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 focus on the decluttering a few items that are cluttering up the master bedroom in your home. Your bedroom should be your sanctuary and clutter can make you feel less than relaxed in a space that should be tranquil for you. So lets see if you can find a few things to make it a more pleasant place to be.
Monday – Declutter items that have accumulated in or on your bedside table/cabinet, nightstand or whatever you call it.
Tuesday – Declutter a few of those scatter cushions you pile on and off your bed everyday, all the while collecting dust and dust mites.
Wednesday – Declutter out of date makeup and lotions on your dressing table.
Thursday – Declutter anything lurking under your bed.
Friday – Declutter costume jewellery that you never use anymore.
Saturday – Declutter a couple of less loved clothing items.
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.
Mon-bedside table
3 paperback books I was hoping I’d read if they were easily seen
Finally faced up to the fact that I only read e-books
Tuesday-scatter pillows
None, so I’m good there
Wed-out of date makeup
We must be on the same wavelength, got rid of this stuff several weeks ago.
Thru-under bed
Good there since I keep that area clear. Have a platform bed & like to see under it when I walk in the room.
Fri-costume jewelry
The two pieces I don’t wear & haven’t for years was made by a dear friend of mine. She has arthritis, & it was very painful to make these. Guess I’ll hang on to them a bit longer.
Sat- less loved clothes
Have four pieces, 1 shirt, 3 jackets. Still amazes me that I find clothing to get rid of, since at least 3/4 has gone out the door in the last couple of years.
Another great week of mini missions to keep me on track!
Hi Calla, like you I leave books beside my bed with the aspiration to read them because they are close. So often I start but rarely finish. Perhaps I am choosing the wrong books.
Too bad about those necklaces, they have become obligation clutter. I do understand though.
Don’t be alarmed about continuing to find clothing to declutter. I had a pair of long pants I used to love once upon a time. Last week I was lamenting the fact that I had either worn out of decluttered some of my pairs of capris. I was about to wash and sent the pair of long pants to the thrift shop because for several reason I didn’t wear them anymore. Then it occurred to me that I could cut them off and sew new hems thus making them into capris. I acted on that thought immediately and transformed them and wore them the same day.
Whohoo! A week I’m actually ahead!
Monday: A few things need to be put away, but nothing needs to go away.
Tuesday: I have never understood decorative pillows and we have none.
Wed: None. On a going very well use-it-up quest on lotion and I wear very little makeup very rarely. Down to a couple packages of eye shadow in a back drawer, but I do wear it for fancy nights out so they’ll stay. Made some co-worker’s daughters very happy when I got rid of a couple dozen bottles of nail polish. So many color choices for their “spa day” with grandma. 🙂
Thursday: None! Under the bed and the attic are two places I have refused to let myself put anything. About the only two, but I’m holding steady! The Roomba vacuum helps enforce that.
Friday: Ugh. Ok, you got me. I have lots of jewelry I need to sort and declutter. For now, I have my current stuff hanging from hooks under a shelf, and I have one hook designated for “necklaces I don’t think I’m actually wearing” just to see if I pull them off in the next month (or the next season if I’m sure I used to wear it). It’s time to donate the one that’s there and a bracelet that’s uncomfortable. The box in the basement will be faced some other time.
Saturday: Season change approaches so this is well timed one. I have done pretty good at pulling ones that don’t fit or I don’t like how they look as the summer went on, but I have too many of a particular style and they don’t all need to get stored. I like them all, but it’s not the style I want associated with me so heavily, and I have more than enough shirts in total.
That’s actually one of my struggles–I have too many of something, but no way to decide which ones to declutter and which to keep as I like them all about the same and would be happy keeping any of them, so then I have problems giving any up, since I’d be happy to keep those..but I don’t need so many!
Oh Kayote, I so miss my Roomba, it used to do such a good job of keeping under the beds clean. Those were the days though when I had a big house with plenty of storage. Don’t get me wrong I don’t miss it because my apartment is so easy to clean, in such a wonderful location and I am happy with my new life. However that means there are a few thing that get kept under beds but even they are becoming fewer.
As for the clothing that you like but have too many of. I wouldn’t declutter them, they will wear out soon enough. What you could do is pack some away for a while. Then the ones left behind will wear out quicker and then you can retrieve the other ones once they the worn ones are ready for decluttering. No point wasting the money you spent on them.
Colleen – if Roomba’s came with a remote control, I bet the men would be fighting to do the vacuuming! I’d love to get one as my 3 cats are molting non-stop at the moment, but there always seems to be a greater priority else where in the household. Maybe in the New Year.
Roomba doesn’t need a remote, it does the job without any help at all and then takes itself back to its charging station when it is done. It doesn’t get any easier than that. I loved the one I had when I lived in America.
I was ahead on this until a friend gave me back a couple of decorative pillows she’d borrowed for staging her home earlier this year, so I shall deal with them this week.
However…….. our boarder flies home on Wednesday end of semester and as she is currently on crutches, I am organising to freight the stuff she can’t take on the plane with her.
Also my friend sold her house but agreed to a short settlement date. Thankfully, we did a major decluttering at the beginning of the year. But there is a three week period between leaving her current house and moving into her next, so it will be going into storage, and early in the new year both her sons are going flatting in their university town. So its all happening a bit back to front from the ideal. She is going to a much smaller house and today she is going to start deciding what stays and what goes (again) plus we’re going to drag down everything that is up in the attic to have a big cull. I’ll be helping her get it on the local FB buy and sell. So a busy busy busy week ahead.
Hi Moni, good for you helping your friend to declutter and your boarder to get her stuff home. Feel good about yourself for your generosity.
Colleen – LOL I am happy as a pig in mud when I get my hands on a big pile of clutter, I keep assuring my friend she is doing me the favour. We emptied the attic yesterday (coincidentally the hottest day so far), we did go thru it earlier in the year but it was their first decluttering effort and then other things from around the house were hastily hiffed up there prior to the first Open Home (it was on the market about 7 months). We went thru half of the ‘hastily thrown into a box’ and the vast majority is going to the bin or donate pile. We’ll tackle the other half tonight, plus organise the rest of the ‘good’ stuff from the attic so they see all the camping gear together, etc. There are some ‘excess stuff’ boxes ie bedding, that hopefully she can let go of.
I have to admit that sounds like fun to me too Moni. Is there something wrong with us? LOL!
Colleen – I suspect there is. LOL. We made more progress at my friend’s place. We had an ironic moment when we got everything arranged tidily around the edge of the garage, when we realised she would still be able to fit the car in! We have everything sitting in categories now, which has made it easy for them to see that they have enough xmas decorations for 2 houses and about a dozen excess sheets. They also looked at the big stack of camping gear and decided the tent was beyond salvage and so are pondering the fate of the remaining gear. Toys were a sensitive subject as there were about four suitcases full which were to go to a young relative who unfortunately passed away this year. I’m leaving that one to them.
We’re also lining up furniture that is going to a relative who has returned to the country from abroad and tonight I am helping them list some sets of bunks on FB.
Well I hope all that goes well Moni and that you enjoy the process. Sorry to hear about the young one who passed away.
Colleen – a relative is moving to my city in the near future and had heard I am ‘good at getting rid of stuff’, so she’s bringing it all with her so that I can help her deal with it. I did offer to go down and help her so that she wasn’t paying to shift it and potentially store it up here…….but she wants to box it up so that she only has to deal with a couple of boxes at a time. Oh dear.
Well Moni, at least she is open to the idea of decluttering. She can declutter as she unpacks.
Colleen – did I mention she is a bit of a hoarder? I think the plan is for me oversee unpacking.
I think I’m going to be on Thursday all week long, LOL… I recently realized that I have a pile of papers from my sortout of my elder daughters things… under my bed. Also, I have a small bin of some homeopathic items that I am using up but that is a long term thing. There is a separate box of makeup, medicines, & miscellany that is on the long term use it up list. I did cull some nail polish and lip liners from it recently. There is a box of (sentimental) yearbooks and such that I am slow to part with. It may get moved downstairs at some point, to be stored with our photos. So, that leaves the pile of hateful calendars that I need to deal with (either add the dates to my database or chuck them!)
My night table and cabinet are as current as they can be, although the MIL pin is still under consideration. I might look at the remainder of my jewelry, too, although I think I like and use most of it.
I can’t think of any clothes that I don’t like. There is a pretty red satin vest that I “stole” from my elder daughters decluttered items. I will try that this week and see whether it works for me. I got rid of a pair of elastic waist work pants because the elastic was going, thought the pants might fall off! I also decluttered an old camisole recently that I decided I really didn’t like.
No scatter cushions here to worry about.
The red vest went into the donate box this morning. It has bust darts for a full bust. No full bust here LOL
Hi Peggy, yep, gathering of any sort around the bust area doesn’t work for me either. Ultimately you need something to fill that space created and, like you, I don’t have that something.
A small spray bottle from the kitchen that has been annoying me for a long time (doesn’t spray well) went into the recycle bin. I held onto it for all this time because it used to spray well…
I took a couple of spice jars down from the attic to use for some liquid allergy medicine. The top of the container the medicine came in was so hard to open, it was hurting my wrists. The jars are light green glass and have cork stoppers, so will be pretty and easy to use.
Hi Peggy, don’t you wonder why you put up with stupid things that don’t work properly for such long periods of time. Or sometimes come up with a more efficient way to do things and wonder why you hadn’t figured it our sooner.
Hi Peggy, stop looking at those calendars as a pile. Just pull out one and get the dates from it and recycle it. One sounds much more doable that the whole pile. Then move on to the next one when you feel up to it. Doing it this way is less painful than torturing yourself over not doing it all of the time.
You are right… now to just make myself do it 🙂
I went through my daughters’ pile (from under my bed) today!!! So one less pile under my bed 🙂
I also did a couple of calendar pages, per your suggestion 🙂
Good for you Peggy. I bet you feel better already.
Monday bedside tables, only lamp and clock on mine and only lamp on DH side.
Tuesday scatter cushion, only one on bed and only there to cover gap between our pillows!
Wednesday no dressing table. Lotions etc recently culled from bathroom cupboard.
Thursday nothing under the bed.
Friday costume jewellery, I will go through my necklaces again. (I make them.). Only one pair of earrings and two bracelets.
Saturday clothes I go through them regularly but will check again
Feeling good!
Hi Janetta, it sounds like you have your bedroom well in order already. Like you I don’t have any clutter on my bedside table but it does have a drawer where I keep certain things. It would’t hurt for me to go through it again (I already do it on a regular basis) and cull anything that doesn’t belong there or I am done with.
Mon – nothing much on my bedside, but I tidied and dusted it anyway.
Tues – no cushions either, so I am good there.
Wed – plenty of old makeup to go through, but I will start with tossing every single mascara in the various makeup bags in the drawer. My eyes have been super sensitive for a while now, so if I do decide to try wearing mascara again, it for sure won’t be any of those open ones.
Thur – nothing under the bed (there is only about 2 inches of space, or there might be LOL)
Fri – I donated some necklaces a few weeks ago, but can probably find some more things.
Sat – I have been doing a big purge lately, but can probably find a few less loved work uniform shirts to return to the clothing pool.
Hi Stephanie, I am glad you tidies and dusted even though you had no clutter on those bedside tables. And I am with you on the mascara, I have a sensitivity to it too these days and usually opt not to wear it. And well done on all the other items you found to let go.
Our bedroom is pretty well on track. I will cull a few items from the bed side table and from the walk in wardrobe.
I will tackle the vanities instead.
I will check out my bedside table too.
The issue for me this week? The master bedroom is Mom’s. Need I say more? I would love to go in there and declutter. She will even tell you she has a bunch of items to give away. BUT, she doesn’t want me to go in there and take them out. I told her, “Give me a list and I will deal with it.” Nope! Not going to happen. So I will wait and in the meantime declutter anything I don’t want to take when we move. One good thing that happened over the last week? Mom has decluttered her garden cupboard on the patio and S will be taking it home with her tomorrow. WooHoo!!
Hi Deb, you win some, you lose some. I guess you just have to be happy with that. Frustrated but happy. 😉
M – in or on your bedside table – nose inhaler
T – scatter cushions on your bed – none that I’m ready to let go of
W – out of date makeup and lotions – using it up
T – anything lurking under your bed – nothing under my bed except electric blanket cord
F – costume jewellery that you never use – jingle bell necklace
S – less loved clothing items – green linen jacket