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 do some reluctant decluttering. That is, to declutter some things that you don’t really want or use but you keep avoiding letting go off for one reason or another. Don’t allow them to waste space in your home any longer.

Monday – Declutter an unwanted gift that you have been keeping out of obligation.

Tuesday – Declutter a spare thing-a-me-jig that you have been keeping just in case.

Wednesday – Declutter an item of clothing that no longer fits but you have kept just in case you return to that size.

Thursday – Declutter something you have kept just because you have the room for it but don’t love it or use it.

Friday – Declutter something you have set aside to sell but haven’t gotten around to it. Either sell it now or give it away.

Saturday – Declutter a portion of your hobby supplies that you haven’t utilised on a project but have owned for a long time.

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

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 weeks mini missions are all about bringing your attention to items that have a tendency to unnecessarily build up, be decluttered and build up again. I made that sound like this happens without our being responsible for it but we all know that we are. We succumb to the temptation to replace perfectly serviceable items with something new whether we need it or not. Lets see how many of these items you can find to declutter in your home. But more than that, become aware that you are doing this and consider a change in this behaviour from here on.

I am not going to mention clothing or shoes in this list because that would be the most obvious choice for this category. However give some thought to your habits in this area and consider what you might do to improve on your initial choices that might help help avert this happening in the future.

Monday – Declutter a decor item that has been stashed away out of sight. ~ Do you find yourself refreshing your decor with an endless parade of decorator items. I would suggest displaying meaningful/sentimental items rather than hiding them away in a closet somewhere. You will be less inclined to dismiss and replace them so easily.

Tuesday – Declutter any pet toys that are overabundant in your home.  ~ Do you buy a new toy to amuse you pet with on a regular basis when their old toys are still in reasonable condition. Slowly they build up and then you find yourself throwing away the oldest or less loved items whether they are worn out or not. Think of the money you could save.

Wednesday – Declutter excess bath towels and in future only replace them when they wear out ~ Judging from many of the linen closets I encounter, during visiting friends and relatives, I would say the people generally replace towels on a far too regular basis. Not because they are no longer capable of the task of drying but simply because they are considered decor items that are to be replaced when tired of.

Thursday – Declutter any kitchen utensils or gadgets that you don’t use often enough to warrant keeping. ~ Who isn’t on the lookout for something that can make our workload lighter. When it comes to the home the kitchen is a major source of this focus. The problem is that many of the gadgets on the market don’t live up to their promise to lighten that load. The utensils drawer ends up with three different styles of peelers, can openers, potato mashers etc and the shelves are packed with all manner of electric gadgets. I must say that some credit has to be given to anyone who still believes on home cooking rather than caving into buying, not always healthy, prepared meals, but be sceptical about the usefulness or such gadgets.

Friday – Declutter any stationery items that are overstocked in your home. Especially if they were purchased for their novelty factor. Cute pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, thumb tacks, paperclips etc. ~ You may think this is an odd thing to suggest but you might be surprised at how often inexpensive items such as these are purchased when they aren’t needed.

Saturday – Declutter any children’s toys that are neglected, broken or perhaps never were enjoyed.~ Children don’t need more and more toys they need to be left to use their imaginations with a smaller selection. And they aren’t a substitute for quality time spent with parents and friends. If you find it necessary to allocate a room in your home just to store toys then you most likely have too many.

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

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.

This week our mini mission theme is all about how little time need take to declutter one thing a day. In fact you could combine all of the following missions into your daily routine and not even notice the effort or time used to achieve quite a bit of decluttering. I will share with you six short waiting periods where you can find a few minutes to achieve some decluttering.

Monday – While waiting for the kettle to boil, the coffee to brew or between cooking steps, use that time to find something to declutter in the kitchen.

Tuesday – While brushing your teeth open your peruse your toiletries and/or make-up in your bathroom and declutter something that you no longer use or is out of date.

Wednesday – While watching something on commercial television jump up in the ad time and find something to declutter in your living room. Perhaps go grab a handful of DVDs, go through a coffee or side table drawer or perhaps you have a pile of magazines near your chair that you could sort through and find something to declutter.

Thursday -Grab a file of paper that needs sorting and take care of that while watching television. You could also use this time to sort printed photos.

Friday – If you are ready ahead of time to go out for work or leisure use that spare few minutes to sort through a drawer anywhere in your house.

Saturday - When you have been sitting for a long time at home, are bored with what you are doing or a just need a break form something you have been working on for a long period, get up and have a wonder around the house and find something to declutter. I do something similar all the time. Often when I am writing my blog posts and I am stuck, I get up and find things that are out of place and put them away. This way nothing is ever out of place for long and the rambling through the house is an opportunity to stretch my legs. 

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

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 weeks missions are designed to give you a little practice at ways of getting rid of your stuff. You may already be an expert at all of them or perhaps you have tried one or two, however this week why not give them all a try. Half the fun will be digging out an appropriate items for each mission and the other half will be testing your success with the method.

Monday – Give something away to a friend, family member or work colleague.

Tuesday – Put something into the recycling bin.

Wednesday – Throw something, that is beyond useful to anyone, into the trash.

Thursday – Put something aside to donate to charity.

Friday – Put something out on the street, in your apartment foyer or in the staff room at work with a FREE sign on it. It is always fun to see how quickly this method works.

Saturday - Sell something by any method appropriate for you. On-line, to a friend, family member or work colleague, through an auction house, consignment store, local notice board, garage sale, flea market or any method possible.

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

Let your fingers do the walking. When there is something you need to shop for, phone ahead to make sure the store has what you are after rather than making a wasted trip. Every small amount of petroleum product saved is a good thing.

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.

I don’t talk much about organisation here at 365 Less Things. That is because I have found that once the clutter is gone things naturally end up in their logical position. However sometimes there are areas of our homes that need constant maintenance or even rearranging and/or decluttering to stay efficiently functional. This weeks mission will reflect areas of my home that I find I have to keep an eye on so they don’t get out of hand. And of course a little decluttering in these areas will make the job easier. Sometimes the decluttering is 90% of the task.

Monday – Declutter and organise the messiest drawer in your home. My craft drawers are the ones the get messed up because of all the experimenting I do craft wise. I keep the catering to these experiments limited but never the less I sometimes have to decide what is working for me and what isn’t and declutter and rearrange in the appropriate drawers on a regular basis.

Tuesday – Declutter and rearrange the work bench and tool chest. Most homes have a place to store the home maintenance gear. And typical when catering to home maintenance, hardware comes in multiples and these can mound up or not get put away when a task is done. This area isn’t too messing in our home, even though we have been doing lots of little home tasks of late. But a little tidying and tweaking never goes astray.

Wednesday – Declutter and reorganise the cupboard under the kitchen sink. This is one area of my home that I haven’t really sorted out properly since we moved in. It is about time I made a little more effort here, more in the organising than the decluttering but never-the-less it needs doing and I have what I need to get on with the task.

Thursday – If your transition point is getting a little cluttered like mine, perhaps it is time you make a trip to the thrift shop to unload all those decluttered items. I went on Wednesday as usual to do my shift and forgot to take my load of donation. Or should I say my kids donations which most of it is. I must remember it this week, along with all the upcycling I have been doing for the shop. That has been fun but I will be glad to clear it out of my spare bedroom.

Friday – As mentioned above I am still decluttering for my kids. They drop it off to me and I take it to the thrift shop. You on the other hand may still have kids at home. Now, as the season begin to change, is a good time to start taking a look in their closets to see if there are clothing items that no longer fit. Doing a little tidying up in there at the same time would also be wise. Know what they have that still fits for the coming season will help you to no go out buying things they don’t need and recluttering all over again.

Saturday – This next mission is a tip I refashioned from a kids holiday entertainment ideas helpful hint. Perhaps you can instigate it at your home today. Get yourself a jar, then when you encounter items not quite ready to be decluttered (clothes getting tatty, kids clothes almost outgrown, fabric décor items getting grubby or tattered, toys too young for your kids, something you don’t think is being used that you are keeping your eye on ~ that sort of thing) write down the thought on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. When you are struggling to find your thing a day to declutter, pull a note out of the jar and perhaps that will jog your memory of something that can now be eliminated. If this tip doesn’t appeal to you perhaps just declutter one of the items I just mentioned.

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

Drive smoothly and steadily rather than speeding up too quickly and braking erratically. One uses up petrol and the other wears out your brake pads. Both are wasteful and costly.

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.

This week’s missions are unrelated, aside from all intended to achieve less clutter in your home. So use your imagination and see if you can find something for each mission.

Monday – Declutter something you only keep because you paid a lot for it.

Tuesday – Declutter something that you keep as a backup for something else but isn’t expensive to replace.

Wednesday –  Return something that belongs to someone else.

Thursday – Declutter something from your past that doesn’t add any value to your life now.

Friday – Declutter something that you just haven’t used in a long time. Perhaps some sort of craft item that you imagined you could create something wonderful with but haven’t. Or perhaps a kitchen item that never was overly useful.

Saturday – Declutter something you received for free that isn’t beautiful or useful to you.

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

Don’t leave lights on when rooms are unoccupied. It takes but a flick of a switch to achieve illumination and you’ll cope in the dark until that can be achieved.

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.

The missions this week are inspired by the idea that clutter trouble your mind. There are so many ways in which this happens. The question is why hang on to stuff that causes you mental unrest. Best to just let it go and free yourself of the stress. So this week we will be searching  our homes for items that cause as metal stress and getting rid of it. There is enough stuff we must do that causes us stress so why add to it unnecessarily.

Monday – Aspiration ~ Declutter an item the represents something you feel you should get around to do that isn’t necessary. Craft supplies, mending, long ignored recreational activities…

Tuesday – Unhappy Memories ~ Declutter an item that brings you unnecessary feelings of sadness whenever you lay eyes on it.

Wednesday – Obligation ~ Declutter something you don’t want that you feel you should keep for someone else’s sake outside of your home. If they really care for you I am sure they wouldn’t want to cause you this stress.

Thursday – Work ~ Declutter unnecessary items that cause you effort to maintain. Effort such as dusting, polishing, cleaning around and under.

Friday – Obstruction ~ Declutter excess items that get in the way of more important items. This is best represented in cluttered drawers, files, closets etc that cause you wasted time locating the useful among the redundant.

Saturday – Waste ~ Start a use it up challenge on an item that is likely to spoil if it doesn’t get used up soon.

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

Encourage family, friends and anyone who will listen to refuse, reuse, recycle and reduce.

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.

By the time this post goes to air I will be at my friends house continuing with the declutter and settling in process post her move the a new address. This weeks missions are fashioned on decluttering tasks I have in mind while I am with her. So buckle up and get your decluttering pants on. I will however leave the craft items out of this weeks mission although that will be my major task. I pick on them often enough.

Monday – Declutter the messiest most cluttered drawer in your home. if you have one that is. If not perhaps you have some other small, messy, cluttered space you could attend to.

Tuesday – Declutter excess notebooks and stationery to a local school even if they are used.

Wednesday - Go through your pens and markers to determine if there are any that no longer work. Declutter the useless ones.

Thursday – Work on a collection of similar items so that you might be able to eliminate the excess and reduce the size container/piece of furniture they take are housed in. (I said I wouldn’t bring crafts into this weeks missions but craft is an area where I hope to achieve this this week. In fact I am hoping to eliminate one or even two small wheeled storage carts in the process.)

Friday – Sort through your everyday household tools and declutter any duplicates. This means the array of tools you keep handy such as screwdrivers,  measuring tapes, sockets, spanners, pliers, hammers etc. Some may just need to be returned to the garage or shed while others are truly excess.

Saturday – Declutter some of those souvenirs or memorabilia items that really are excess to what you need to provoke memories of those precious or fun times. One or two per event is OK but boxes and boxes for the stuff is just space wasting.

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

Turn lights off unless you are in the room even if you are only leaving for a few minutes. There is very little effort involved.

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.

Hi readers, it is Sunday night and I am exhausted. I have sent since Friday lunch time help a friend declutter and prepare for a move on Wednesday. We have also been packing up and moving her personal items. I have to say she has been very cooperative with the decluttering and we have donated and thrown away two and a half SUV loads of stuff. Suffice to say this weeks mission will focus on some of the areas of difficulty that she faced. I am hoping most of you are past this phase but such items emerge even well into out declutter missions so I will go ahead anyway.

Monday – Declutter a few sentimental items that you have no use or love for. Giving such items away doesn’t mean you disrespect the sentiment behind the item it just means you have no need for the item itself.

Tuesday – Declutter something a loved one gave you that you don’t need and is just collection dust. This doesn’t mean you don’t love the person just not the item.

Wednesday – Declutter some items that are past their used by date. This could be make-up, lotions, perfume, medications, adhesives that have dried up, food items…

Thursday – Declutter some more of that old paperwork that builds up if you aren’t looking.

Friday – Declutter kitchen gadgets that weren’t so useful.

Saturday – Declutter something you have an overabundance of.

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

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.

Hello, it’s Monday again and we all know what that means. And what can we take care of with our mini missions this week. I think we might put a number on this weeks missions, and that number is five. Of course you can go over or under five if you discover you find you have fewer or more of an item when you check. But the more the better I always say. So go in search of the items I have mentioned below and see if you can come up with any. My husband took care of the cables on the weekend. We have no magazines, very few books and no excess of any of the other things listed. So it looks like I am going to have an easy week. How will you fare.

Monday – Declutter five electrical cables that seem to multiply when you aren’t looking.

Tuesday – Declutter five food items that have been in your pantry for a while by making meals out of them this week.

Wednesday – Declutter five magazines that you had saved to reference later but so have never have.

Thursday – Declutter five grooming items. Excess razor handles, unused hair brushes, worn out nail files, products…

Friday – Declutter five books from that over full bookcase.

Saturday – Declutter five dust collectors that you aren’t in love with.

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

Share and borrow between friends and family rather than everyone owning/buying everything.

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