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.
Last week Andréia was telling me what a mess her bedroom us so I set her the challenge to declutter and organise her it. I feel it is important that a bedroom should be a tranquil and restful space that is conducive to a good night sleep. There is no reason why an adult’s bedroom who has full access to the rest of the house to store their clutter should have an untidy bedroom. And since Andréia was getting first hand experience performing this task I also gave her an extra task of coming up with this weeks bedroom clean up mini missions while she was at it. So here is what she came up with.
Monday-Â Pick up all the shoes and put them in their proper place. Leave none scattered around because they get in the way (as you get up at night to go to the bathroom, you might trip). (I dislocated my toe on one on my kids shoes when we stayed in a motel once so don’t underestimate the pain a little shoe can inflict. Colleen)
Tuesday- Gather all the clothes that are out of place, say the ones that are just pilling up on that chair because you wore them once and instead of putting them in the closet or wardrobe decided to leave them there to wear a next time. Except “next time†you didn’t find them, because they were not in their place. So, just put them all away, either back in their places or in the humper of dirty laundry.
Wednesday- Pick up everything that is on the floor. It might be clothes, children’s toys, or whatever has found its way into your bedroom floor and should be somewhere else. Get a basket pick it all up, and if you have the time sort through it, otherwise, leave for the next day.
Thursday-Â You can sort through the basket and put everything away. If you managed to sort through your basket it is time to have a look at your closet, if you have one. If you have a hanger there, with clothes you wore once, and hung there to wear again, and the weather changed (like shorts and it got cold, or a heavy coat and it has been hot), put the piece of clothing in its proper place. Empty the hanger. Pick anything that is on the floor, like some dirty clothing that you just left there and would pick after. Have a look if your clothes are in their proper place and anything that is scattered in your closet should be put in its hanger/box/shelf.
Friday - Time to look at surfaces in the bedroom. If you have a chest of drawers/dresser have a look on its top. A quick look to access if there is anything there that doesn’t belong, and put it away or declutter it. Do the same with your nightstand. If you read before sleeping leave there only the book you are currently reading before sleep. Also put everything that you don’t use at night away. Only leave what has to be there (like medication you have to take/ anything else that you need within your reach immediately when you wake up).
Saturday - If you have a dressing table it is time for it. Look at it and do a quick clearing job taking everything from it that you are either not currently using or that it doesn’t belong there. As this is a mini mission don’t go deep in drawers or boxes, just sort through the surface so you get it reasonable uncluttered. If you have containers with things that you use most get it organized, so that your dressing table looks organized.
Sunday - Make the bed. Have a look around see if anything is out of place and it needs to be put away. Pronto! Now it is time to relax in your bedroom and enjoy all that you have accomplished this week. And tonight you will have a restful place to lay your weary head.
Well done Andréia, with both missions. I bet you now feel far more relaxed when you take one last look around your room before closing your eyes to sleep.
Good luck and happy decluttering
Today’s Declutter Item
Before I started decluttering I was happy to accept any free reusable shopping bags that came my way. As a result I ended up with far more than I needed. I have already decluttered some and here are two more that I felt were excess to my needs. Once again they went off to the thrift store.
Something I Am Grateful For Today
I have had the weekend away visiting relatives while the men of the household went to the Motorbike GP on Phillip Island. We are not home yet but I am sure we are having a great time. The men folk made this pledge to get to the GP this year as for one reason or another it had to be put off the three years before. When we nearly lost our son last years we felt it was time to just do it. So if for nothing else we are grateful to still have our son to take. Hopefully by today we are also grateful that Casey Stoner (Our Aussie Champ) won the race and is now crowned this years world champion. Go Casey.Â
You have a wonderful blog here. I have just started my minimalist journey and have added you to by inspiration blogroll 🙂
Hi Martha,
welcome to 365 Less Things and thank you for your kind words. I went over to have a look at your blog of course and I have to say that The Dreaded Room sure is scary. I wish you all the luck getting it cleared out. What I saw of the rest of your home is beautiful so I am sure you will conquer that room. I suggest a garage sale ASAP to kick things off and then perhaps Craigslist or eBay for what doesn’t go or just donation the leftovers. You will feel a whole lot better when you have repossessed that room.
Thanks for the welcome Colleen. Unfortunately that “dreaded room” is only one of several – it’s a long story but basically I’m dealing with 2 houses, both under renovation and 3 combined households full of stuff. More of my story will unfold as I blog my way through the mess!
Well I wish you luck but am glad not to be you at this time. I am not sure that I would have the patience to build or renovate a home. When we finally buy one to actually live in (as apposed to the two we have own but never lived in) I am hoping the Gods will shine on me and give me exactly what I want so I can just move straight in a not lift a finger. High hopes I know.
Did I miss where you are blogging this journey?
Ouch. Freebies. Still a weak spot. Need to work on that spot too.
Too bad I can’t call my bedroom my bedroom, but, next to my bathroom, it’s the only room I have.
Oh, and I think it is great that to go to the place of your son’s accident: the best way to pick up life is to just get back like before: being scared for certain places is just silly and makes life less easy.
Yep, Casey won! He is an awesome rider, and what a great birthday present for him!
In making room for my father-in-law to move into our home, we are moving my husband’s office into our bedroom. We have been doing major purging, and this week will bring more of the same, with the added stress of my parents coming to visit for a month. eek! I think all the mini missions will get done this afternoon!
Hello Everyone,
OK, I can’t hold off any longer! Maybe 4 months ago (?) I learned of this site and my curiosity & interest were piqued about the process of every day decluttering one item. Soooo, I began totally at the beginning & have been making my way through every post and comment & had thought that I’d wait to write a comment until I was caught up to the present & could then participate with everyone else. But it’s taking too long!
I have to say how much I love this blog & all its commenters. Thank you, Colleen, for your steadfastness in both the decluttering mission and your loyalty to keeping the blog going. And same to you, Cindy! I love both of your writing styles. This site has kept me inspired & I have been decluttering along with everyone else & I can’t tell you what comfort there is in the small commitment of One-a-Day. We’re all like tortoises, steadily trekking towards more peaceful surroundings & spaciousness & freedom in our lives as our True Priorities reveal themselves in what we end up keeping.
OK, I’m going back to July now, & will continue on until I catch up to everybody, but just had to give a shout-out to say thank you to everyone. I feel like I know you all & am rooting for you!
Hi Sumarie,
I am so glad you decided to grace us with your presence sooner rather than later so I get the chance to say welcome to 365 Less Things. I have had many readers that have ploughed all the way back through the archives and am always amazed at their dedication, I know I couldn’t do it. I bet you are glad that I didn’t start writing until day 64 that has cut a few days off the task at least. And thank you so much for your kind words, I am so glad the my blog has been an inspiration in your quest to declutter. Cindy, our commenters and I are all dedicated to helping one another reach our declutter goals and everyone is glad to add their words of advice and wisdom for anyone seeking it. Stick with us and share your wisdom as well, it is always appreciated.
It has been great fun to read through the archives and take note of everybody’s progress. One thing I remember about you early on, Colleen, is how much ironing figured into your day. And then, as more decluttering took place in your household, there was less and less mention of it. (that seemed like an incentive right there!) I wanted to read your blog sequentially because I was so curious to find out what would happen as things moved along — when the year was up would that be it? Obviously not, thankfully!
In my own efforts I find it is definitely true that decluttering has been like the layers of an onion. When the first really bothersome & obvious items are decluttered, then it is much easier to think “what’s next?” And often what’s next is something that initially or at earlier points, I would never have considered but as time goes by it is fine to part with these items. This is the beauty of the “slow and steady” approach.
Hi Sumarie,
first of all the ironing seemed to decrease over time for some reason. I think it was because my husband lost weight and declutter lots of cotton shirts and only kept the easy maintenance once. Woo Hoo for me! Oh and I quit my job, that helped because I feel the work clothes should always be ironed. My son got a job but McDonalds are smart enough to issue uniforms that don’t require ironing. I only seem to iron once every two weeks now and it is only a small pile.
You are so right about the slow and steady approach, soon you are more passionate about decluttering stuff than you are about keeping it so even things you thought you might never get rid of are heading out the door. That is why i am still decluttering because I have taken it further than I ever thought I would.
I must admit, I only *just* found out Casey won (my elderly Greek neighbour told me as I was walking the kids to school, as she watched the race!)
So lovely meeting you yesterday. Hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Melbourne.
🙂 I’m always delighted when there are mini missions I don’t have to do (while others minis unfortunately would be major missions for me …).
I used to struggle with the bedroom while now I usually find it the tidiest room in the apartment. For me a strict set of rules works (something I struggle with in other rooms that get more “thing traffic”) – and a worn clothes dumping ground in form of a clothes rack instead of a chair (no closet for me … and worn clothes back in the wardrobe with the clean ones: bah). Since the chair moved out and the rack (inexpensive and optically inobtrusive Ikea Mulig) moved it I even find my half worn clothes kind of attractive and it hides a stool underneath for smaller items pretty well.
And if you are interested in the bedroom rules:
-Wardrobe doors closed, clean clothes pulled out and then not worn have to go back immediately
-worn but still okay clothes on the clothes rack (if hangable) or on the stool underneath
-no decorative pillows (I just was not disciplined enough to put them back nicely every day so they ended up as clutter in the room)
-one book on the night table instead a stack of books (I did not find the stack ugly or messy but it did not contribute to a calm and relaxed atmosphere so I banned unread books to a dedicated space in the bookshelf)
-a look at the nighttable in the morning if something that does not belong there has landed (a glass, hair thingies, the phone, a magazine …) and put it back which is a two minute routine
– absolutely nothing on the floor (there is not much floor to begin with …) and nothing on the two extra chairs the have to be stored in the bedroom
I guess to tidier people all of this is natural but for me my „unwritten laws” have changed a whole room and making them up and eleminating what prove as my weak points was key. And of course getting rid of things that always were in the way helped a lot 😉
I think the bedroom is an ideal starting point – and you get rewarded for your discipline every evening when you go to bed and every morning when you wake up!
Bedroom? – we-ell, so-so.
But my beef is with those reusable bags we get from (mainly) supermarkets, or shops. Reusable, yes, but as I discovered recently when two died of old age, or over-use, or both: they are NOT recyclable. I still have three, but … that’s it! I’ve just undone the seams on a “dead” bag to use as a pattern, and from here on, I make my own: cotton, so when they finally die, they can go into the compost, and end up as part of our garden! Opinions? …
I really like the idea of making bags that can be composted.
Hi Ann,
Ha to the bags! I too got loaded up with so called ‘RE-CYCLABLE BAGS’ only to find out that they don’t break down properly! Don’t know where you are but I am in Western Australia and we have a Coles and Woolworths here that now sell completely re-cyclable bags, they are cotton and hessian types, they are roomy and strong but when they ‘DIE’ I cut them open via the seams and dig them into the garden beds as a weed mat! They hold the moisture and create a barrier for weeds until they disintergrate, which has taken just over a month to not resemble what it used to look like! I had this particular bag for ages and then the bottom started to wear so I thought I would experiment. Worked a treat so I will definitely use this type again. Now I just have to find a better alternative to the Cooler bags we have here for cold or frozen foods!
As for our bedroom, we have achieved a Zen area in our home, removed from the Master Bedroom are the bedside tables (I found I was filling them with all sorts,) gone are the extra bits of furniture, chairs & bookcase and dresser. We now just have 2 beautiful pictures, our beautiful bed and 2 stand up lamps. The WIR is completely cleared of all clutter, I did buy matching fabric covered boxes to house seasonal clothing that we were keeping to go on the top shelf and to house shoes on the lower shelf (I hate seeing shoes in my wardrobe so this was the best idea for me) and everything looks gorgeous and we have SPACE and ROOM to move and best of all it is RELAXING & PEACEFUL we love it, now just gotta tackle the rest of our house!
Dizzy but spinning less 🙂
Hi Dizzy,
your room sound peaceful and relaxing as it should be.
Hi Ann,
I am with you on this beef. I think they need to have Reusable Bag on them not Recyclable Bag. It is a very deceptive label. I was appalled when I found out this information too but by them I had about a dozen of them most handed out free as promotions. I will not accept them anymore or buy any either. I will do like you and either make my own or buy biodegradable ones in future.
I too was the “proud” owner of a number of these “reusables”, mostly because people dumped books in them for my book fair, some have been freebies. I’ll continue to use up what I have, but I’ve cut five new ones out of cloth I already have (and never got around to using before). If they work well (and I think they will), you just have to know what my Christmas gifts to friends will be, this year. They already have me down as “screwy” about recycling (most only pay lip-service to that “idea”).
This week in the bedroom: looking better, several days to go! Unfortunately, I’ve flared the ankle up again, so the bedroom has me as clutter once more!
Hi Ann,
you better take it easy for a while. You don’t want to undo all the good healing you have already done. I hereby give you the rest of the month off.
Thanks Colleen,
…. but will you come and declutter for me?? (Ha, ha, ha …. loads more still to do, if I claimed “minimalism” my family would laugh!)
This came just as I was getting ready for bed. My room looked less than peaceful. While there was not a ton to clean up there was enough for it to be untidy and rather, well, unrestful. Moments earlier I had been prepared to go to bed with it as it was and hope that in the morning light I could rectify things. As I read through the mini-missions it helped to break things down. For me the whole is always too daunting. When I finished reading the post and knew I had about 15 minutes until it was my turn for the bathroom I suddenly had clarity. I could see those few clothing items I was too tired to put away earlier and realized it was not a big deal. The surface of my desk really only had a few decisions to make to get it organized. There was that bag on the floor which had some items from a seminar I did earlier in the day that was stealing my peace, which all of a sudden could be dealt with. So by the time I could get in to brush my teeth my bedroom had been restored. Thanks, Andréia, for helping me separate the whole so I could look at small areas that took little energy to deal with. I woke up a very pleased in a tranquil room!
Oh this bedroom mini-mission week is awesome. Thank you. 🙂
No thank Andréia, she put it together for me.
About the cloth grocery bags… I find they fall apart far too quickly. I am implimenting the “natural selection” strategy with these… as they fall apart I’m not in a hurry to replace them… more always seem to come along before long. The hardest part with these “eco” bags is remembering to put them back in my trunk after I’ve unloaded the weeks’ groceries!
Hi Creative Me,
do what I do and put them away immediately. Although we took them out before going to the airport on the weekend and when I got to the grocery store yesterday I didn’t have them. I did what I used to do to get myself in the habit of remembering them. I loaded all the groceries back into the cart as I checked out piled them all in the trunk and then but them in the bags that were sitting in the garage to get them into the house. Luckily I had my one trusty purse bag which held about a third of what I bought so it wasn’t too much of a task. There is no way I was taking plastic bags though.
I think the bedroom is the IDEAL place to start with decluttering/minimizing. In an ideal world I would have a bed and a bedside reading table with a small lamp on it — that’s it — ALL the clothes would be in the closet, dresser stuff and all. But my reality is a rather small room (not a problem in itself) and a rather small closet too, so no choices for the dresser(s). Sharing the room with my darling hubby means we need room for both our things.
Now that you mention it though, I could approach my room with the angle of horizontal surface clearing. See what life is like without grown-up throw pillows on the bed, see what it feels like with no jewelry box on the dresser, that sort of thing…. there is always room for improvement in the room you should be spending 8 hours a day subconsciously enjoying!
Hi Creative Me,
where there’s a will there’s a way.