365 Less Things

Reducing our stuff one day at a time.

Mini Mission Monday ~ Silly season stuff

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mini-logoMini 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.

The holiday season is a great time for decluttering. It always seems to be the time of year where all the weird stuff comes to the surface or at least comes to mind. And now is a great time to send it on its way. So here are some items to be on the lookout for.

Monday – Declutter something glittery.

Tuesday – Declutter some old toys.

Wednesday – Declutter something red or green.

Thursday – Declutter an old unwanted gift.

Friday – Declutter someone from your Holiday card list that never sends a card in return.

Saturday – Declutter some holiday themed household items ~ towels, oven mitts, placemats etc.

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

Comments

  1. These are going to be fun! I have a load going to goodwill this morning, but I will plan a second trip with this week’s mini missions.

    • I am sure Goodwill will be pleased Moni. I hope you find lots more stuff, but then again I don’t because you should be pretty well decluttered by now. However with kids still in the house that is never likely. How is your son doing these days, having more success with the second move out I hope. My son has moved back into our home, with his entire family, off and on while we are away. The temperatures have been in the forties at times and our apartment is air conditioned and their house isn’t. They don’t even have ceiling fans. I should make it a condition of them being there that he takes away the rolling cart that we offered him and he said he wanted but hasn’t made room for in his house.

      • Colleen – it is the strangest thing, I have said our house is 95% decluttered for a year or so as it seemed a nice number. All of a sudden, stuff is flowing out the house. My younger daughter finishes ballet at the end of this week, so a lot has had to do with that, but it just seems that some sort of tide has turned and a surprising amount of stuff is heading out the door. There is also an element of ‘well if this is going, that can go too’.

        We thought we might have our son back again recently as the flat he was in, was put on the market, however he found somewhere else.

        I totally understand your son seeking air conditioning, after spending a week in Noosa in the Summer without air con, I refuse to go near Australia until Winter time, and then I’m one of those crazy Kiwi’s who walks around in shorts and a t-shirt.

  2. My husband keeps asking me if we are going to buy each other a small Christmas gift each. I couldn’t care less but I am sure I can find something consumable.

  3. Just a follow up from last week we had success on TradeMe selling the BBQ, lawnmower and wheelbarrow!

    Also recycled old travel brochures, old directories and misc paperwork.

    Used up some compost and peat moss in the garden.

    Donated a large bag of envelopes, books, jewellery, gum boots. Tomorrow will donate a stack of jam jars.

    Sold some unused and broken jewellery.

    My husband replaced a plug on a steamer mop, so now I will list it on TradeMe.

    Lots of big stuff going! Such a thrill.

  4. Good missions this week.
    I’m pretty uncluttered (at least in the house & yard), garage needs some work. I seem to find stuff for most of the missions, no matter how cleared out I think I am. Lol

    This week I think I’m good, but will think of the missions as I put out Christmas decorations & see what I find.

  5. Fun missions this week. My spouse and I are donating our red holiday stockings since we no longer give each other gifts. Donated a puzzle last week which counts as a toy (the kids want to keep the few remaining toys….for now). Will look for something glittery and unwanted gifts this week.

  6. Does anyone have any good suggestions for destroying camera negatives – I put thru shredder but I seemed to have wrecked the shredder.

    • I’ve heard salt water……then again, I thought any water would destroy a negative. This is a very interesting question, as most people try to preserve those things!

  7. Ok for Monday I’ve donated some glittery fabric to the dance school.
    Tuesday, the last remaining small box of toys are definite no-go zone.
    Wednesday, red or green – I donated to goodwill a heap of red ribbon on the reel – they’re going to use for holiday decoration.
    Thursday, unwanted gift – hmmmmmm……..stilll thinking.
    Friday, holiday card list N/A but there are some contacts in my phone that could go so I’ll do that instead.
    Saturday, holiday themed items N/A but I was given a packet of little fruit mince pies, so I’ll make sure those are eaten up!

      • Colleen – eventually I would have noticed it and given it away, it just happened it was in the box with the red ribbon I thought would do nicely for my ‘red’ mini mission.

  8. I just saw an ad on t.v. that expressed how I used to feel & deal with Christmas in the past.
    “CHRISTMAS DOESN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT ME”

    So glad I don’t feel that way anymore!

  9. I went through my craft things and have a nice bundle of glittery embellishments, green and red papers and many other things to donate to a local preschool.
    We don’t have any toys just some board games that we do play.
    For the unwanted gift (I actually asked for this) an airfryer that I thought would be good and it is but I don’t use it often enough and it takes up a lot of space. Am passing that on to my son.

  10. I decluttered most of my Christmas stuff 2 years ago, by giving it to my son. Huge tree, all the decorations, lights and tinsel for said tree plus other stuff. I have just a few things now, things I really like and enjoy putting up.
    I decluttered my card list years ago, now I send about 3, and a few on behalf of my dad in the nursing home, just to let overseas rellies know he is still kicking on.
    I spent last week making a quilt from some of my Christmas fabric/craft stash (I have just one boot box, not quite full, of Christmas stash) to donate to a kids shelter, along with a few stuffed toys which my grandies no longer play with here. Toys will get a freshen up in the washing machine, and new neck ribbons from that same box of Christmas stash.
    I think I am done for the week, although there are still plenty of unwanted gifts to make decisions on.

  11. Great post and comments, as usual!

    Moving update:

    I sold all of our furniture, kayaks, and grill, but I still need to sell my Jeep. This week I’m working on files, papers, and clothes, and next week I will 365 everything else (dishes, etc.) This house is getting so empty, and I love it!

    Just as a reminder, we are moving long distance and will be somewhat nomadic for a couple of years. We put important things into a 5×10 storage unit, and will be moving with just our suitcases. In two weeks!

    Sorry for being off topic…..this is all I had to add to this week’s 365 mission post! 🙂

    • It’s great to hear your updates Melanie. What an exciting time for you! Only two weeks to go, wow.

      Despite the upcoming nomadic existence, I hope you still manage to check in with us from time to time 🙂

      Best of luck with the remaining 365-ing.

  12. I don’t have any Christmasy stuff to report yet… But I got rid of a GREEN t-shirt because the neckline was fraying and shows above my work top. I also got rid of a pair of work pants because the elastic was gone.

    I am trying to get my elder daughter to give me her donatables – a bag of too small kids clothes that her daughter keeps getting into and spreading around the house. I can’t count how many times I have told her this isn’t the way to declutter! Very frustrating! I also found (this last summer when I went through the stuff on “Box Mountain”) clothes for her “ex”. So I have been trying to get rid of that bin. He’s been coming in the mornings to pick up the children but his car is so cluttered, there is no room for this bin! So my daughter is to take it to him this week. I told her not to bring any of it back into the house or I will declutter it all without asking.

    I don’t sound like I have any Christmas spirit, do I? I apologize for that and will refrain from making excuses 🙂

    • Peggy – I have a saying “my house, my rules”. While I can appreciate it isn’t easy having three generations living under one roof – I admire you for accommodating that – but it is your home and ideally goodwill should flow your way. I can understand that mother and adult-daughter sharing a house can be a difficult arrangement but it is your house.

      • Hi Moni, Thanks for the moral support 🙂 My daughter finally gave me 2 small bags for donation tonight. She also put the bin in her car to drop off to her ex (with plenty of urging from me and the warning not to bring it back or else!)

        It is very difficult to live this way, especially with such young grandchildren. Their mommy works hard as a massage therapist (we work at the same place), goes to nursing school, and has many friends to attend to…. So she doesn’t always feel like taking care of these things that are so important to me. I don’t begrudge her those things of course but I don’t like having the childcare either because I get tired and am sometimes hurting from work.

        Thanks again <3

      • Peggy,

        I, too, agree with Moni. I admire what you are doing for your family, but I firmly believe in “Your house, your rules.”

        My mother won’t even let me leave a cup on the counter (that I might use later), so I have to hide it in my room . Hahahahahaha! Your daughter is very lucky to have your support! 🙂

        • Hi Melanie, I agree with you and Moni and Colleen about the boundaries… But it seems to be too late to enforce this as my younger daughter and my husband will get into the fray at times… I don’t get all the support I need from them on this… besides, my older daughter “pays rent” (we put it all toward her school loans, not just the designated nominal amount that she gives us for that purpose).

          I appreciate the 365 community support a lot 🙂 Thanks! <3<3<3

  13. I don’t have much that would fit within this week’s theme, but here is my decluttering progress this week anyway:

    Work is having a toy drive, so I donated the backup gifts I had for all the nieces and nephews, that I would have just had to move in a month or so anyway.

    Partway through yesterday I realised the insides of my work shoes had rotted. All thanks to the joys of living in the tropics. Needless to say I wasn’t overjoyed. Then a bit later I realised the sole had broken down as well! Well, it is one less pair of shoes to move, although I have had to wear sandals to work today as the only other pair of shoes I have suitable for work don’t suit the current weather.

    While I was in the spirit of ousting shoes, I also got rid of a pair of sandals that are so worn, each time I wear them I keep wondering at what point in my journey they are just going to fall apart.

      • That’s true, it is great to be able to actually wear out a quality item. Doesn’t happen too often these days with the plethora of disposable fashion, but for their entire lifespan I was definitely very happy with these quality shoes I had found. That said, I am sure I would have gotten more wears out of them if I lived in a more hospitable climate. Still, I am moving down south soon enough, where I look forward to elastic surviving a bit longer, jewellery not tarnishing overnight, etc.

      • Oh, and my niece (aged 5) saw the sandals recently, and was asking about what colours they used to be (assorted metallics). I described the sandals as they had been new, and I guess how I still partly saw them. She repeated the description back to me, then assured me that as long as we remember how they were, it didn’t matter that they weren’t like that any more 🙂

    • More items decluttered this week:

      A coral-coloured lipstick/balm/thing which was too opaque and I realised I barely wear it.

      A moisturiser that had been opened goodness knows how long – I hate to imagine how many colonies of bacteria were happily living in there. (Well, they are still living in there, but now they can join all those other colonies at the tip rather than murkying my bathroom).