365 Less Things

Reducing our stuff one day at a time.

Mini Mission Monday ~ Accumulation

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mini-logoMini 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 spent a few days, yet again, last week helping someone move house. As a result I am once again writing a set of missions that reflect the various groups of items in homes that tend to accumulate and expand over time. It is often the same kinds of items in every home that are the objects of this problem. And that is all the more reason to harp on about it a bit. Because let me tell you, all that accumulation makes for a lot of unnecessary waste of time and cause of stress at an already very stressful time. I will elaborate on that in a post later in the week. So lets get started with our missions.

Monday – Declutter a few excess kitchen items. Crockery, cutlery, pots, pans, plastic containers, gadgets…

Tuesday – Declutter pantry ingredients that you never or rarely use and vow to keep them to a minimum in the future.

Wednesday – Declutter or use up some liquids that are sitting unused. That might be toiletries, cleaners, paint or other chemicals that were once used but then set aside wasting space and spoiling.

Thursday – Declutter some nick nacks or novelty items that have lost their appeal.

Friday – Declutter some outdoor items ~ plant pots, timber, pet toys etc ~ littering up the yard.

Saturday – Declutter some unnecessary items cluttering up your garage. Boxes, leisure equipment, tools, car parts, rejects from inside 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

Eco Tip for the Day

The only thing you need to clean your car is a bucket of water a hose and a selection of microfibre clothes. One outdoor mitt for cleaning the car, one glass cloth for the windows and a multi purpose cloth for drying the rest of the car if desired. Here is a wikiHow article on the subject.

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

Comments

  1. I must be on your wave length Colleen
    Last week I did the following that would fit into most of the mini missions
    Kitchen…got rid of several plastic containers
    Tuesday…threw a partially used bag of flour out that was past the expiration date
    Nick nack….sti need to do this
    Outdoor…still need to do
    Garage….took a burned out power washer to a master recycler to see if he can cobble several units together to make one that works, which he will give away when/ if he gets it working.

    Great job with being so creative with the missions

    • Good for you Calla. It never hurts to take another look in those areas though. They are places that I scrutinise on a regular basis. Except the back yard, I don’t have one of those.

  2. Great set of Mini Missions, they tie in beautifully with the roll Im on at the moment. I think kitchen got a mention last week and I commented that my kitchen was fine. And then came back later to say never say never cos Id found a few things. After that I decided the kitchen could do with a spring clean, which turned up a heap more stuff that left, and the pantry also got a clear out. My husband has asked me NOT declutter any further as he thinks its starting to look a bit austere.

    So Im going to back track to last weeks mini missions which didnt get the full work over: my attic – I only managed a tidy up and to grab a few random items. There is bound to be stuff up there that I wouldnt want to take with us if we were shifting.

    The hall cupboard also missed getting a work over last week.

    • Hi Moni, yes the kitchen always seems to be able to be decluttered that little bit more. Even if hubby doesn’t think so.
      Good luck in the attic. I am glad I don’t have one of those, they just seem like spaces designed for stuff you don’t find all the useful.

  3. Colleen,
    Great reminders as to where to look for excess. I seem to be a few days ahead of the game, as last night a glass bottle of body lotion fell off my bathroom closet shelf and shattered. I did particularly like this one. Oh well! plenty of others to use up. P.S. Cleanup was not fun.

    Yesterday while waiting for dinner to finish cooking, I looked at some cooking wines (3) that were stored in the cabinets. I found that when I looked at the date they were opened, it exceeded the recommended 16 months of using once opened. Funny how times gets away from me. Also discarded an old spice and a few mini bottles of tobasco that my daughter probably took home from somewhere.

    I’m still dealing with some regrets of discarded clothing (fit not great) and trying real hard not to think I have to replace them. I’m sure it is a mind game that I should not be encouraging.

  4. Hi Colleen, It’s been a while since I commented on here as I’ve been doing a lot of travelling and often was without wifi and even when I had it I don’t find my phone great to write on , so I’ve been quietly reading the blog posts and the comments and am now home and feeling remotivated to work on some serious decluttering. Last week I cleared out my “craft” closet which holds my yarn for crochet, sewing things and very basic scrapbook supplies and I was encouraged to see how little yarn is left. The top shelf had been piled high with books belonging to my sons, dating back to when they were babies. Almost all of them have been removed to be given away. It’s a small start, but the closet looks so much better and it feels like a psychological hurdle has been cleared and I’m excited about making a lot more progress this week.

    Thanks for all the blog posts and all the thoughtful comments and responses. This is a fabulous group of support and great advice.

    • Hi, Christine. I like small steps … they are not overwhelming and they all add up and when you look back, you’ll be surprised by how much ground you’ve covered.

    • Hi Christine, sorry about the slowness of my response to your comment. I have been a little busy of late and had kept your comment in my inbox to respond to and have only just got back to it.
      I am glad you are making progress and that your craft cupboard is getting nicely under control.
      I used to have a box of books from my kids when they were little but at some point a long time back I had the kids go through them with me and decide if there were any they wanted to keep. I don’t think my son kept any but my daughter chose some old favourites to keep. As soon as she was in a home of her own I gave her they box and said they are all yours now. It is up to her now how long she hangs on to them. Given that she says she is never having kids there might come a day when she will let them go. For all I know that day may already have come and gone.
      Anyway, good luck and happy continued decluttering.

  5. I really appreciate the mini missions. They always remind me that even a small step forward is progress and direct me to places I don’t think of! The best is that the mini mission usually triggers a bigger tidy too.

    • Good for you creativeme. Mini mission have the same effect on me at times. So does my weekly housecleaning. It should take me two hours at most but I so often get sidetracked into doing thorough cleanings of other small areas as it work my way through the house. This week I wipes the bottom rails of two roller blinds near the kitchen (they get grimy from kitchen grease over time). I also reorganised my cutlery drawer. And decluttered some small uneaten leftovers from the fridge. As well as made a list of several other little spring cleaning jobs for the rest of the week.

  6. I don’t know why, but I was holding onto my dog grooming stuff (clippers, brush, comb)… I haven’t had a dog since early 2010 and hopefully when I do get another, it won’t be one that I have to “groom”! So, I found a woven rug that I no longer use and put it with the dog stuff. My husband will be dropping everything at the veterinarian – they have a donation corner of stuff that they share with pet shelters 🙂

    We did bring something in today – a cherry pitter. I’m glad we did, because my husband then made cherry clafoutis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh57HkSHElg is the video of the recipe) and it was delicious! I think the cherry pitter will be used often 🙂

  8. There are things we couldn’t put into storage while we ‘camp out’ until our new house is ready. A good part of it is food and the rest is chemical (paint, garden chemicals, etc.). The entire summer is a use-it-up challenge, especially in the kitchen department. I strongly suspect that there’s a lot of stuff that won’t be going over to the new house so I will be alternating Tuesday and Wednesday’s missions all summer.

    • Smart move Wendy B. I clear my fridge, freezer and pantry on a regular basis. I don’t live miles out of town though or eat a lot of processed foods.