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 do something a little different with our mini missions. I want you to pick a room in your home that has a clutter issue, and this room is going to be the focus of your mini missions this week. Make a vow to yourself that you are not going to add any extra clutter to this room. Anything you use from or in it during the week you are going to put away immediately after use. Choose departure points for your decluttered items, some will go in the trash some will end up in the recycling bin while others will be donated. Make sure your donation departure point is in an out of the way place, preferably in the garage where you can load them into the car at the end of the week. If you have the opportunity to dispose of them as you go along that is all the better because then you won’t be tempted to keep them. Lets get started.
Monday – Tidy off and declutter one elevated surface in your focus room putting everything away in its proper home.
Tuesday – Go back to your chosen room again and pick another elevated surface to clear off and declutter. Once again put everything away in its proper home and move any unwanted clutter to your clutter departure points.Â
Wednesday – Today you are going to clear off and declutter the floor in your chosen room. Pick up anything that doesn’t belong on the floor and find a home for it. Once again move any unwanted clutter to its departure point.
Thursday – Choose a drawer in this room and declutter it. If you have no drawers choose a small area that is out of sight. A box under a bed, a shelf or a small cabinet.
Friday – Repeat the same task as Thursday.
Saturday – Declutter an area of your own choosing in the room today. By now the room should be in pretty good shape.
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.
First a report on Mom. The stress test showed she has had a mild heart attack at some point in the last couple of years. On Monday morning she will have an angiogram and have stents put in if needed.
Colleen, I needed this right now. I need to concentrate on one room and get it in better shape and have been putting it off. I can do it this way and still be at the hospital a lot.
Thank you for the update Deb J. You and your mum have been on my thoughts these past 48 hours. I hope the results of the angiogram will mean the least possible intervention necessary. Look after yourself too – it’s always very tiring hospital visiting and going back and forth, back and forth.
Deb, my thoughts are with you and your mom. I wish her a speedy recovery, and I hope it’s not hard on you, either.
Deb J…my hopes for your Mom is a speedy recovery to whatever they find. Take care of yourself, she’ll need you healthy when she comes home. As for Colleen, have you been lurking in the shadows of my craft studio???? I have two tables I work on and cannot right now, without removing everything on them! In my defense, I am working on many items at once getting ready for 2 shows within the next month, plus, making things to take to a consignment shop soon. I know these sound like excuses, but my dilemma is where do all these newly made pieces go until they are delivered or taken to my show??? I will do what I can as these two tables always seem to get this way in between working. I sometimes have to set up another card table to work on what needs to get done. I’m not very proud of that so I need to figure out why I do this. Thanks for the nudge I needed….
Hi Kim, I think that sometimes, in the situation you describe here, it is a little difficult to stay uncluttered. You have obviously got an abundance of pieces piling up and not the extra space to store them. If it would just take a little extra organisation to avoid this, put some thought into that prior to your next flurry of creativity so you have a better system to follow next time.
Thanks, Colleen, for the great advice…..I was already thinking that some cleaning out and organization needs to be done to store all the extra stock when getting ready for my shows and shops. It will have to wait until after my last show in Dec. as I really need the time to craft now.
Hi Deb J, I hope your mom is coping well and improving every day. Perhaps a little gentle decluttering will help take your mind of your worries. Go easy on yourself though.
Deb J – Our thoughts are with you.
Thanks everyone. Mom is doing well and is at peace about the procedure tomorrow. She’s as fiesty as ever. GRIN!!
It’s so great to read that you are optimistic about it all and that your Mom is at peace! Good luck with the procedure tomorrow and may God be with you.
Best wishes to you and your Mom.
Deb J, I am just now catching up on the news about your mom. You both are in my thoughts and prayers,
Deb J, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your mom. Take care of yourself too.
I love to do one room at a time decluttering. I call it the room of the day, or room of the week, if I don’t have too much time. There is always something to declutter. After decluttering the designated room, I pick up stray items and clean it up. Decluttering for me is like a stress reliever. I’m always scanning a room to check for items to declutter. Love it!!!
Hi Marie L, I too think decluttering is a stress reliever. I also find having a tidy house is a good way to relieve stress. The combination of the two is fabulous.
Deb, I am sorry to hear about your mom. She is in my prayers!
Deb J., Sending some aloha and prayers across the Pacific Ocean to you and your Mom.
Deb J- Thinking of you and your Mom today. Take care of yourself as well. Take some time to go for a short walk and get some fresh air:)
The idea of concentrating on just one room this week is a good one. I like the idea of focusing on one room and getting it in tip top shape.
Thank you for this week’s mission.
I have chosen my bedroom which although I didn’t feel was that cluttered is looking so much better now. I chose my dressing table to work on today, and started by removing the items from the glass top and washed the fabric beneath it. Once I’d cleaned that and polished the glass I had a lovely base which I didn’t want to clutter. I checked the drawers and all the use by dates on my toiletries and found quite a few that needed throwing away. I also noticed the cost of some of the items and realised that once bought I’d forgotten several of them. Somewhere I have three pairs of tweezers that have disappeared – maybe they will turn up during the week.
Tomorrow as I have only another two small elevated surfaces I will work on my shoe, umbrella and stockings cupboard. I know there are shoes and slippers in there which won’t be worn again. The cupboard used to be used for clothes (half height) but I managed to declutter my clothes enough so it wasn’t needed. I hang my stockings and umbrellas on the hanging rail. When I first moved in I had boxes under my bed. I hated looking at them and have managed to find homes for the contents I still wanted and got rid of the rest and have given the boxes away so I am not tempted to refill them.
well done on giving the boxes away Diana. You are so right that too much storage makes it ore tempting to fill it!
You are working magic on your bedroom Diana, well done! I like the attention to detail you went to with your dressing table. So often people forgo this sort of attention and wonder why their efforts don’t seem to give the desired effect they were hoping for.
I love hearing about this! The bedroom being neat is so soothing! Enjoy! I’ve gotten mine cleaned up, and like you I don’t want to put anything on the clear surfaces now. It’s nicer than being in a resort hotel! 🙂
This is perfect for me this week Colleen! I have emptied storage in one room to declutter and put things where they are better accessed and in order of priority…the rest is still sitting in a pile waiting to be dealt with, and it’s overwhelmed me! I realize now that I haven’t finished yet because most of it just needs to go. It’s all stuff I like and can use, but don’t NEED; so better to pass it along to someone that will actually use it regularly.
Angela – Someone here on 365 said something and I liked it so I added it to my pinboard of quotes and I think it ties in with what you’re saying. “Other people really need what you don’t use.” When I get a bit ummmm and aaaahhhh about whether or not to keep something (the good old ‘what if’ or ‘just in case’) then I go to my pinboard and read this.
Thank you, Moni. That’s a great quote! I’m excited that someone will love all the extra beauty! It’s the dining room; so you know there are all those pretty things that I don’t use often enough. The thing I’m keeping will be used.