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 it is time again to go through those memorabilia items. We all have memorabilia items that we wouldn’t want to part with and that is perfectly fine. But most of us also have similar items that we only keep out of habit because tradition dictates that we should view these things as important. But the truth is if they mean little to us why burden ourselves with them.
Monday – Declutter those old greeting cards from people who no longer mean anything to you or celebrate occasions that hold little significance.
Tuesday –  Declutter a family heirloom you possibly never really liked. Give it to another member of the family who enjoys preserving the family history.
Wednesday –Declutter a souvenir.
Thursday –Declutter a childhood or baby item of you or your children that doesn’t hold as much significance to you as it once did.
Friday –Declutter a diary or journal that is so embarrassing that you wouldn’t want it to become part of your family history.
Saturday –Declutter a memento that is boxed away somewhere where you rarely see it and don’t care enough to visit it often.
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.
Random Acts of Miscellaneous Kindness
(Little thoughtful acts for no reason but to make a complete strangers life a little easier.)
If you have an act that you think would be kind please share it with me via my contact page so I can share it with your fellow readers. Here is an idea for an act of kindness from a reader name Jean.
People enjoy finding money, it is sweet to drop a coin where children might walk and find it, or even a dollar for older folks. Everyone feels lucky when they find money, even a very small amount.
How apt for me this week. We are renovating and building (again….) and that has meant some serious sorting and decluttering in a part of the house that is rarely used. I had already worked through all the stuff belonging to the girls that I had kept, but to my horror realised that I had been a bit peely wally in my approach and next week is the big daughter memorabilia/artwork/cards etc sort. I have bought an A3 display folder for each girl and in that will go a selection of their cards/artwork/letters etc. That way the folders can go on the shelf with the photograph albums and actually be looked at!
I plan to do this with my box of cards, programs and ticket stubs. If I never take it out, what good are mementos? Also, how many items do I really need from a single event?
It is all about having the stuff you want to keep somewhere where you will appreciate it rather than in a box in a cupboard.
Agreed!
I have never heard the term peely wally before! Cute!!
Also, I have never heard of an A-3 Display Folder, but it sounds like something I could use! I am going to google it, but wonder if it is an Aussie thing. 🙂
Peely wally is a scottish term meaning poorly or not very well as in health. But I find I tend to use it to describe myself when I haven’t done something properly. The display folder is the kind of thing that salesmen have, with clear plastic pockets inside. I just bought the largest I could find.
This article relates to Colleen’s post prior to this one.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/francine-jay/declutter-your-fantasy-self_b_9785190.html
Thanks for sharing Sheryl
Good one Colleen. I need to have Mom go through a couple of items off this list once I am moved for good and can get unpacked.
I might even bring the box down in the top of our spare room closet and see if there is any of my stuff I am happy to part with. Most of it is Steve’s though so it won’t be greatly reduced.
What I do with old journals is take out a few quotes and any brief relevant personal history and put them on my computer. Then I proceed to shred the old journals once I have reviewed them. It’s a process that seems to work for me. I’d love to hear what other people do with old journals.
Hi Stacie. Journals are two things: a process of recording as well as the actual record. I am doing exactly the same thing with my travel journals from long ago. What filled a page 30 years ago can be reduced to “Delhi, hot, nearly run over by a bus while dodging a sacred cow”. Just enough to remind me where my photos were taken. Pages shredded afterwards.
Sounds like you had eventful younger years Wendy.
and lived to tell the tale…
I like your process Stacie. Do you just scan in the saved items so the handwriting is still viewable or just type it in?
I just type it in.
My grandmother gave me a jewellery set as a family heirloom. It’s nice, but I don’t wear jewellery often. The funny thing is, neither did she and I can’t remember seeing her wear this particular set. My grandmother died last summer and it has become very clear that this item doesn’t make me feel more connected to her. It wouldn’t tell the next generation anything about who she was. For me the thing that makes me feel connected is her cookie recipe, and for the next generation I don’t think any object would really mean much, but stories do.
Exactly Christine.
This week is difficult for me because I’m sentimental. Not having much luck letting go of the remaining greeting cards. It’s the old cards I can’t get rid of; new cards are easy, unless they’re from my DH. It’s strange how I tend to place more value on items I’ve kept longer. My journals are long gone, though.
This week so far –
A pile of a family member’s old sewing patterns.
T-shirt from a club I no longer belong to.
Paperback novel from my favorite high school class.
A freebie kit from a community CPR training event.
Hi June, it isn’t clutter for you if you don’t want to part with it. There is nothing wrong with keep those special things that mean a lot to you. Decluttering is about getting rid of the things that aren’t being used or loved. If you love your cards keep them and move on to something else. And you list of the other things shows you are still moving forward so that’s fine.
Thanks Colleen! I’ll work on some other paper items – there’s never a shortage of paper to work on.