Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

I see there are still some readers participating and enjoying Nicole V’s blog post …Let The Games Begin. So I thought just for the fun on it we would do another set of alphabet mini missions. I’ll nominate a letter for each day and you find something to declutter in your home starting with that letter. So, let the decluttering begin.

Monday – Declutter something beginning with letter P.

Tuesday – Declutter something beginning with the letter B.

Wednesday - Declutter something beginning with the letter S.

Thursday - Declutter something beginning with the letter R.

Friday - Declutter something beginning with the letter C.

Saturday - Declutter something beginning with the letter L.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

So, it is 10:09am and I have just sat down to have my midmorning coffee. And as per usual I’m comfy on the sofa with my laptop in front of me about to open Facebook and have a game of Cookie Jam. Yes I know, “What a waste of time!”. However downtime is downtime and we are all entitled to that. A little mindless activity to while away your relaxation time is totally acceptable in my book.

The other thing I do during my downtime is browse Pinterest for craft ideas. Oh, how I can waste hours on that. But it more often than not inspires me to jump up and get creating soon enough.

All that being said, and the reason for today’s post is, that one of my readers, Sally, sent a email last week asking me to write a post about alternative downtime activities to avoid resorting to online shopping.

A harmless game that doesn’t cost a cent and in no way clutters up your home is one thing. Cruising the internet for creative inspiration another, but online shopping, that is a whole other kettle of fish. Sometimes very costly and cluttery fish at that. Especially costly if indulged in by people who can ill afford to be wasting their hard earned cash or who already has a cluttered home.

Now don’t worry, I am not going to suggest that you could spend your downtime decluttering, because to most people that would come under the category of work. And even I am not that keen to declutter. Although I have been known to enjoy it enough to consider it downtime in itself, but would still not list it as a downtime activity.

Anyhow, I have stated my two downtime pointless indulgences but I am sure there are many more. For example…

• Reading
• Knitting or other easily portable craft
• Catching up with friends on Facebook.
• Meditating
• Watch some inspiring YouTube videos ~ Ted Talks or similar.
• Browse recipes online for later inspiration when organising a weekly menu plan or to get out of that ‘same old same old” cooking rut. (I should take my old advice here.)

…just to name a few. Also I googled ‘Alternative activities to avoid online shopping’ and found this little gem…

www.365lessthings.com – Day-157-alternatives-to-shopping

And also this one

How to Program Your Mind to Stop Buying Crap You Don’t Need

I confess I have been known to browse and buy from both old school craft stores and online ones as well, but for the most part, when it comes to shopping of any sort, just thinking about where I would fit an item and how much stuff I already own is enough to put me off buying things.

So does anyone else have some downtime activities that helps them relax that doesn’t involve online shopping. Why not share your experience in the comments.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

I have had a very satisfying day organising and decluttering an area or two of my craft supplies. As I organised I was inspired to declutter more in order to make things fit nicely into containers and the larger space. I find this method of decluttering to be one of my favourites. That is the be determined to make things fix and in doing so decluttering things I might otherwise not have even though they really aren’t necessary or meaningful to me.

So do you have some areas where the stuff stored in them doesn’t fit very well. Try decluttering some so the organisation of the area works better. This weeks mini mission are designed to inspire such decluttering. Some of these tasks may take longer than the ten minutes allotted to mini missions but hopefully you will be inspired nonetheless.

Monday – Declutter a drawer so that it is not only easy to shut but also easy to see what is stored there.

Tuesday – Declutter a shelf in a cupboard so that it is easy to organised and maintain that way.

Wednesday – Declutter a storage container that hold small objects.

Thursday – Declutter and organise a bathroom cabinet.

Friday – Declutter and organise a kitchen cabinet.

Saturday – Declutter and organise your fridge of freezer.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t leave the TV on during the day just for company. You may laugh but I have know plenty of cases of people doing this.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Hi folks, well after reading the heading of this post you are probably wondering what on earth I have written about. So lets get started.

My home isn’t clutter free. People probably think it is but it isn’t. After all I have never professed to be a minimalist and doubt I ever will aspire to that. The bulk of the clutter that I planned to get rid of is gone. And, as you all know, we achieved our goal of moving into a small apartment almost two years ago now. My wardrobe doesn’t hold a lot of clothes, my shoe selection is minimal compared to most, we have books but not a lot. We don’t have excess toiletries, linens, stationary supplies, paperwork or food supplies and the kitchen holds very few items  that don’t get used often.

However, there is still some clutter in our home. I have an abundance of craft supplies, despite my feverish crafting habits of late. We still haven’t finished culling photographs, which is one of the tasks I raved on about a lot back at the start of my decluttering. There is a variety of coffee making implements high up in one of the kitchen cupboards that don’t get used. And my wedding dress still wastes space in my wardrobe. Those last two things are ones I haven’t been given permission to dispose of yet or they would be gone. And the keepsake box probably holds some items that we probably don’t care much about but I haven’t taken it down to look through it for a while. Keepsakes are probably all clutter really but if we enjoy that little trip down memory lane every now and again then they aren’t clutter to us. And then there is the stuff that just isn’t mine to part with so I don’t touch it.

There are three reasons why there is still some clutter in our house. Clutter that has been lingering for a long time too. Reason one is that I believe that all parties who have any ownership of the clutter also has a say in whether it stays or goes. Reason two is that, there are some decluttering tasks that I am still happy to put off until I feel inclined to deal with them, such as photographs. And reason three is that, like the less loved keepsakes, I really don’t care if they remain because they don’t take up much space.

All in all I am very happy with the clutter level in our home. And yes I do still declutter items every now and again. And yes the craft clutter in general is lessening despite the fact that I add to it for certain projects. And yes there are still items I would be happy to part with. And the one thing that keeps the level of clutter down is the fact that we don’t buy much in the way of material things these day.

So what clutter do you still have in your home that you don’t mind being there or just don’t care to deal with yet? Or perhaps you need some advice on why and how to get rid of some things that really do irritate you. Share your thoughts with us and we will give you our advice or opinions.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something you keep just because most people have one. I decluttered out BBQ soon after I began by declutter journey. It is almost sacrilegious to not own a BBQ in Australia but we just never used ours so out it went. Five years latter and we have never replaced it or missed it for that matter.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

I could be wrong but I am sure that there are more than a few items that are common to most households. Kitchen clutter, paper clutter of all sorts, clothing, toiletries, shoes, toys when children are in the household… . This week though I will base by mini missions on some of the, perhaps less common, clutter items that I got rid of quite early in my decluttering journey. I’ll also give the reasons why I didn’t feel inclined to keep them.

Monday – Declutter something you don’t care to maintain. I decluttered a silver tea set very early on. I hated to have to clean it, so although it was a gift I let it go.

Tuesday – Declutter some sort of sporting equipment that you no longer enjoy to use. I decluttered my bicycle a long time ago. I did test ride it a couple of times to prove to myself whether I would ever use it or not and no won out.

Wednesday – Declutter keepsakes that you never bother to look at. I got rid of all sorts of these things early on and probably could still let a few of them go. I must get that box down and take another look. The fact that it is a box in the top of the closet goes to prove how much it matters.

Thursday – Declutter something you keep just because most people have one. I decluttered out BBQ soon after I began by declutter journey. It is almost sacrilegious to not own a BBQ in Australia but we just never used ours so out it went. Five years latter and we have never replaced it or missed it for that matter.

Friday – Declutter everyday stuff that you have way too much off. I culled stationery items in the early days, we had way more than we would ever need around the house. And once again, five years later we still haven’t had to buy more. How many paperclips, thumbtacks and staples does one need in an almost paperless society.

Saturday – Start a use-it-up mission on excess gift wrap and cards that have been lingering for a while. In future it is easy enough to  purchase a gift bag on the same outing as buying the gift. So you don’t have to stock these items in the house.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Well it’s that time again, another change of season. Although Spring has sprung in the south and Autumn changing the colours in the North it is only this week the I have really started to delve into my more summery clothes. So I am going to assume these changes are happening for most of us to one degree or another.

So now is the time to reassess clothing from both seasons. Declutter clothes that were ignore during the season just gone or you persevered with as the season was ending but are too shabby to keep for next year. And as you bring forward those clothes for the upcoming or current season turn their hangers around on the rod so you can easily identify the items that are being passed over as the season progresses.

And as the seasons come and go certain items of clothing we own may start to become less flattering for our maturing tastes and figures. So let those items go as well. I know I will be doing that as I gradually retrieve my summer wardrobe from the box they are packed away in on the top shelf of my closet.

Footwear from both seasons will also be assessed. Those too shabby will likely end up in the trash, while anything still in good shape but disliked will be donated to charity. I don’t think that I will have any charity items but sadly my favourite pair of boots have worn through the bottom and are not of that kind that can be resoled.

Other seasonal items that can also be assessed at this time of year are gardening items, sporting equipment, recreational equipment and bedding. Perhaps even some cooking items may be seasonal to you, and require using up so they don’t linger on the shelf for months unused.

This year I have the unusual situation of moving from Winter into Spring and then back again into Winter before Summer has barely had a chance to assert itself. So the clothing situation is a little more complicated for me this time around.

There are so many variations on climate throughout the world, so timing and choices are different. I remember my time living in the top end of Australia, where the climate is tropical. There was no clothing change there as were wore summer clothes all year round. The only difference was a few degrees in temperature and how wet or dry it was. That was the simple life.

So what else is there that you need to assess as the seasons are changing for you in your part of the world?

Today’s Mini Mission

Find a single use gadget and really rationalise whether it is useful to you or not. And when you come to the conclusion that it isn’t declutter it.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

Among all the clutter in our homes there are always thing that we would definitely be glad to see the back of, whether we realise it immediately on not. So lets get rid of a few of those things this week. The question you should be asking yourself when you encounter these things is ~ Why haven’t I gotten rid of these things sooner. So lets see what we can find.

Monday – Declutter something that you haven’t used in a long time and probably never will.

Tuesday – Declutter something that you never did care for but kept for one bad reason or another.

Wednesday – Declutter something that instead of making your life easer just wastes valuable space.

Thursday – Declutter an unwanted gift, and don’t tell me you have to keep it, because you don’t.

Friday – Find a single use gadget and really rationalise whether it is useful to you or not. And when you come to the conclusion that it isn’t declutter it.

Saturday – Declutter something that makes you cringe when you see it in your home.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

By Nicole V.

Have you ever watched the reality television programme “Auction Hunters”? I remember watching a couple of episodes before getting bored of it, but it did leave me amazed at the amount and type of stuff someone could store in a self-storage unit (SSU), and even more amazed that the stuff could sit there for years, to be eventually abandoned. I wondered whether the stuff inside was stuff that the owners could not bear to declutter or the stuff that they still had no space for even after decluttering. Was the SSU perceived as an extension of the home? Does someone rent an SSU to make space at home, and does that space then get filled up with other stuff? Do they really need the extra space or do they just need to reduce the amount of stuff that they have? Isn’t it somewhat universally acknowledged that unless one is vigilant, stuff has an unerring ability to fill up any available space that one has?

According to the Self-Storage Concepts website, self-storage started in Texas, USA in the 1960s, before moving on to Australia in the 1970s, the UK in the 1980s, the rest of Europe in the 1990s and Asia in the early 2000s. The Australian self-storage industry is expected to earn $753 million in revenue this year, according to an April 2015 market research report on the IBISWorld website and the UK Self-Storage Association website states that the UK self-storage industry generated £355 million in revenue in 2013, with over 250,000 customers. And when it comes to the self-storage industry in America, the following information from the Self-Storage Finders website (in Stacy Kress’ article of 2 September 2014, entitled “5 Little-known facts about storage”) reveals some astonishing statistics:

The industry earned more than $24 billion in 2013.

An astounding 10.85 million people rent an SSU, which is almost 9 per cent of all households.

An amazing 2.3 billion square feet of stuff is being stored, which translates into more than 78 square miles, which is three times the size of Manhattan.

Surprisingly (or maybe not?), 65 per cent of those who rent an SSU have a garage, 47 per cent have an attic and 33 per cent have a basement.

You know how people often remark that there is a McDonald’s around every corner? Well, that might have to be amended to there is an SSU near you instead, as according to Dan Rafter of REJournals.com, there are more self-storage facilities in the USA than there are McDonald’s restaurants, with 48,500 such facilities in 2014, compared to 14,350 McDonald’s restaurants. That’s mind-boggling, to say the least, and makes me wonder whether there is a “Self-Storage Nation” book and movie in the offing.

One of the more memorable snippets of information that I came across about the industry was about a British businessman and his SSU containing £60,000 worth of Star Wars memorabilia. He apparently pays more than £150 a week to rent the 600 square foot SSU because his wife objected, after their loft at home was filled up with his Star Wars toys (which he began collecting when he was five) and he got a life-size Yoda for their home lounge. He has stashed his other life-size figures of Jar Jar Binks, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Darth Maul (what, no Han Solo or Luke Skywalker?) in his SSU, which he visits weekly. Strong in this SSU, the Force is … yes, hmmm.

The reasons people give for renting an SSU include having insufficient space at home, because of home renovations or extensive remodelling, moving house, having to work overseas for several years, deciding to travel the world for a few years, needing to store tools and machines, changes in family, employment or financial situations, and having to downsize in a difficult economic climate. I wonder whether many of them begin renting with the intention of it being on a temporary basis, but then as the months stretch into years, they somehow end up paying several thousands of dollars. I have read about people who, after paying hefty storage fees over many years, finally declutter their unit and find lots of junk, several damaged items and only a few things that they ultimately end up keeping. It makes me wonder whether some people even forget what they have put into storage and simply stop caring after some time (especially when it becomes a financial drain), as they don’t bother to return to collect their stuff. What do you think about the usual reasons given for needing to rent an SSU? Have you ever decluttered an SSU or helped anyone to do so?

If you have rented an SSU before, was it helpful? Do you have any tips to share for someone who might really need one? Was your rental a short-term measure or is your stuff still sitting in it, out of sight and out of mind? Do you think it’s worthwhile to rent an SSU, taking into consideration that the stuff inside may be damaged and depreciate in value and possibly become outdated? Do you think that an SSU can be used “wisely”? Would you rent one again?

And for those who haven’t, would you ever consider renting one? If you had an exciting opportunity to live, study or work abroad for a few years, how would you go about decluttering your possessions and reducing your stuff so that you are left with only your precious keepsakes and essential items for the home? And if your family and friends were unable or unwilling to help you store your stuff, what (if anything) would you put into storage, what would you get rid of and what would you bring with you? I’d like to hear what you have to say.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter any item from your office and/or craft room.  These rooms are combined for us.  We have books that need to be given away.  I have a desk that I want to declutter as soon as we are sure when we will be moving.  In the meantime, all of this clutter drives me nuts.  It needs to go.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown