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.

This weeks Mini Missions are brought to you by Nicole V. 

Do you remember playing with those shape-sorter toys as a child? Apart from being fun, they were great for developing hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills. We’ll be shape-searching this week and you’ll need to find something to declutter in the form of (or relating to) different shapes. The item doesn’t necessarily have to take the shape perfectly – it could be squarish, instead of a perfectly proportioned square, or it could be a vase with a triangular base, and patterns and prints of any of the shapes would work as well. So let’s see how your decluttering shapes up for the entire week.

Monday – Declutter something that is a circle.

Tuesday – Declutter something that is a square.

Wednesday – Declutter something that is a cylinder.

Thursday – Declutter something that is an oval.

Friday – Declutter something that is a rectangle.

Saturday – Declutter something that is a triangle

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

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.

What we have to get into our heads sometimes if that the stuff cluttering up our homes is just that, stuff. These items aren’t life preservers, they aren’t precious, they aren’t our memories… and for the most part they aren’t even all that useful. We get it into our heads that we need this stuff when we don’t. One should watch a few documentaries on how people in less affluent societies to realise just how much stuff we don’t need to surround ourselves with in order to live a happy existence. So this week lets see if we can identify some stuff around our homes that we keep just in case we need it someday but we could most certainly live without, even if the situation did arise where we found a use for it and it was no longer there.

Monday – Declutter a specialised household tool that you could substitute another for, should a rare situation arise where it may actually prove useful.

Tuesday – Use up something “precious” in your craft or hobby supplies that you have been saving for a special project that hasn’t eventuated for years. Every moment is special in life so now is as good a time as any to use it.

Wednesday – Do you have more special occasion outfits in your closet than you ever really need. Either declutter one of them or  move one into your regular clothes rotation so you can feel special in it on a regular basic. In the second instance declutter some old thing you no longer feel good in.

Thursday – Declutter the good china if you rarely use it or better still declutter the everyday set and start using the good stuff all the time. You deserve it after all.

Friday – Declutter a unitasker gadget from your kitchen that you rarely use. There isn’t one of these gadgets on the market that can’t be substituted by a more versatile one (such as a knife) that you use everyday.

Saturday – Declutter an item that you once used a lot but haven’t for a very long time. Perhaps you are past that phase in your life.

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

Know the recycling rules for your area and put every little thing in the recycle bin that you can.

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.

Why work harder than you have to for the sake of keep items you don’t need. This week’s mission are designed to have you getting rid of items that you may or may not realise are adding to your work load. Perhaps doing these mission will help you identify other areas of clutter causing your workload to be heavier that it need be.

Monday – Declutter some things that collect dust.

Tuesday – Declutter excess items in a cupboard that make it had to get at what you need.

Wednesday – Declutter items from counter tops that require moving in order to clean the space properly. This may require decluttering some less useful items in cupboards to make room for a little reshuffling.

Thursday – Declutter some things piled on floor making it difficult to vacuum or sweep easily and efficiently.

Friday – Declutter your handbag so it is easy to find what you need in there when you need it.

Saturday – Declutter excess clothes in your closet so it is easy to organise what you do use.

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

As I am on vacation in New Zealand for some time I will be republishing old posts from the archives to keep you all entertained and motivated while I am busy. I hope you will enjoy the post I have dug up for you today and that it inspires you to have at it and get some decluttering done.

How much time do you waste in your day then profess to have no time to get your house in order. No time to begin decluttering that stuff that is making it difficult to keep your house in order.

We are all entitled to downtime. I am not going to argue that fact. The question is has your downtime taken over. And do you actually feel better or worse for it. I know that when I have been sitting idle for too long not doing anything useful I start getting agitated and feel the need to get up and make myself useful. I think it is a guilt feeling from being slothful. Once again I am not talking about rest time I am talking about wasted time when enough rest has already been had.

As this weeks mini missions show it isn’t hard to find a little time every now and again to fit in a little delcuttering or perhaps you could even use the time to do some much needed quick tasks around your house. In the time it takes to boil the kettle and brew the tea I can manage to empty the dishwasher. During add times on television I can put away the folded washing. The washing itself can be folding while watching television, as can ironing, sorting papers, doing a decluttering of your jewellery box or make-up kit. You can even pull out a drawer, bring it into the living room and declutter while watching your favourite show. You can clean the rubbish out of your handbag while waiting for an appointment. There is sure to be a rubbish bin close by to throw the trash into. And with a little imagination you can find many periods where time can be better used.

This morning I was feeling listless so I did the ironing. I felt much better for it. This evening while my husband was watching a movie, I wasn’t that interested in, I did some reorganising and a little decluttering in my craft room. I must admit I am a little “different” because I actually enjoy organising and decluttering so I wouldn’t consider this task a chore, but you get the idea. I enjoy the challenge, thinking outside the box and, of course, the end result. And of course I enjoy my actual downtime when I take it, happy in the knowledge that I am keeping up with my household chores.

Lets go back to that ironing I mentioned. I don’t know anyone who enjoys ironing. I don’t have a lot of it and can easily ignore it in the laundry cupboard for weeks before clothing items are needed or my husband runs out of hankies. (Yes I iron the hankies, not linen, underwear, jeans or t-shirts though so please don’t judge.) When I say ignore, I mean the items that do require ironing won’t run down for a while. But one thing I hate worse than ironing is feeling like I have neglected a task until desperation sets in. Especially when I know that I have had plenty of opportunity to get on with the task sooner. It makes me feel lazy and inefficient which permeates my downtime.

I know from experience that many people feel a similar way about their lack of effort to declutter. They know they need to do it, that they want it done but can’t bring themselves to make the effort. And often their downtime is marred by that fact that they know this task is being neglected because the evidence of this is staring them right in the face. Goading them and nagging when they should be relaxed and tranquil. Hours and hours are wasted feeling far less than tranquil in the effort to avoid something that would take much less time to solve.

So don’t waste those spare minutes here and there where you can achieve more than you would expect. I have been following my own advice about this to the letter over for the last week and I have achieve things that have been waiting around for me to do for weeks if not months. Nothing that important but nevertheless things that have quietly been nagging me to get them done. Not only can I go on my vacation content with my achievements but when I get home I will be able to ease on into routine with

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