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.
Sometimes my mini mission get a bit bigger than little. Sometimes they sound easier in print than they are in reality. So this week I am going to keep them simple to understand and simple to carry out. No thinking and not much effort involved.
Monday – Declutter a drawer anywhere in your house.
Tuesday – Declutter a small section of a cupboard anywhere in your home.
Wednesday – Declutter one thing that you know hasn’t been used in a very long time that really isn’t necessary.
Thursday – Declutter a clothing or footwear item.
Friday – Declutter something your kids have grown out of, physically or intellectually. If you don’t have children declutter and old souvenir or home décor item.
Saturday – Declutter one of a category that you know you have too many off. Kitchen items, toiletries, books, magazines, handbags, DVDs or CDs, fashion accessories, jewellery pieces…
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
If you make coffee or tea after a meal boil a little extra water to soak the baked on food from the bottoms of pans. This saves having to run the hot water until it is warm enough for soaking. Adding a little bicarb soda will also make clean up easier.
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
Now this is what I call simple and easy. Thanks Colleen.
Hi Deb, i’m glad you liked it. Perhaps it is a little rudimentary for you though.
Simple and basic is good Colleen. Even for me.
Oh I like it when I read Mondays post by you Colleen and I can say to myself ‘ yes I can do this’ .
In preparation for my time away, I think any clothing left in my drawers can find a new home. Items in the pantry that will never be eaten by my family in my absence can be donated.
When I clean out my car(s) I think a few of those extra shopping bags can find a new home. I no longer do a huge grocery purchase, so I only need about six bags.
PS I hope our Kiwi friends are all safe 🙂
Cheers
Wendy F – I also find the Monday post kick starts my week, even if my decluttering focus is elsewhere, I often find that the the suggested mini missions usually ping the picture of some item into my head and generally within a few weeks that particular item is gone.
Confessions: I only found out about the Wellington earthquake yesterday evening as I went online to see if any news on the royal baby-to-be (we had scheduled a quiet day and asked everyone in the family to keep texting and surfing to the barest minimum). I live about six hours from Wellington so obviously not affected, am glad to hear that only 4 minor injuries have been reported and am glad that the authorities have taken a cautious approach to checking for damage in the CBD and keeping everyone at home today where they are presumably safer and closer to loved ones.
Hi Moni! I just saw your comment after I posted mine! I am glad you are ok and that there are no greater damages due to the earthquake.
I have to get back to my decluttering for it has been a very lazy month for me. 😀
Andreia – great to hear from you again!
Hi Moni, I am glad you are still finding the mini missions useful. After all this time they are getting somewhat repetitive.
I only heard the news of the quake near Wellington last night. I was glad to hear that there is little damage or injury. It sounds a lot like the quake I experienced in Seattle when we lived there.
Hi Wendy, I like your ideas. However it is interesting that you follow the missions by offering some of the items you mentioned to me. ;-0 You are my only readers who declutter their stuff to my house. That is a unique position you hole here at 365 Less Things. I do appreciate the beans thought and Bridget will find a use for those jars.
Yes, I am blessed to be able to offload my stuff to you :). As you know, deciding what to Declutter then becomes , “where does it go?” You have resolved this issue for me so well! The rate my hubby drinks coffee, I think Bridget could end up with quite a stack of coffee jars!
Cheers
I think I ‘hold’ the position not ‘ hole’. 🙂
Hi Wendy, those coffee jars are also good for encouraging me to declutter craft items. Bridget misses out on the odd one that I fill up with crafty bits that get donated to the thrift shop. I might use one of the ones you gave me yesterday for that purpose.
As for Hole v Hold, same finger different level on the keyboard. My bad. 😉
Oh, this is really great this week, Colleen! I thought of stuff under each category right away without much effort at all. Just what I needed this week.
Yay, good for you Jen. I must have chosen areas or items that are a common clutter problem for most people.
Hi Colleen! Long time no see, 😀 ! I am back from a vacation on a farm and I am feeling very cheerful about decluttering some more unused items. I have had urges to empty the whole house, but I know I will just declutter a big wardrobe, LOL. I hope it is going this week. Fingers crossed.
On another note, I hope everyone in New Zealend is okay. My thoughts are with you, Moni. I just read the news on the internet.
Great to be back. 😉
Andreia – great to hear from you again, had wondered where you’d disappeared to. I have e-mailed you this morning. Is this the big wardrobe that you’ve wanted out since forever? The one that your aunts were involved with somehow? Have you got your new wardrobe functioning yet?
Hi Andréia, I have missed you. I am glad that wardrobe is possibly on the way out this week. Your bedroom will feel so spacious. I will publish that second bedroom declutter post soon if you would like to send me a photo when the wardrobe is gone.
Good missions. I think I may have inadvertantly acheived many of them over the weekend. My husband and I filled a rather large box 3/4 of the way with just little odds and ends that we really don’t need. We forgot that we still had music on cassette tapes- those all went in the box, I went through my hair accessories and got rid of a plastic zipper bag full that I no longer use, I got rid of some office supplies that we aren’t using, tossed some dried up glue in the trash, decluttered some greeting cards that I don’t like all that much (so I know i’ll never send those), got rid of a few sticker decals that were left over from our wedding invitations/decorations, got rid of a few more pieces of costume jewelry and other little bits as we came upon them. As always I was amazed at how the little things here and there almost filled the box.
Hi Melissa, yes, never be fooled by the little stuff. It all adds up. I am glad you are moving those items on and not allowing them to clutter up your home any longer.
I love finding these tiny pockets of stuff I can do without because not only do they take up space here, there and everywhere they are also a pain to account for on my inventory and need corralling when we are about to move house. Last week I decluttered and consolidate two storage items holding tiny hardware. On reflection I could probably declutter some more of those tiny bits and pieces but I will wait until we make this next move before eliminating them. Imminent “just in case” scenarios aren’t so bad to wait for, but once these items prove useless to me they are out of here.
Declutted (donated to a charity) a paper bag full of miscellaneous items + a carpet today! Feel good.
That sounds good to me Mari, well done! I have a carpet in my house that I am hoping I don’t need in the next house/apartment I go to. Some things just to wear as well as one expected especially according to the price tag ~ if you get what I am saying.
Wonderful mini-missions this week, Colleen! I spent my Monday decluttering my kitchen countertops and the island in the kitchen. After tossing and shredding papers, the only ones that are left are on my breakfast table, waiting to be filed later. I have a stack of clothes, shoes, VHS tapes, etc ready to go to Goodwill this week (I’m going to add more to the stack). I appreciate you taking time to post these mini-missions each week. It helps to keep me focused! Take care and I hope you and your readers have a wonderful week!
Hi Tony, it seems you are doing a great job of following the missions. Well done you! Thank you for letting me know that they are helpful for you. They are always fun to put together and often reflect how I am feeling on the Sunday when I write them or what decluttering I am up to or about to get up to.
You have a wonderful week also.
Hello, Colleen. This is to wish you a happy move. Always a big effort and lots to think about, but given your
organisational skills, it will be as painfree as possible, and perhaps enjoyable too. I believe you are a “glass half full”
kind of lady.
Thanks for ongoing interest, information and support.
Good luck for your new home.
Regards,
Gail Carrick