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.
Monday is here again, where do the weeks go? And as time flies the seasons change and that is a good time for decluttering. It has got decidedly cooler here at my end of the world and that means pack away the Summer clothes and out with the clothes for cooler climate. And time to let go of the clothes and things that at seasons end are looking a little shabby or weren’t used enough to warrant keeping. So lets see if I can come up with some good end of season mini missions.
Monday – Declutter those clothing items that didn’t get used through the closing season and aren’t useful for the next.
Tuesday – Declutter any clothes from the closing season that have gotten to shabby to wear.
Wednesday – Declutter any season specific shoes that didn’t get used last season or aren’t likely to be used for the next or when the closing season returns next year.
Thursday – Identify and start a use it up challenge on ingredients that are less likely to be used during the next season.
Friday – Declutter some toys, sporting or recreation equipment that is unlikely to be used again next season or when the closing season returns.
Saturday – Do a quick perusal of your outdoor area and declutter a few things that won’t be used again after this season comes to a close.
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
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
My clothes go from “out & about”, to home only, to yard or animal shelter wardrobe. However, I have to guard against getting too large a ratty clothes area (why crowd out good clothes with bad?). Today, I’m thinning ratty items…man-made fabrics are tossed, 100% cotton becomes weed block. I lay clothes on ground, cover w/ mulch–weeds get choked out. Odd but effective.
I was just considering if I could use 100% cotton clothes instead of cardboard boxes for weed block. Glad to hear it works!
I had mentioned using old sheets as weed mat the other day. Now I have no garden so I don’t need weed mat anymore. I also don’t do any activities that ratty clothes are good for so I have no excuse (aside from hating waste) to keep any of them. It sounds like you get good use out of yours though, so good for you.
My goal this week is to get Mom and I out on the patio to declutter all the junk that is in a “cupboard” out there.
I hope that happens for you Deb. In fact the work bench on my balcony could probably do with a quick look at.
Deb J.,
Maybe you could show your Mom some simple patio looks, ie, using the cupboard decoratively in your ongoing quest to become “move ready”. Maybe along the lines of staging the patio as you would for a home sale. Might give her some incentive to declutter whatever is not being used.
Kimberley, we have someone who wants the cupboard when we get it empty. I want the patio clean and empty when we go to sell this place.
Perfect timing! I had pulled out all my change of season clothes for that very purpose last week, but had to go out of town over the weekend.
I pulled mine out too because we were going out in the cool evening and the one long sleeve item I had left out over the summer was in the wash. It got put back away but I will need to get it down again soon and get organised.
We were away for the weekend, the handle mechanism on my suitcase broke and when I emptied my bag a heap of brittle broken casing fell away. Another suitcase of the original 9 down. Unfortunately it is all the small suitcases that are breaking ie the ones that everyone prefers to use for weekends away.
I’m curious Moni, how long have you owned those suitcases. I have had the same Rick Steves bag for 12 years and it still looks like new.
Our first set of luggage as a married couple was London Fog. It lasted 22 years. Our current luggage is Victorinox by Swiss Army. It costs a pretty penny (3 pieces and a small carry on for $1900, 15 years ago), but that luggage has a lifetime warranty and has been used and abused by the airlines on too many trips to count. On one business trip, the zipper broke on one of the pieces and they overnighted a brand new identical piece to my husbands’ hotel. It was an investment, but in the big scheme of things, seems trivial in cost. On an added note, I always clean the luggage inside and out and give them a sunshine bath on our lanai before storing away until the next trip.
Colleen – they could be anywhere between 10-20 years as we bought a set from The Warehouse and then added to it from their individual range. They were cheap. I’ve just looked up how much to replace it and it will be between $24 and $34 dollars, so I’d safely say I’ve had my money’s worth. I probably only need one large suitcase as one of my daughters is considering doing a six month internship in the states next year, I have a friend whose daughter is going on Exchange for 12 months, so I might offer the other one to her.
We do own another one of similar size that was part of a two piece set bought for my son, one was a like a big sports bag and one was a small suitcase and both could either have a handle mechanism or convert into a backpack. They match and are some fancy label and high quality and all that but we all find them a bit too heavy.
We might have to zap across the Tasman in the very near future on a family matter and I’m putting it to the kids to fly Jetstar (although I swore after last time, that I never would again) and go the hand luggage only option as it will only be 4-5 days and no formal occasion to attend.
Hi Moni, we only to the hand luggage option. Our bags are backpacks only, no wheels. That sure inspires a person not to put too much in them.
Ugh. I’ve been thinking about clothing for a couple of weeks in anticipation of spring and summer. My clothes are getting a bit shabby. I just hate clothes shopping and I hate to spend money on clothes. I desperately need some new shoes, but again, that whole hate shopping thing. I recently read an article about a working gal who basically created a work uniform for herself and I’m thinking that I might incorporate some of her ideas into my wardrobe. We could probably stand to get some new linens as well – donating the old to local animal shelters. 🙂
Hi Michelle, when I first started working as a teenager it took me only a short length of time to realise the worth of uniforms. We worn them for school. I went to my boss after a few months and asked if I could pick a uniform out for myself and wear it everyday. I had previously I found it to be a real pain finding things to wear each day and then having enough things to wear on my days off. I was glad when my next jobs provide uniforms.
My clothes cycle is as follow:
1. Good or work clothes when I worked
2. Tee shirts that are a bit shabby I use for pj tops
3. Final cycle is my yard clothes
After that they go to the rag bag. I’m intrigued by using 100% cotton for weed barrier cloth. I’m going to give that a try before the rag cycle. Thanks for the idea Gail!
Sounds like a good method of using your clothes to the max.
Clothes? I actually decluttered those as I went, so this week should be easy. Aside from eBaying everything, of course.
Speaking of, mum’s got herself all convinced that New Zealand doesn’t have cakes or biscuits, she keeps saying she’ll have to teach me how to make my own…
I am sure there will be no shortage of cakes and biscuits in NZ.
She’s actually gone and researched the topic! Literally spent ages googling whether there are biscuits in NZ. She actually seemed surprised when her google search concluded that there are supermarkets there. Does she think the Hobbit was a documentary…?
That is too funny Niriel. Tell I have been there and there was plenty of sweet treats to be had. They served their long black coffee there better than they do in Australia. They put the hot water on the side so you could make it as long or as short as suits your taste. I like that. Sometimes it is the little differences that make all the difference.
Nirel – oh dear. The old mud hut and grass skirt thing again. What American’s call cookies, we call biscuits. What American’s call biscuits, we call scones. And yes we have satellite dishes on all our mud huts. Just joking. No mud huts now or in the past, our rainfall is too high for such a construction method. LOL we have houses, roads, bridges, internet and yes, even supermarkets. Get her to search http://www.countdown.co.nz for groceries to relieve her mind.
I’m fairly sure her research has found that already, but if she starts to worry about other groceries I will. This is funny and head-scratching in equal measure for me.
I got a couple of new pairs of pajama pants so I’ll be getting rid of at least the same number of old ones to make room for the new. I might even get rid of an extra pair or two to make my drawer easier to open and close.
Ar yes the old hard to open drawers. That is always a good sign that you have too many clothes. Unless of course it is that your drawer are just too small. 😉
Hi Colleen,
My elder daughter found an old muffin tin in her mountain of boxes. I asked if I could have it for the odds & ends on my bureau. She said okay. So today I removed 3 plastic organizing bins of stuff from my bureau. I moved the non-essential items (seldom worn make up, lint brush) to other areas so that there would be room for the essential items (deodorant, lip stuff, hair clips, my favorite cologne, Tylenol) in the 6-muffin tin. Once I “use it up” one of my deodorants, I will have room for another small item there, maybe some loose earrings currently in a small open box on my bureau. The plastic organizing bins will be donated to my work office, probably used for drawer organizing and foot scrub, etc. Took a cologne there today too and offered it around 🙂 win win win 🙂
Well done Peggy, you are coming up with ways to use things “outside the box” and to declutter items to your work space. I like it!
I know u all were talking about using old cotton clothes/sheets as weed block. That is a fantastic idea. A couple more ideas for repurposing ratty or abundant household items into the outside. First are old throw rugs, latex backed and area/rag rugs(cotton or synthetic). I go thru many latex backed runners, I have many pets and wash the rugs quite often. Even though careful washing them, the latex finally starts breaking down. First, I put them outside the back door as mud rugs for my pet’s grimy little paws. When they get too ratty, I cut them into the appropriate size and use them as weed block under mulch for my garden, latex side up. These work great in vegetable garden pathways and take years to decompose. Old wall to wall carpeting or padding also works well, backing side up, smothered in mulch. I once chased down my employer’s carpet installation person and took most of the old carpeting he had just ripped out of our office. He was going straight to the dump with it. Cut it up and it’s still under the mulch and stepping stones, keeping weeds at bay. Several layers of the black and white portion of the newspaper also works well, but that decomposes within a couple of months but it sure uses it up and saves me a trip to the recycling center. Love all ur ideas!