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.

By Nicole V

The “Little House” series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder is much-loved by many across the world, with over 60 million copies sold in more than 100 countries. The heart-warming stories of the Ingalls family – Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie and their dog Jack – offer a fascinating look at America’s frontier past, and have been translated into more than 30 languages.

The “Little House in the Big Woods” novel was first published in 1932, making this classic 84 years of age, and I thought that that in itself was as good a reason as any to incorporate a small slice of “Little House” into the mini missions for this week.

For those of you who are familiar with the series, you would probably remember that in the novel, Ma Ingalls had a specific chore for each day of the week:

“Wash on Monday. Iron on Tuesday. Mend on Wednesday. Churn on Thursday. Clean on Friday. Bake on Saturday. Rest on Sunday.”

This week’s missions will draw inspiration from her list, with a few adjustments to reflect our current lifestyles. So let’s get down to it, shall we?

Monday – Declutter something relating to your laundry routine or from your laundry room or area. It could be an item of clothing or linens, etc.

Tuesday – Declutter something relating to the chore of ironing or, by extension, any electrical equipment. If ironing is not on your to-do list, then declutter something relating to a hobby or any pastime that you enjoy.

Wednesday – Declutter something from your sewing kit or any clothing, curtains, linens, rags, yarn, etc. You could also declutter something that’s beyond repair.

Thursday – Since most of us would no longer need to churn our own butter, we’ll focus on the business aspect of “churn” – declutter something related to the Internet or other media, or something related to your office (including a home office), or any work that you do.

Friday – Declutter any cleaning equipment or item or something that you no longer want to dust or clean or to clean around. Or declutter something that will make any room or area in your home look clean and streamlined once it’s gone.

Saturday – Declutter anything related to cooking or baking. This could be anything from your kitchen, pantry, fridge, or any food preparation or storage area.

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

I received an email from an elementary school teacher, Rose Ann, a while back who needs help with keeping stuff under control in the classroom. Or maybe she even collects the stuff and keeps it around the house for when she needs it in class. She really didn’t elaborate on that. But I digress. As I have little experience in classrooms these days I would like any elementary/primary school teachers, who might be reading, to share their experience on how they keep their school supplies under control. Here is her email.

“Teachers save way too many things all the time. Do you have any suggestions to apply the Monday Missions for teachers? Especially elementary school teachers!”

As mini missions are meant to be useful to most readers, doing one especially for teaches may not be a helpful to the biggest majority of us. Which is why I have put this request to you in this post. Also, maybe some of you, who aren’t teachers, teacher’s aids or classroom volunteers, might know a teacher… who you could ask some advice from and post it here in the comments.

I know a nanny whose best friend is a teacher who I believe is very organised so I will send her an email to see if she could get some advice.

The funny thing about this request is that more often than not most teachers, at least that I have ever had contact with, are always on the scrounge form supplies because they never have enough. So I guess Ross Ann is fortunate that she has this problem. However, when supply problems are sporadic it can result in the act of saving every little thing all the time just in case of those times of scarcity. And I am sure this is indeed the problem that Rose Ann is referring to.

I guess one of the ways to avoid this is to set in place an efficient system whereby a teacher can call for help with acquiring supplies when needed, therefore eliminating the need to hoard for lean times. Just like depression era people continued to do long after the problem had passed. My best advice on is to establish a list of email address, each year, of all the students parent. Add to that list all the friends and family you can rely on for help and when needed send out the call and I am sure lots of people will step up.

So please if you have any advice for Rose Ann come forward.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

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.

Ok, so we are all over Christmas and are raring and ready to go with this years decluttering. So where to begin. Anywhere will do so long as you are doing it. But in case you are lacking in imagination here are a few places to start looking.

Monday – Declutter something from any drawer in your house.

Tuesday – Declutter something from the basement, garage, attic or shed.

Wednesday – Declutter something from a kitchen cabinet.

Thursday – Declutter something from your closet. And that doesn’t have to be clothes.

Friday – Declutter something in the living room.

Saturday – Declutter something in your linen or storage closet.

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

Take your own bag when you go shopping. It is amazing how much plastic that saves over a period of time.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

I loved this comment by NF. It touches on many aspects of what and why to declutter items. It also makes me feel very good about creating and running this blog. It also makes me feel so grateful to all my wonderful readers who contribute so much to the conversation. My presence here at the blog isn’t what it had been in the past, however, with the wonderful conversations that go on, without any help from me, I don’t have to work so hard. The conversation is the biggest part of what the blog is now, so once again thank to everyone who adds there special presence here.

NF’s comment

I have enjoyed reading and applying all the decluttering advice given since I subscribed to this newsletter. I’m sitting here, 1PM, on 1/2/16 with 5 garbage bags and 2 boxes of “stuff” I haven’t used in many moons. I do this about once a month. In 2015, I lost weight so I went through all my clothes and kept the ones that fit and looked good. I have not replaced my larger clothes, so everything fits in one closet. I got rid of what I call “floaters”. These are decorative knick knacks that I dust and move around and never really pay much attention to until I have to clean them( no real sentimental value). I went to mostly paperless billing, payroll and bill paying, so my paper clutter is almost nil. I went to smaller kitchen appliances that suit the needs of two people and only kept others that I use consistently. If they don’t fit in a cupboard, out they go. I stopped buying so much food. I can see my refrigerator shelves, throw almost nothing out and can actually see what I have in my pantry(this was rough as I was raised to have as much in the larder as could possibly fit…depression era parent mentality, I guess). I’ve accomplished so much in 2015, so I’m going to keep going. I’ve got to get my husband on board, though. He used to throw out everything, now he keeps everything and if he can’t find something that we already have, he’ll buy it again,(Christmas wrapping paper, spices and condiments are the main culprits). Maybe I’ll wrap up the aforementioned overstocked food and gift it next year! Enough rambling, thanks all so much and keep posting the great ideas.

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.

Well the new year has begun and lets start it out with our first set of missions. So what shall be our theme this week. I’d like to give it a German theme since that is very much the focus of my life at the moment. Well at least I will use German words for this week. I think decluttering is much the same for most people in modern countries these days. Too much of everything is a common theme. So lets get started. Zeug is the word for stuff in German so lets focus on that.

Monday – Das Spielzeug (The toy) ~ Now there is a fun word both in sound and in the meaning. I am sure anyone with Kinder (children) or Enkelkinder (grandchildren) will likely have some old toys the kids don’t use much anymore. Especially as Christmas has just come and gone. Time to declutter those.

Tuesday – Das Werkzeug (The tool) ~ Declutter any tools that aren’t used often enough to warrant keeping.

Wednesday – Das Fahrzeug (The vehicle) ~ Time to declutter all that stuff that has built up in your car. Whether it needs tossing or just putting back where it belongs.

Thursday – Das Flugzeug (The aeroplane) ~ If you have items related to travel that haven’t been used in a long time, even though you have indeed been travelling, then maybe they are excess to your needs and it is time to declutter them.

Friday РDie M̦bel (The Furniture) ~ Declutter any bits of furniture that you no longer need. Pieces that once held stuff you no longer own or that stuff, you used to dust, once rested on. I still have one at my house that my son wants. It is about time he came and got it.

Saturday – Der Stoff (The Fabric) ~ declutter something made from fabric that you no longer need. This one should be easy because so many things are made from fabric of one kind or another.

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

Happy New Year to all my wonderful blog readers, old and new, may it be a wonderful year for you with less clutter, less stuff to take care of, and more time to do with what you like.

After all that is what you had in mind right, when you googled ‘Less Things’ in the first place and found your way here. And the new year is a good a time to get starting on the less things journey. Oddly enough that is kind of how I got started with my decluttering in the first place. I resolved to be beat the odds of failing at sticking to a new years resolution. Reportedly most people have given up on their promises to themselves by the third of January and fallen back into their old ways. When I learned that, I wanted to beat the odds and chose to declutter a thing each day for a year as my resolution. Needless to say I stuck with it and not only beat the odds but also made my home a more organised, comfortable, easier to maintain space than it had ever been.

So lets make this years resolution to not be a loser. Lets beat the odds and show the world, and more importantly yourself, that you are a winner who has the ability to succeed in what you aim to achieve. And the subject of that challenge will be to declutter your home. That could be, like I did, to set aside something to declutter everyday or to set a goal for the year to remove X amount of things.

So good luck all you practiced and budding declutterers out there and my they change on December 31 this year to the 1st of January next year find your homes looking and feeling good.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Each of us has a different day when we clean up all the decorations from the holidays.  One thing we all do though is repack and stash away everything.  This is a great time to declutter.  We have a great opportunity to look at each item and decide:

1. Did we use it this time?
2. Does it need repair or a toss into the trash?
3. Do we like it?
4. Do we want to change our style/color? 
5. Has our life changed in a way that requires our decorating to change?

Now is the time to declutter all of those holiday items you no longer need taking up space in your home.  Things like decorations, ornaments, decorative paper plates or napkins, towels, tablecloths, and duplicates of salt and pepper shakers or serving pieces.  I’m sure there are more items you can think of.  How about holiday books or magazines for: cooking, decorating, or crafts. 

This year we are going to be decluttering many things because we will be moving.  We will have two households but fewer places to display items.  Mom is not even sure she wants to decorate other than maybe a wreath on her door.  I will probably keep the small tree we have but not many other things.  If I could find a metal tree I really like I may get one to put the ornaments on because they are what I treasure.

Share with us your stories of decluttering as you clear away after the holiday season.

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.

And so it is Christmas and what have we done ~ a whole lot of decluttering this year, that’s what. So I think it is time for a break and this weeks missions are based on that. You can either do Part A of each mission or Part B, it is entirely up to you. I will be focusing on Part A. Have a very happy holiday everyone, no matter which, if any, you are celebrating. And we’ll chat again in the New Year.

Monday – Declutter  A. Something chocolate, or B. Something that begins with the letter C.

Tuesday – Declutter A. Something edible with mixed fruit in it, or B. something that begins with the letter F.

Wednesday - Declutter A. Some wine or other alcoholic beverage, or B. something that begins with the letter W.

Thursday – Declutter A. Some gingerbread, or B. Declutters something beginning with the letter G.

Friday - Declutter A. Declutter some Turkey or other edible cooked bird (Tofurky roast for the vegetarians among us) or B. Declutter something that begins with the letter T.

Saturday - Declutter A. Something cluttering up your fridge, such as that carton of eggnog (For extra decluttering effort my daughter-in-law suggests adding a shot of spiced rum to that), or B. Declutter something that begins with the letter E.

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

Looking for some last minute gift ideas?  Ideas which won’t clutter your friend’s and family’s home and will be happily received?  Here are a few consumable gift ideas from myself, Deb J and Idgy of the North.

Moni’s Lemon Honey (also known as Lemon Curd)
3 eggs
1 Teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 Cup Sugar
½ Cup Lemon Juice
50 grams butter

 Melt butter in a 2 litre microwave proof container.  Add rest of the ingredients and stir.  Microwave on high for 8 minutes.  Allow to cool then pour into hot dry jars.  Seal when cool.  Note: this recipe won’t work if doubled.

 Idgy’s Whipped Shortbread

1 cup butter (do not use margaine)
½ cup icing sugar
1½ cups flour

Cream butter and sugar.  Add flour and beat for 10 minutes.  Drop from small spoon onto cookie sheet.  Decorate with maraschino cherry pieces if you wish.  Bake at 350 F for about 10-12 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned.  Makes about 3 dozen small cookies.  Note:  This recipe doubles well.

Deb J’s Mocha Truffles    (Yield: about 5 ½ dozen)

 3 ½ cups semi sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 package (8 ounces) softened cream cheese
3 tablespoons of instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons water
1 pound of dark chocolate confectionery coating
 IN a microwave-safe bowl melt chocolate chips.  Add cream cheese, coffee and water; mix well.  Chill until firm enough to shape.  Shape into 1-in balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.  Chill for 1-2 hours or until firm.  Melt chocolate coating in microwave-safe bowl or double boiler.  Dip balls and place on waxed paper to harden.  Note 1: When shaping the balls, take only small amounts out of the refrigerator at a time so they will be easy to shape and not becoming warm and sticky.  Note 2: We melt small amounts of coating at a time because it hardens quickly.  We also take out a few of the mocha balls at a time because they are harder to cover with the coating when a little warm.  Note 3: Truffles can be frozen for several months before dipping in chocolate.  Thaw in the refrigerator before dipping.  They can also be frozen after dipping and thawed in the refrigerator.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

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.

Since Nicole is so good at coming up with amusing and inspiring mini mission I am dedicating this week’s missions to her in the way of an acrostic poem. I have to say that although I was a little cheeky with one mission it was very hard not to use a lot of funny adjectives to describe Nicole. However I don’t know her all that well, except the side she shows to us here through he post, but all but one of the words seem to fit. Enjoy everyone and especially you Nicole.

Monday – NICE ~ Declutter something you don’t love, need or use even though it is nice.

Tuesday – INCREDIBLE ~ Declutter something that was incredibly difficult to part with in the past but that you now have the strength to let go.

Wednesday – COLOURFUL – Declutter something colourful.

Thursday – ODD (Ha ha, just had to throw that one in for fun) ~ Declutter something left over from a set. For example – An odd sock, the last of a set of broken glasses or crockery… Or just something in your house you think is odd. Perhaps you have a hideous sweater that someone “generously” knitted for you.

Friday – LOVELY – Declutter something that a lovely person gave you but you never really wanted.

Saturday – ENTERTAINING ~ Declutter something used for entertaining. This could be anything for CDs and DVDs to a serving platter you no longer use.

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