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 we are going to get rid of some leftovers. That is stuff left over from times gone by that aren’t being used or no longer have a place in your life. So lets get started.
Monday – Declutter some leftovers from a craft project that you finished a long time ago and haven’t used again.
Tuesday – Declutter some items left behind from a previous relationship. Things you can remember the good time without or that only serve to remind you of the bad times.
Wednesday – Do a use it up challenge on some leftover ingredients in your fridge or pantry. Preferably items that have lingered there for a while.
Thursday – Concentrate on using up left over beauty products and don’t replace them if you have a similar alternative product.
Friday – Get rid of leftovers from a previous career or long since completed studies.
Saturday – Get rid of clothing items leftover from a bygone era that you are never likely to wear again even if they do fit 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
 As adults it is our job to teach our children to conserve power and water. If you raise your children with good habits now conservation will come naturally to them when they become the adults themselves.
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
These are good missions, Colleen. Have to report that Mom is slowly getting rid of things. I took a load to Goodwill yesterday and came home to the start of another load. She decided to get rid of some books that she has been hanging onto also. Also the piece of furniture that S bought 6 months ago is finally out of our house and into hers. We are getting there. Happy Dancing!!!!
That is good news Deb. Smart move getting the stuff out of there quickly once she decides to let it go. There is no doing a backflip that way. I dare say she will wonder why she hung on to it for so long in a month or so when she realises she hasn’t missed it at all.
Ha – while thinking bout Monday’s Mini Mission, I was continuing on a project to paint a small frame. It has been “in progress” on my kitchen counter for two weeks. After two coats of paint and waxing, I dropped it and the frame broke. Surprising to me was how relieved and happy I was to toss it. Afterwards, I recognize it as one of those gifts I felt obligated to keep and was painting to try and like it.
Monday Mini Mission: Check
Hi Vicki K, that is a really good realisation. The experience will help you identify this kind of clutter in the future. Too bad about the work you had put into it though. I guess that was all part of the experience though and served to be an important part of the lesson so it wasn’t wasted time.
Great mini missions this week! I did not get a chance to comment the other day, but I love your new apartment, Colleen! I loved the view also from the great little balcony area. It is inspiring to me, as I do hope to one day do the same on some level, whether it is a smaller home or apartment. Personally I prefer the apartment route, as overall there is less upkeep (no yard, etc.), but I have a few years before that takes place.
Hi Jen, thank you, we are very happy with our new little home. We walked to the beach twice for swims this weekend, last week I watched a cruise ship depart from the roof top common area and these days my house cleaning day is more of a house cleaning couple of hours. I can get it all done and go out with a friend for coffee at ten once I am done. Gotta love that!
Oh I like this week’s missions! Spot -on for me!
Don’t we all have things left over that we will keep because they may be of use sometime in the future and we think we are being frugal or green by hanging onto them? Yet we never use them!
I am going to find a green way to get them out of my home – to others who might use them, or use them up myself.
This week’s mini missions are perfect for me!
When we were painting, we emptied the hall cupboard which is where most of my craft items live and I had big plans of a serious sort through when I put everything back. It didn’t work out according to plan as time went against me and I had to utilise the spare space in the cupboard as a temporary home for stuff from the next room being painted. Every weekened I say I must get back to this big cupboard, but now I have a deadline!
Previous relationship – well its an ongoing relationship but my son moved out of home a couple of weeks ago although he seems to have a sort of dual residency thing happening. Anyway there is a pile of his stuff sitting in the garage which he keeps overlooking to take with him. Or as I suspect, its stuff he doesn’t really want as it came from the top shelf in his wardrobe and was covered in dust when we brought it down.
Fridge/pantry. We’ve had a lot of guests lately and lots of left over food and packets. Its also the last couple of days of the Summer school holidays so its time to get back into better eating routines.
Beauty products – just last night I got out the foot spa and gathered all the lotions and potions and put in a container beside it (received another gift pack in Dec) as I know having them out in the open will encourage me to use them up. We are at the point of Summer when feet need some maintenance to avoid cracks etc, so why pay for a service when there is all this stuff sitting around.
Previous Career – well its a bit of a stretch of the defination but my girls will be back at school, one tomorrow and one on Wednesday and their timetables and subjects will be finalised. They both have a pile of last year’s books, assignments and reference material sitting there waiting to be gone thru. Once they know for sure that they are finished with a subject for good, it can be thrown out or passed on.
Decluttering/using up food is my mission for the week! I went through the freezer last week and found several Pyrex containers of food that I forgot were there (yay, no cooking dinner for a few nights!) Plus I have a drawer full of various grains (pearl barley, brown rice, quinoa) which have been there a while. When the weather cools down later in the week I might make up a couple of batches of soup and experiment with the quinoa.
Your new apartment looks just perfect for you!
Loretta,
This comment made me laugh ONLY because you say “When the weather cools down . . . ” Where I live in the U.S., we were happy to have a few above-zero days, but we’re back down to below zero this morning.
I absolutely love quinoa. I think it’s a tasty and beautiful grain. I, too, have a lot of grains to use up (and lots of beans), but I’m the only one in my family who likes rice and quinoa that much. I have never used barley.
I really love it when your mini missions coincide with what I’m already doing and what I’m planning for the week.
Monday: I went through my yarn stash this weekend and have tossed little bits which I don’t know the fiver content and put several skeins of yarn I know I won’t use into the give way box.
Wednesday: In anticipation of some work being done on our house, we’ve been ‘eating out of our pantry and freezer’. Since Flylady’s missions are in the kitchen this week, I’ll be going through the spices and deep cleaning/decluttering the other kitchen cabinets.
It feels so good!
Excellent Missions again Colleen, ones to make us think a bit.
Monday Mission – I just finished a use-it-up project on some leftover baby yarns that my late mum used part of, to do test work on a “masterpiece” crochet blanket for my son when he was born (he is 32!)
My blanket, which used 23 asst small balls/ball ends, is a non-masterpiece giant granny square LOL
It will be given away tomorrow, and I have started on a second use-it-up blanket.
Pretty sure there will end up being 4 use-it-up blankets by the time that box is empty.
This is a good mindless TV project for me, and far better for me than snacking.