2026 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD - our Year of Redistribution

suzeesu2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82109358#Comment_82109358

Not too shabby @Willowtree222 I could cope there!

Removed the pan lid holder from inside the cupboard door as I know we’ll forget and it will get thrown out with the door. Sorted through a box of dry sachets on the pantry shelves. Sadly a few very ood so they have been emptied into a bag. Packaging in recycling.

Lovely drop more rain today and pleasant temperature.
Tacos were delicious. DH also had dinner totally from the freezer.

As cat owners will know, after a while, the base of the cat litter tray becomes a bit “cementy” and you can’t remove it for love nor money. So, being the kindly mummy I am, I bought a new tray for my boy. Very disappointed when it came as it is so flimsy and does not - however I have tried - fit together properly. You would not believe the hoops I am having to jump through to get the blessed thing returned. I am having the same with a fitted valance sheet. I searched and searched for the colour, was so pleased when I found it. Eventually arrived and it’s a completely different colour. The returns emails have been going backwards and forwards for three weeks. It’s a good job I am a tolerant person😇🤣 why does it have to be so hard? Sorry for the moan.

Have a good night all, sweet dreams xx

Green_hopeful

@suzeesu2000 i am less tolerant than you. We sent 50 parcels with ParcelForce 48 hour express. Most of them finally arrived although the last one that was actually delivered took a week. A week that i spent getting through to customer services trying to chase them up. The AI thing at the start of the calls was very reluctant to put me through to a human. I was yelling at it ‘AGENT AGENT AGENT I WANT TO SPEAK TO AN AGENT’ then there was 30 minutes in a queue with unpleasant music. 16 calls and a formal escalation to complaints and one parcel is still missing in the central London depot.

Then i bought my elderly uncle a fridge last year. The fridge had stopped making cold. So i rang John Lewis. It offers a whatsapp chat thing. It said I had to ring Beko but the number didn’t work so back round the loop. AI thing at the beginning asked what i was ringing about. I said ‘a Beko fridge’, it said’a bridge?’ I said no ‘a fridge’, it said ‘a bridge?’ I said ‘you don’t sell bridges’. Then it asked for the order number, my name address and phone number before cutting me off. I tried five times and then i rang complaints and a very nice man rang Beko for me. Took 50 minutes though. Turns out the whatsapp chat bot had given me the wrong number at the start. Simple fix with a new thermostat. My uncle liked the engineer and gave him a nice railway hammer so a declutter of one item.

Of course all the calls are recorded. I hope they don’t listen to me yelling at the AI.

florianatwobob

Decluttered lots from the freezer today and turned it into a tasty dinner.

I’ve been doing my best to save food before it goes ‘beyond the pale’and ended up in a homage to a Prezz0 starter courtesy of the freezer

Todays dinner was grilled mushrooms topped with cheese (mascarpone, mozzarella and cheddar), pesto, chopped red chilli and sourdough breadcrumbs.

The myshrooms had been fresh but I’d sliced and frozen them, the cheese was half a pot of mascarpone I’d frozen, a part bag of DBro1’s grated mozzarella and cheddar mix and left over bits of grated cheddar I’d frozen.

The pesto was from a part jar of pesto I’d frozen into cubes in an ice cube tray, the chilli home grown and frozen and the breadcrumbs from the dried up heal of a sourdough loaf which I’d previously frozen. All had with some gifted very ripe homegrown toms I roasted with some tarragon. All very tasty and thrifty.

I also had the end of another sourdough loaf so that’s also become breadcrumbs. I dug out my mums 80s food processor for that job. It is formidable.

dND

@suzeesu2000 I got cans of silicon spray from Mr L and spray the inside of the litter trays with that when they are clean. Not perfect but it helps a lot.

@florianatwobob A Kenwood from when Kenwood was Kenwood and not De'Longhi. Built like a battleship. 🤣

Not much to report today other than the bottle and tins recycling and black bags out of the house ready for tomorrow morning's collection.
Sleep well all. Dxx

suzeesu2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82109763#Comment_82109763

AI Chat are not worth anything. All they do is exacerbate an already difficult situation. I refuse to interact with them. I am a human, if I spend my time and money with a company they can jolly well find me a human to speak to. Don’t get me started on self serve checkouts🤬🤬🤬xx

suzeesu2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82109831#Comment_82109831

Thanks @dND, I’ll remember that xx

Brambling

dND our local council don't want to speak to a real person either, the automated message basically says they are 'training AI' who were useless. There is a recording somewhere of me repeating on a loop many times getting louder 'NO I WANT TO SPEAK TO A PERSON'

florianatwobob

@dND it is built like a battleship! Weighs about the same too! Its pulse function stopped working during Covid but I found a man who has a business repairing small appliances of all types. £20 and a week later and it was back in business.

dND

Oh, @suzeesu2000 I forgot to say, don't spray it inside the house unless you want ice rink flooring (and please don't ask how I know🤣). It also ends up with a lot of propellant in the air so somewhere outside and breeze free is best. I use Mr L because it's around £3 a can, (around £1/100ml), it can be far more expensive than that elsewhere.

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

I really must remember to post on the correct day 😉.                                        Thursday is another cooler day but not as cloudy as yesterday as there is some blue sky & sunshine 😊 The forecast is for a high of 21°C with a WSW wind making it feel 3° cooler & low of 15°C. The HH waste wheelie bin has still not been emptied 😞 but the recycling wheelie bin has been emptied this morning 👏 Some gentle rain started at 12:35 - just enough to wet the ground & completely stopped by 12:55

Now it is time to catch up with cheerleading:

vulpix, a very productive & successful day of decluttering on Tuesday 👏 A medal🏅 is on its way. Very pleased to hear that you found the Birthday gift 😊 even though you had to resort to a “rage search” 😉  Good luck eating the frogs 🍀 Sorry to hear that MrV’s wound is taking so long to heal 😢 Hopefully the staff at the complex wound clinic will sort out the issue quickly 🙏

Lovely post ionafan ☺️ I investigated The Grammar of Cooking & although I don’t think it is my cup of tea I do think my DH would find it interesting 🤔 

Broke off here to write a shopping list for DH, as he & DSis are doing the weekly shop. They left 14:00. The ground is completely dry now & the sky is blue with fluffy white clouds. Back to the cheerleading: 

Miss_BaLu, relieved to hear that the immediate issue has been resolved 😮‍💨 However I do think that you should make sure that the housing association sorts out the source of the upstairs leak & instigates full & proper repairs 🤔 

Florenceem, gentle cwtches for you & your family especially your son B 🤗

QueenJess, great decluttering despite your “nightmare week at work” 👏

When DH & DSis got back, I put everything away. We had pizza for dinner - spinach & mushroom (too peppery) & prosciutto & mushroom 😋 Wudupa.

1399 - 1400 Kitchen recycling, plastic bottle - recycled 

1401 Kitchen detritus binned 

We had a few more spots of rain - three x 90 second bursts. Hope everyone had a good day 🤞 Sleep tight  😴 

MrsSD Awards: 💐 🙏💐💐🌟⭐️❤️💐💐⭐️💐❤️⭐️🎖️🥇⭐️⭐️⭐️😇🏅💐🌻💐💐🌻🥇 

DH Awards: 🏅🏅🏅🏅⭐️ 🏅

DSis Awards: 🏅

Decluttering Target 2026: 1401/2026

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £297.61