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 week’s missions are unrelated, aside from all intended to achieve less clutter in your home. So use your imagination and see if you can find something for each mission.
Monday – Declutter something you only keep because you paid a lot for it.
Tuesday – Declutter something that you keep as a backup for something else but isn’t expensive to replace.
Wednesday – Â Return something that belongs to someone else.
Thursday – Declutter something from your past that doesn’t add any value to your life now.
Friday – Declutter something that you just haven’t used in a long time. Perhaps some sort of craft item that you imagined you could create something wonderful with but haven’t. Or perhaps a kitchen item that never was overly useful.
Saturday – Declutter something you received for free that isn’t beautiful or useful to you.
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 lights on when rooms are unoccupied. It takes but a flick of a switch to achieve illumination and you’ll cope in the dark until that can be achieved.
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
Wendy B says
I guess our reason is We Don’t Want To Move It. Ian is a man on a mission. The other day he called up the Boy Scouts and left a message — do they want camping gear? The reply was “Yes, we’ll even come and get it”. He is currently rounding up tents and backpacks and sleeping bags (definitely Thursday mission) Earlier this morning he pillaged the plumbing and electrical boxes and drawers and we have 2 boxes of stuff to offer to the Habitat ReStore. For my part, I’ve gone through the seed boxes and given away or thrown out all the flower and veggie seeds we will never plant. We are on a roll…
Colleen Madsen says
Hi Wendy B, I am excited for your progress. I am also inspired to write another post about rehousing possibilities. This comment just shows how in touch you and Ian are with possibilities of the kinds of charities and association who would accept and benefit from your unwanted stuff. Your choices were so obvious to me but not everyone is aware enough of how little imagination it takes to come up with such simple and obvious choices. Well done to both of you.
Jane W says
It’s been a while since I was active on here, but after 3 months of travelling I finally came home and have culled quite a lot of items, it’s amazing how having to live with only one suitcase for 3 months can change your attitude towards clutter!
There is still far more than I want or need left but I want to get these items donated/posted/sold before I do any further decluttering as I don’t have a car which makes shifting items once a decision has been made far harder. After I am hoping to get back to 365 / 1 item per day. I am fairly confident that within the next few months, possibly before the year is out I could be down to the level of minimalism I have been striving for. Today’s crowning achievement was removing the last box from the attic – finally I no longer hoard items in the attic!
How is life at your new apartment Colleen? Have you settled in now? 🙂
Colleen Madsen says
Hi Jane W, I know how you feel, I am always inspired to declutter more once I return home from travelling with just a backpack.
I also understand the difficulties of moving your stuff on without a vehicle on tap. The friend I just helped move and declutter also has no vehicle. Luckily for her she has several friends nearby who do. That is why I set up a transition point for her before leaving her to take care of the finer tuning. She can collect the decluttered items to this point until a friend with a car can help her out. This reminds me to send her her own personal weekly mission.
I am also excited that you have cleared your attic. Well done.
Moni says
We have a number of items in our storage room at work that could fit into these categories. I have made great inroads up here in the past but my efforts have been undone by rummaging or new stuff being added – work related, seasonal, other people’s stuff or stuff that wasn’t included when we sold our rental earlier this year and stuff my son brought back when we shifted back home. The guys tend to just dump things inside the door or the first available empty space which annoys me no end.
This room is uncomfortable in hot and cold weather, so I may need bring things home to deal with. I don’t like that idea but I think it might be the best way forward.
Amongst it is a lot of my younger daughter’s competitive dancing costumes, probably time for a good sort thru, to see what she doesn’t fit anymore.
Moni says
That should read “he shifted back home” not “we shifted back home”
Colleen Madsen says
Hi Moni, that storage space at your work is useful but perhaps attracts stuff. It reminds me of the baseball movie Field of Dreams ~ “Build it and they will come!”. For you it is ~ “Have space and they will fill it.” That is what I like about my small home and no extra space. Stuff can’t accumulate and everyone knows it.
Moni says
Colleen – I agree, if we decided to lease a smaller work premises, we likely wouldn’t have such a room. Once upon a time it was chock full, so it is an improvement, but it would be nice to have nothing there to be responsible for. Adrian has talked of a couple of alternative ideas for the room (if it was empty) but ironically he is the biggest culprit. Today I found a small box of video cassettes up there so I will watch those on fast forward tonight to make sure there aren’t any family videos etc, and with any luck they are simply recordings of TV programmes and can all go in the bin.
Kimberley says
Thursday’s mini mission, “Declutter something from your past that doesn’t add any value to your life now” should be the mantra in all decluttering. Imagine how wonderful it would feel, and how beautiful our homes would be if we decluttered everything in our lives that did not reflect who we are in the present time.
I have taken pictures of projects that I have completed, decorating I have done, jobs I worked etc. etc. I think I will redo the box they are stored in and call it,” Memories of my past life” 🙂
Colleen Madsen says
Hi Kimberley, I think taking photos of things and saving that for histories sake makes so much sense. With a few chose words on each photo you have a wonderful life story to share with those in your future. Mind you even those need to me limited, goodness knows who photos can get completely out of control in numbers.
Barbara says
When I first read this post I was thinking that today’s (Monday) challenge was going to be very difficult. It’s always hard to declutter something we paid a lot for, especially if it’s something difficult to sell. After thinking about it for awhile, and scouring the house for stuff, I came to the realization I’ve been doing better than I thought at decluttering such things – I still haven’t come up with anything! As far as Thursday’s challenge -declutter something from your past – quite a few years ago my dad gave me his old Navy medals and ribbons, they’ve been sitting in a box in the attic, couldn’t bring myself to toss them. For the heck of it I searched for military medals on ebay, sure enough, there are lots listed. So, rather than throw them in the trash I will list them at low prices, hopefully, they will go to a good home to someone who loves such things – otherwise, they’d waste away in my attic as I have no other family member to pass them on to.
Colleen Madsen says
Hi Barbara, my daughter would be so disappointed you are selling those medals. My husband, her dad, has just retired from 34 years in the military and her and her brother have a continued friendly rivalry over who should inherit their father’s medal when he passes. On the odd occasion when my daughter and I have had a browse through the big antique store across the street from my apartment she always says she wishes she could “rescue” all the medals that are there for sale. She just can’t understand why people give them away. That being said, I assume you have no other family member or some who researches family history who would want to keep them. I am not one for keeping sentimental items just for the sake of it but naturally I have a special respect for these sorts of items.