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 reflect the decluttering missions I was working on last week. I was a bit all over the house so they will be varied if nothing else. As usual if you don’t have anything similar to declutter then make up your own substitute mini missions.
Monday – Advertise something for sale ~ I use ebay mostly but I also offer things to friends and post  For Sale  ads to a Facebook group I am involved in.
Tuesday – Take a load of items you have decluttered to the thrift store. I do this once a week when I go to my thrift store to do my volunteer shift. I haven’t been able to drive there for the last four weeks so there was a bit of a backlog.
Wednesday – Declutter something you have been undecided about for a while. I sometimes put items aside that I am procrastinating about but after a while I get tired of seeing them in the “maybe” pile and just bite the bullet and get rid of them. These are often the kinds of things I sell on ebay. Selling them makes me feel better about my decision.
Thursday – Declutter something you have an alternate for. I am finally getting rid of that artificial ivy I have mentioned here before. I own a glass fish bowl that I now fill with pruned greenery from the garden. With Spring on the way there will be no shortage of options to display in it. Thank you to whichever 365er gave me this idea.
Friday – Declutter storage containers that you no longer need due to your decluttering efforts. These are another thing that I move to the garage when emptied. Once I am sure that I don’t have a use for them I make the final decision to declutter them permanently. The more useful or versatile the container the longer it takes for me to come to this decision.
Saturday – Declutter excess gift wrapping supplies. Last week I took the bulk of what I had left ~ gift bags, ribbons and bows ~ Â to the thrift store. As I have adhered almost religiously to my “no material gifts” pledge I decided it was time to purge these “just in case” items. The bag of bows was sold before I finished my shift.
Sunday – Declutter excess serving bowls. I probably have too many nice serving bowls but one thing is for sure, I don’t need to keep the cheap plastic one. It tends to be the everyday use option while the good ones are saved for when I have guests but you know my opinion on that tactic so out it goes.
Good luck and happy decluttering
Today’s Declutter Item
Here are some items I listed and sold on ebay last week. I had got very little use out of them but there is aways the temptation to keep them “just in case”. Instead I removed the temptation and turned “just in case” into cash in my paypal account and that is something I will use for sure.
Sizzix Cutting Dies
Something I Am Grateful For Today
My success on ebay over the weekend. 9 out of 10 auctions items sold and the one that didn’t I am going to give as a bonus to one buying who bought several items. Share the joy I say!
I decluttered yesterday by bringing some items to a friend of mine. She works on an Army base (civilian employee, though). I brought her a couple of clothing items from my time spent in Egypt many years ago since she loves such gifts and also works in an area where they role play Middle Eastern media situations. I also gave her some magazines (from the ones I finally purged) because she loves magazines with recipes and home decor tips. And her internet access is spotty right now so magazines are currently a better resource for her.
The Egyptian stuff was an “undecided” for months. My friend’s happy face when she saw the gown and headscarf made it worth the decision. In one minute she’d already gotten more joy out of those pieces than I ever did.
Hi Rachel and good for you. Giving something to someone who truly appreciates it sure does making giving things away a pleasure. Even the things you aren’t sure you want to give away. I have done this in the past and have never regretted parting with the things.
Woohoo! I’ve already done Monday-Wednesday this weekend. 🙂
Listed some baby stuff on CraigsList. (Listed my condo as well, but I don’t know if that counts as decluttering. lol.)
Dropped off 5 bags of clothes at Goodwill.
Went through my husband’s stuff and got rid of a few things. (I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it without him here, but he gave me permission.)
And I’m trying to get rid of a few baby carriers and cloth diapers for which I have plenty of alternatives. 🙂
Hi Kiersten W and welcome to 365 Less Things. Well done getting ahead of the missions. The condo would count if you sold it furnished or if it was a second home for you. You would be lowering your carbon footprint at least and that counts for sure.
I like that you didn’t want to declutter your husbands stuff without his permission I am not one for decluttering other peoples stuff either and usually leave it up to them.
Getting rid of baby stuff is usually pretty easy but I suppose secondhand cloth diapers can’t be donated. Most of the diapers I had for my kids were secondhand and it didn’t harm them. We have so many crazy regulations these days. Try Freecycle if you are happy to give them away.
You wrote under Saturday, “The bog of bows was sold before I finished my shift.” I know you probably meant “bag”, but I thought bog was really appropriate! I have a bog of bows… they’re the last of a bag, and I’ve already used up the ones that I liked out of the bag. I won’t use the ones that are left, yet they’re dragging me down, just like walking through a bog! I’m going to go toss them now.
Hi Tish and welcome to 365 less things. I don’t know how long you have been reading my blog for but if it isn’t long you will soon come to realise that I make these kinds of mistakes all the time ~ to my readers’ great amusement at times. The sad part about this mistake is I did actually notice it and thought I had fixed it. When I noticed it was wrong I laughed and thought my readers would have a field day with this mistake because only a couple of weeks ago I made another mistake where I wrote barking bog instead of barking dog. Funnily enough no one but you has picked me up on it today. Thank you though because when it is pointed out to me it gives me a chance to fix it. All fixed now.
Hey Colleen,
We don’t let you know so we can have a laugh for a while. Plus don’t want to go all school marmish on you but ‘When I notices’ as above doesn’t tickle me as much as barking bogs or bogs of bows!!!! Haahahahaha just sayin’ 🙂 🙂 🙂
Cheeky thing! And here I was all excited to see you commenting again today and this is what I have to put up with. 😉 At least I can blame the champagne I had for lunch for this last mistake. Mmmmmm champagne lunches are far more fun on Mondays than housework.
The biggest one on the list for me is the gift wrap. I’m going to suggest to Mom that we get rid of all of ours since we have decided that any gifts we give for babies or weddings will be gift cards. We don’t give gifts for anything else. We have stopped that–I think.
I will be interested to hear what your mother thinks of that idea. I think she has come along so far now that she will think that makes sense. let me know how it goes Deb J.
I have just managed to declutter some” special “items which came my way when Mum decluttered .Fantastic effort on Mum’s part but I really didn’t want the items either .Happily and quickly found homes for them all by taking photographs and sending text messages to family members .One engraved silver jug, one large Wedgwood vase and two Orrefors bowls will be enjoyed by someone other than me. Then I packed up my collection of 1920’s glass ware – gorgeous – but I dont think I want to keep it any longer .Lucky me because my cousin has always said she would buy it from me if I didn’t want it any longer .She was with me when we found some of the pieces in the collection. She doesn’t know it yet but I am going to give them to her for free. I’ve had a lot of enjoyment from collecting the glass ware and I’m just happy that she wants them.
What a lovely generous soul you are Jez. How wonderful decluttering can be when the stuff you are getting rid of brings joy to someone else.
I am trying something a bit different today with freecycle. I had two auctions that closed with no bidders recently, so I have listed on freecycle giving the listing reference so they can have a look.
Moni ~ Are you saying that you are referencing something on Freecycle that you are trying to sell on Trade me or ebay?
Hi – referencing something that is now free as it hasn’t sold (x3) – auction is closed – but if they want to have a look before calling dibs then look at the pictures.
Colleen – further clarification – items are no longer for sale but free to good home.
OH! Now I get it. Good idea saves you have to go to all the trouble of writing descriptions. Smart cookie!
Love your new post – Mon-Friday suggestions decluttering suggestions, and since today is Monday I am right on target!
I am going to print it and post it on my frig. I also intend to send it to some friends and family members. Sometimes we can all use a little help to downsizing our stuff.
I don’t collect stuff for the same reason some folks might -most of the things I collect are used in my classroom to create art.
Hope your readers will consider donating unwanted craft items to local
not-for-profit organizations in their areas.
Have a look: http://ecogreen4fun.blogspot.com/
Thanks again and please keep the great ideas coming.
Cheers- Neko
Hi Neko,
good luck with those missions and well done you, sending the list to your family and friends. As you say we can all use a little downsizing and a little nudge occasionally too.
Your recycling bin at home must be empty most weeks with all the crafting going on in your class room. You will be happy to know that I have donated quite a bit of scrapbooking paper and stationary to one of my local schools.
You pack almost exactly as I do. To my pack I always add a sarong — it functions as a bathrobe, light blanket if the plane is chilly, beach wrap, sunshade if properly deployed, scarf or head covering if needed, extra skirt or dress, a shawl if needed for an over-air-condtioned-restaurant, or bunched up as a pillow on the plane or train. It rolls up to the size of a small soup can and takes up very little space.
We don’t carry a big professional camera, just a digital one the size of a packet of cigarettes. To pass the time en route, we add a paperback book for my husband and/or myself. If I’m not in a reading mood, I carry a small, fine-gauge knitting project for myself — yarn, pattern and bamboo needles for a pair of socks fits in a quart-sized zip-lock plastic bag.
Yay for you. I’ve seen friends arrive at our house for a weeklong visit for Mardi Gras with two large suitcases apiece, not counting purse and carry-on bag.
It sounds like you have the art of packing down pat Julia. I like your scarf idea. I have travelled with a pashmina before just those reasons. A scarf comes in handy when visiting some churches in Europe.