2026 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN Mrs SD - our Year of Redistribution

GrannyKate

Trying to keep up - some more wallpaper stripping done. Books moved into bedroom 2 - gradually emptying things out of the living room.  Everything in there is basically where it was put when I moved in 14 months ago.  I am hoping quite a bit may be able to go. Went to the tip having filled car up completely.  I managed to get printer ink on my hands from a box of them for recycling - it will take some days to wash off completely.  I am off to a meeting then I have been invited out for tea with DS2 and DiL.

102-104 Three bags of rubbish including wallpaper to tip
105 Ink cartridges to recycling
106-108 Three large cardboard boxes and packing to recycling.

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 oil 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

Monday started quite bright but very cloudy with a forecast high of 10°C (feeling just 1° colder due to a gusting SSE wind) & a low of 7°C I was up & dressed by 10:30 & will be making a concerted effort to catch up with the cheerleading 😉 starting with posts dated the 18th

jivjules1, congratulations on selling your Lego set 👏 & well done on resisting the urge to buy a new to you coat before you have decluttered one 😊

Great cheerleading Liverpool_Anne 😊 I think you should count double whenever you clear up rubbish blown into your garden 😉 Food luck defrosting the freezer🍀

London_1, re This “I managed to buy my second favourite biscoff biscuits with my 'trolley reward'pound last week and they are sitting on my bookcase tempting me, but I am waiting until my DGS Jack comes over next month as he enjoys them bless him so I shall wait then open them with a cuppa for him.” you have a lot more willpower than me or my DH for that matter 😂 Excellent decluttering of the contents of the 2nd drawer in the wardrobe 👏 It’s official ‘Decluttering is one of your hobbies” 😊& definitely cheaper than your elder DD & her husband’s hobby of shopping 😉 Good news about your accounts 👏 & well done on the NSDs 😊 At least the bad weather is good for something 😉

TC77, what a lovely compliment ☺️ & I love the idea of a global medal 😉Is it really time for DD2 to pack 😞 You will miss her but she will be home before you know it 🥹

Florenceem, it will take time & you should go at your own pace 🥹

diminua, good luck using up the little bottles of shower gels & body creams 🍀

Excellent decluttering greent 👏 Good luck conquering your “cleaning products problem” 🍀

Excellent decluttering Happy_Kitties 👏

DundeeDoll, what a lovely way to spend the afternoon ☺️ Hope you have a good flight home 🙏

Good work jivjules1, you are doing well 👏 Fingers crossed for more sales 🤞

Florenceem, I think it is a combination of the train slowing slightly & me getting a bit quicker 😉 Great work clearing more of the office paperwork 👏 Paperwork dated 1978  😬 Sorry to hear that you had a poor night’s sleep 😞

Excellent decluttering crazybeautiful 👏 I have made a note of your target & I will be making awards at certain points on the way 😊

suzeesu2000, sorry to hear that “the usual health stuff is being somewhat of a pain” 😞 The rigatoni bolognese sounds delicious 😋 Thanks for freezing a portion for me 🤭 only joking 🙃 

florianatwobob, ooh that ‘left over pie’ sounds very tasty 🤤 

Excellent work in the kitchen ladybird1106 👏 with some great decluttering 👏 Good luck with the items listed for sale 🍀

Lovely post TC77 ☺️

SeekingFlight, great decluttering 👏 Please don’t forget to update your signature 😉 

Lovely post Floss 🥹

Excellent decluttering _Dolly_Rocker_ 👏 I have to confess that I have more than one copy of LOTR 😉 & unlike you I would have kept my original copies as well as the new set 😅 

Florenceem, what a thoughtful gift from your ex-DiL 🥹 Here’s wishing your eldest daughter a safe holiday in Chile 🙏

Excellent decluttering ilovetea 👏 Please try not to compare your decluttering exploits with others 🙏 you are doing well & decluttering at a pace that suits you 😊

Floss, the new to you sofa & chair sound fabulous 🤩 Very impressed at the impromptu furniture replacement 👏

TC77, sounds like DD2 was on a late flight 🤔 Hope she has a pleasant journey & recovers quickly from any jet lag 🤞Great decluttering 👏

Liverpool_Anne, sorry to hear that your back is playing up 😞 so very well done on getting your freezer defrosted & doing such a lot of laundry 👏 

I will break off here for a few minutes just to celebrate catching up with the cheerleading up to & including posts dated the 18th 🍾 🎉………………….. That is enough of that 😉

London_1, hearing such lovely stories about Ben makes me wish I had had a teacher like him 🥹 What a wonderful young man & as you say a born teacher 🥹 This “When I had a 'big' birthday last year because I send pictures of the stuff 'Sir' and his Granny grow far away on the IoW I had a brilliant home made card signed by all the kids in his class to 'Sirs' Granny whose garden Sir shows us in pictures.” is delightful ☺️ 🥹Thanks for the recommendation about the iPlayer programme about the Titanic 👏 Hopefully the weather is kind when you head off to your U3A afternoon 🤞

Just breaking off to turn on the light as it has gotten rather dark 😧 

florianatwobob, the Titanic exhibition sounds like a remarkable experience 😊  Good luck with your ‘past their prime’ seeds 🍀 

GrannyKate, no wonder you have been AWOL. I was tired just reading about how much work you did over the weekend 🤩 👏 Very fortunate that you can ‘shop for furniture’ in your own house without spending money 😊👏 Good luck with the jigsaw 🍀 Hopefully you can can get the Tip trips out of the way quickly 🤞

MadamMim2013, sorry to hear that everyone has been laid low by the ‘lurgy’ that is currently doing the rounds 😔 but pleased to hear that you are on the road to recovery 😊 No wonder you are so proud of DS1 🥹  such a courageous young man 🥹 

vulpix, very impressed that you resisted buying wool at Bury market 👏 As you have  mentioned that your wool stash is almost gone, I am doubly impressed 🤩 I seem to remember you said that there was more storage space in your new house so hopefully, once the weather gets better & you start unpacking the boxes in the sheds & storage spaces in the garden, you will have plenty of space to put everything away 🤞 Please remember that the TLC Carriage is available when you want to have a little rest ☺️ I am pleased to hear that both you & MrV are on the road to recovery 🥹

Willowtree222, what a horrid man your DD’s dad is 😖  Very well done on showing such restraint 👏 Flowers are on their way 💐 Btw what a dreadful council you have - general waste only collected once every three weeks 😞 

Wednesday2000, made me laugh too 😂

florianatwobob, the underlined part of This “DSis was less than impressed about her demise on the Titanic. I think she just has one of those faces. At the York Dungeons she got selected to be the witch burnt at the stake. I couldn’t bring myself to join in with the ‘burn the witch’ chanting which I think showed appropriate sisterly feeling!!” made me laugh even harder 🤣

BlueJ94, brilliant 🤩 

Willowtree222, re This “He likes his own material possessions but will happily tell DD that thanks she wants are 'too much' or 'too expensive' doe Christmas he promised her a figure but didn't have it at that time. She is 12 and autistic. I have lost count of the endless promises that have never happened.” is absolutely appalling & callous behaviour from a grown man 😡 No wonder that This “Decluttering anger has been my hardest achievement. It only impacts me as he takes zero responsibility.” has been so difficult 😥 

Beautiful post daisy_1571 🥹

Excellent decluttering GrannyKate 👏 & well done on the Tip trip 🥳 

And breathe…….. all caught up 🥳 so will post & then do a little jig 💃 Hope everyone is having as good a day as possible 😊 but there are plenty of cwtches available if your day is not going as well as you would like 🤗🤗🤗🤗 

MrsSD Awards: 💐🙏💐💐🌟⭐️❤️

DH Awards:

DSis Awards: 

Decluttering Target 2026: 113/2026

1p Savings Challenge Running Total: £5.00

Floss

Willowtree222 said:

Decluttered thoughts to send a message telling DD's dad what I think of him. It has no impact on his behaviour and he doesn’t see his behaviour as wrong. 

Maybe write down all your thoughts, feelings and what you would like to say to him, then ceremonially burn it?

Floss

vulpix said:

  I am quite close to using up my wool stash. I have some sewing frogs to eat before I get lost in knitting again...

Seeing as I handed over rather a lot of that stash, I'm very impressed! 😂

Willowtree222

Thanks, all.

This has been ongoing for nearly eight years so there is a zero chance of changing. I have lost my temper, calmly explained, but nothing gets through. He genuinely believes his 7 hours a week and £200 a month to me is quite sufficient. DD refuses to stay at his house. 

I need to get back focused on decluttering. Off to have a nice soak in a lavender bath before DD gets home! 

Floss

Willowtree222 said:

Thanks, all.

This has been ongoing for nearly eight years so there is a zero chance of changing. I have lost my temper, calmly explained, but nothing gets through. He genuinely believes his 7 hours a week and £200 a month to me is quite sufficient. DD refuses to stay at his house.  

Can you have that figure reassessed in light of his displays of wealth? It seems quite a small amount (I got £178 for each of my boys 2000-2006).

_Dolly_Rocker_

@Willowtree222 - What a horror he is. Really feel for your daughter and it is so hard not to say anything to him. My sister has similar issues with her ex.

Brie

I like the idea of decluttering anger.  I know I have a lot of that currently - mostly at one brother in particular.  I keep trying to think of a way to deal with that.

ruby_eskimo

Afternoon all. Have just had a quick catch up but sending hugs to all who need them and cheering on everyone else's achievements.

This weekend was the start of the "dealing with my parent's hoarding" task.  Remember I gave them both a little task to do in the three weeks since Christmas?  Well my dad was supposed to buy a shed and my mum was supposed to sort through a chest of drawers...Dad did not order a shed but he did make a start on sorting out the piles of clothes in his bedroom and mum did one drawer.  He had actually been to the tip once during the week and had loaded his car with another bunch of stuff to go to the tip and the local SA donation bin.  

DH and I took apart his old bed, well demolished the divan so it would fit in the car - the mattress is relatively new.  Apparently it was the same divan he had at his parents house before he married my mum, which was 47 years ago 😯.  Put the stuff that had been hidden under the bed into a bag, took it downstairs, sorted it into piles and asked him to work out what he wanted to do with all of it.  DH set to work putting together the new bed frame (that was purchased about 10 years ago and has been sitting taking up space on the landing) while I emptied out the wardrobe that had been blocked by the old bed (and is now blocked with the new bed but we can't do anything about that until the boxes are all gone from the rest of the room).  Most of the stuff in the wardrobe was old toys, camera equipment, bags, old folders, magazines etc. etc.  Took it all downstairs, again sorted into piles so they could see what was there and I took all the things that were "mine" (toys etc.) and sorted into donation, sell and chuck away.  Then went to help DH with the new bed followed by the first run to the tip, followed by donations to the hospice shop.  Agreed with Dad to put all his camera stuff in the wardrobe for him to sort through at a later date, but it's at least all coralled together where he knows where it is, and it's kind of hidden away so it's reduced the visual clutter.  Took them out for dinner Saturday night so they had some time with us away from the house and then cracked on again Sunday morning.  Another run to the dump and 3 more bags of donations to charity.  DH had a chat with my dad in the garden about why we were wanting to help them with this, which made me cry a little when DH told me afterwards about what they chatted about - was very sweet on both sides 🥹  I managed to clear and clean the rest of their landing and left with the promise that they weren't going to clutter it up again because now it's safer for them.

Also managed to take a bunch of books, some of which will be collected by WOB tomorrow and the rest taken to the charity shop on Wednesday.  Have a bunch of sylvanian families and polly pockets to list for sale tonight when I get home from work (or at least start listing them).  Oh and managed to convince them that they don't need the 8 windbreaks and 3 tents they have because being realistic, they aren't going to be going camping anytime soon.  So took them on the pretense that my bestie might need them for her own camping adeventures but if not we know lots of other people who could make use of them, including the library of things.  Dad's parting words were "so when do I need to have a shed organised by?" so I think we may have finally cracked him a bit, Mum on the other hand will still be a challenge.

As for our own house - it's in complete disarray.  What started as DH last week stripping wallpaper in his office to see if it needed plastering, has turned into now having that room re-plastered and new ceiling and the same for the last bedroom too this week.  So Friday we had to move all the furniture and stuff out of both rooms ready for the work this week.  In the process, my wardrobe completely disintergrated so we'll have to replace that and we've decided to just f'it and get a quote to have the carpets done at the same time.  So I'm currently sleeping in a room that resembles the chaos of my parents house, while my spare bed and piles of clothes are now in my office downstairs (I've made sure my underwear is hidden out of the way of my laptop camera - that could get embarassing on a work call!)

So not a lot of decluttering (or re-distributing as I kept using this weekend) happening for us but I'm so pleased with the huge progress we made with my folks this weekend.  Just hoping they can continue some of the momentum while we aren't there to shepherd them 🤞🤞🤞

Willowtree222

Thank you, all. 

I am sure if I went to the official people who are in charge of what gets paid, he would miraculously have things disappear through his business. 

I once read a saying that has helped me more than anything else come to a point of calmness in my head. It goes:

A bee doesn’t bother stopping and explaining to a fly why honey tastes better than sh**. 

No point stopping and explaining to someone who either won't listen or can't understand. I now live by this. 
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