud storage to 200 GB about 8 years ago - currently 79% full - this costs me £2.99 a month. Which reminds me that I could delete a load of stuff so mine doesn't get full up again.

I had a really bad night and felt quite ill with the heat, humidity etc and leg cramps. I had a cool shower at 2.30 am and managed to get back to sleep for a while. Sox went out at 2.30 and came back in at 5.30 looking for his breakfast.

Cooler today with a few spots of rain - I've done a little digging but not much. Vacuumed through and washed kitchen floor. Need to do lounge but desk needs clearing off first. I must do some frogs tomorrow. DGS3 is here to do some more garden jobs now it is cooler. He had been to get himself some new clothes with money I had paid him along with a little extra as a gift. DS2 and family had a surprise weekend near Skegness so they have come back tired. DGS4 and DGD4 will sleep here tonight so I can do school run.

649 Banking done

650 Photos downloaded

651 Cleaned through house

652 Area of concrete at side of house power washed - only about a third done.

653 Small amounts of weeding done

QueenJess

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050628#Comment_82050628

Hiya, thanks for trying, but the issue is that no matter how many times I tell DS to put his rubbish in the bin, put charity stuff in the box in the cupboard and put recycling downstairs, he doesn't do it and dumps it outside his room. So I have to go through it, or risk tripping over it everyday. DH won't do anything about it as it's "too hard and he doesn't know what to do".

My cupboards and drawers are full. I cannot close things and forget about them as I remember it and when they are too full I can't put things away because it's too hard and the house slowly descends into chaos. The stuff is stressing me out and I know from experience that if you put it all off, you just put it off to deal with another day in the future. Even my kitchen cupboards I am finding stressful and means I am not enjoying cooking as much - and that obviously is all on me as I am the one buying anything that goes in there.

I've forced DH to help me go through the memory boxes for the kids and we got rid of loads of stuff. Not counted, but estimated about 200 bits of paper, cards etc. I am about halfway through my personal memory stuff, but got distracted with the kids bits. On the plus side I had loads of memory stuff to sort that was dumped in my room and so I can finally put those bits away.

Going to try and finish the memory boxes today and get all of that stuff cleared up. Then things may look slightly better.

5 - frame backing recycled
29 - certificates I don’t want (recycled)
15 - sentimental stuff (recycled/charity)
200 - kids memory box stuff recycled

New total 2,571
Use it up total 515

BlueJ94

So far i have

• Cleaned oven
• Cleaned air fryer
• Cleaned recycling bins
• Cleaned under the sink, before and afters

• Defrosted beef for dinner
• Listed 6 items bought from charity shop/boot sales
• Packed one Vinted parcel
• Withdrew vinted funds and paid £50 towards the loan

All I have left to do is make dinner, have a bath and then bathe the dogs! Been oneee busy Sunday 😴🤣

florianatwobob

Decluttered 2 bags of misc stuff to the CS today before heading off to see Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the cinema.

It was an excellent production and Lesley Manville shone while Aiden Turner was marvellously predatory in the style of his character Mitchell in Being Human. I very much recommend going if you have the opportunity.