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 have a new twist on some old themes. You may have to get your thinking caps on to come up with what to declutter for each one. The mission revolve around helpful and unhelpful notions that we have concerning stuff. So take a look and see if you can come up with some ideas for items you can declutter using these as a guide.
Monday – I need ~ Declutter something you think you need just in case but rarely ever use and could realistically do without.
Tuesday – I must ~ Declutter something you keep telling yourself you must keep even though you don’t want to.
Wednesday – I should ~ Declutter something you think you should own just because most people do. If you aren’t using it there is no reason why you should have it.
Thursday – I will ~ Declutter something your have been telling yourself for sometime that you will declutter. Now is the time to let it go if you think that way.
Friday – I used to ~ Declutter something you used to use but don’t anymore and is wasting space in your home.
Saturday – I haven’t ~ Declutter something you know you haven’t used in quite a while and are hanging on to for no good reason.
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
Over eating causes waste. Waste of good food and inches on your waist. Do yourself and the environment a favour by cutting back.
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
These are good ‘takes’ on the decluttering theme.
Thanks Linda, I hope you have success with them.
These tie in well with Sanna’s challenge.
Yes Moni, I am looking forward to joining that challenge. Although my hubby may be actually keeping up with it for me. His official last day of full time of employment today and has been decluttering stuff related to that. Yay!
Just did Monday’s mission. I went through our box for “hanging” things on the wall and got rid of all the flimsy plastic wall plugs that were extras from different fixtures we’ve installed over the years. They were new but small and really useless for anything I could think of. I saved a couple of the larger good ones and got rid of dozens of the little useless ones. I dreaded opening that box because I knew it was a mess of random plastic things. Now I know what is in there and won’t need to dig through 100 other things to find what I want!
Well done Claire, I did this a while back and gave them to my son. My thing for today is a griddle pan. I thought I had given it to my daughter some time ago. I put it aside for her and am sure she will want it.
Thanks Colleen! I thought I’d gotten rid of the useless plastic bits before our move but I knew there were tons still – I just thought they were more useful until I had another look at them. I don’t think anything would have stayed on the wall with most of them they were so small! Good to have that done!
Exciting to find a larger item like your griddle pan to pass along! I love it when I realize that I have something big that I can move along – and to a good home to boot!
I’m reporting in that a box of loose papers has been dealt with. We started this box back in Jan when we dismantled each room to paint and wanted somewhere safe for papers ie reports, warranties, sale of property correspondence, newsletters, general correspondence etc. We ended up just leaving it closed up. Thought about just dumping it but couldn’t bring myself to do it. A good 150 bits of paper were easy throw outs, a good 100 or so are in the process of being scanned and will also go into the document destruction bin at work And a good 50 needed required some sort of filing or action to be taken. It was these 50 that had put me off tackling this months ago, but I firm with myself to pick up a piece of paper and not put it down until it was completed. Finally it is done.
Well done Moni. I bet you are feeling very relieved that is over with. I have the joy of my husband dealing with most of the paperwork in our house. Anything that comes in the mail is deal with ASAP in our house and decluttered as soon as it can. Junk mail that is wrongly slipped into our box goes straight into the recycling, or soon after I email the company involved so tell them to inform their brochure deliverers the they should put such mail in boxes that are clearly marked NO JUNK MAIL.
Colleen, these all are good missions. I like the new take on old ideas. I’m at a stand still right now. I can’t seem to find the needed time and energy at the same time.
Deb J – isnt it annoying when that happens? I found I made little progress for a while there as someone close to me was unwell, I got very frustrated and down on myself. What you have to remind yourself is that you made so much progress before now, inagine feeling unwell in a cluttered house. What is left to be done will be there when your time and energy align. Be nice to yourself!
Alternatively, you can always make a list of areas of your home which need addressing – and Im assuming because you’re at the 90% mark it will be the hard projects or big items or something rather involved that only you can orchestrate – pick one and think about your strategy for dealing with it and research on the internet. Then when you’re feeling better you will have your game plan ready for action.
Moni, you are right. And I have been giving my brain a good workout as I think of the things that need to still be gone through. I think part of my issue is that most of what is left I need Mom to be willing to sort through and declutter. I need to send Colleen before and after pictures of our craft room/office soon.
Deb J.,
It’s okay to take a vacation from decluttering. Why don’t you take some time and do some things just for you, like purchase a couple of new outfits that you really love to replace those you commented that you didn’t care for? Sometimes, all we need is a little change and the spark gets re-ignited.
Kimberley, that’s a good idea about the clothes. Thing is that it takes energy to go hunt them. Maybe that will happen. I need to go with a friend to look for shoes. We both need new ones that fit our feet well.
That is a pity Deb, but never mind you have earned a break. Sometimes we just need to step back and remove ourselves from it. I have been getting rid of a bit of stuff lately. It seems though that for the most part it is stuff the was just travelling through. Donations going through my home from one place or person to another. And secondhand items that I have been reviving for someone else. Either way it is good to get them done and out of here.
Colleen, I have decided that even with little energy I can go through the drawers of the “desk” again. I just have to do it when Mom isn’t watching too much. She always questions each little thing I get rid of out of MY stuff.
Right now I am in the middle of downsizing my parents’ possessions in order to have their home look more airy and roomy for selling. So I think I can join Sanna – right now I could do 40 bags a day. Trying to not feel overwhelmed.
Fabric is what I am decluttering at my home – some of which I think I need – but don’t!
I really empathize with you Vicki K. Some day soon enough I will be doing the same for my parents – 40 bags a day, no exaggeration for sure. Hang in there. There’d be lots of us giving you a hand if we could.
Thank you for the encouragement, Claire. In two days, I’ve got 12 boxes of books to take to Half-Price, filled one garbage can and one recycling can completely, and filled one side of a two car garage with garage sale items. The dining table and four chairs are also delivered to family members. It’s a good start. I am thankful for my parents’ good cooperation. Let us know when you begin, Claire!
Wow, that’s a lot accomplished in just two days Vicki! So nice to have your parents cooperation too. I don’t have any exact time frame for working on my parents house but I can see the writing on the wall. They are not in great health and it sounds like they’re ready to move within the year/or one year. They were a little vague with me. I’ll be ready with boxes of contractor bags when they call!
Best of luck with all the work, Vicki, and treat yourself when you can. It is a tough job.
Vicki,
40 bags a day? Oh my gosh, they must have kept everything over the years. How wonderful that you are willing to help them sift thru the petri-dish of their lives. I think that is one reason that so many of us have gone the “let’s simplify” route, because as adult children we have had to deal with our parent’s clutter. Good luck. My mom still talks about all of the things that I threw away during one of my visits, like spices that expired in the 1980’s and makeup products that were over 15 years old. Go figure?
Kimberley, your mom sounds like mine. She will still sarcastically mention things we decluttered occasionally. In every case it is something we don’t really need because we have other things that do the same job.
Doesn’t that make you laugh? It sure does make my sister and I laugh. What is even more funny, is that I personally paid for fresh spices that she actually uses everyday, and took her to Macy’s going from makeup counter to makeup counter and I paid for everything. And, she still brings it up. I give up. The difference is that my sister and I don’t live with her, and she is well off financially, so she hires people to do everything for her. We just figure when something happens, we will take the few things we may want (and they are few) and donate everything else.
Thanks, Kimberly – just today we went through the spices. We probably tossed two-thirds. I call that ‘picking the low-hanging fruit’!
Hi Vicki K, you are a champion to help your parents like this. I have a friend I am going to be helping soon.
I have to be honest – I haven’t been decuttering lately due to just being busy in other areas of my life. However I was very proud of myself yesterday. I went to visit family over the weekend, and my mom is a champion shopper. I would end up going places with her and shopping – and come home with all kinds of things that I had no clue what to do with. The weekend, we had a party to attend and when she asked about shopping the next day – my response was NO. When I came home last night I had nothing extra to drag out of the car. My back was unpacked and most everything put back where it was before. Nothing to wake up to and trip over. Even my husband questioned what I bought and didn’t believe me when I said “nothing!” So this is progress. And to add one more little tidbit of information – I packed my stuff for overnight my large (expensive) Prada bag that I used to never use (you know – because I paid SO MUCH for it). Even my mom noticed and commented “what if you mess it up?” and I reminded her that part of having things was to actually USE and enjoy them. I truly chalk all this up to continued decluttering and being aware of what you have and actually need.
Good job Michaela. It’s great that you didn’t buyu anything and used your Prada bag.
Michaela – that is awesome! Nothing new AND allowing yourself to use your beautiful bag! And why not? You paid for it, it’s a bag ergo that’s it’s purpose in life and eventually it’s style will go out of fashion. And isn’t it nice to use something nice!
Michaela,
Good for you in actually using your Prada bag. I have never understood why people save their “good stuff”.
These are good missions, Colleen! A lot will fit with those… 🙂
Good set of mini missions to get us thinking Colleen!
Argh, I’ve got a lot of these items.