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.

In light of all the items that are laying in piles on my living room floor at the moment ~ clutter items that my husband has been collecting up over the weekend ~ I have decided this week’s mini missions will centre on the thoughts going through my head right now as I look at these items individually.

Monday – Declutter something that is intended to be on display but hasn’t seen the light of day in years. In our case this is a Chinese ink drawing of a tiger. My husband asked if we are ever likely to display it in the house. I said “We haven’t in the last 25 years so what are the chances that is going to change any time soon!”.

Tuesday – Declutter something you got for free. From my vantage point on the sofa I can see a baseball park giveaway, a coffee mug from an aeroplane manufacturer, various toiletry items from a recent international flight and a souvenir from a foreign military establishment. Some of these have been around for quite a some time while others have infiltrated my clutter defences just recently. Hmmmmmm!!!

Wednesday – Declutter an old piece of equipment, possibly work related from days gone by.

Thursday – Declutter some items of clothing that no longer suit the climate you live in or just don’t fit anymore.

Friday – Declutter old VHS tapes. If you haven’t already converted them to a modern digital form then the chances are you never will. Especially if you don’t watch them anyway or even own a VCR.

Saturday – Get rid of something sentimental especially if you have a lot of it. Seriously you don’t have to own something to remind you of every event or period in your life. If it wasn’t significant enough to remember without a prompt then it probably isn’t worth remembering. And if you never look at these items anyway then what is the point. If you feel you need a visual prompt then take a digital photo of it and store that on your hard-drive.

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

Today’s Declutter Item

More craft materials out the door in the form on another Etsy sale.

Eco Tip for the Day

Switch from using throwaway batteries to rechargeable ones. When purchasing battery operated items take the size and quantity of batteries into account when deciding which item to buy.

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 think it is time again for a roundup of similar items that have somehow ended up all over the house. If you are a very organised person you may be able to take the week off. But if you or your family members tend not to put thing back where they belong then it is time for a little roundup. I will name a certain category of items and you can do a search and gather mission to bring them back together on one place again.

Monday – Roundup all the little tools that are scattered throughout your home. Once together declutter any excess.

Tuesday - Roundup all pens and pencils that are scattered throughout your home. Once together declutter any excess.

Wednesday - Roundup all your kids toys that are scattered throughout your home. Once together declutter any excess.

Thursday - Roundup all reading materials that are scattered throughout your home. Once together declutter any excess.

Friday - Roundup all the grooming product and tools that are scattered throughout your home. Once together declutter any excess.

Saturday - Roundup all the electronic cables that are scattered throughout your home. Once together declutter any excess.

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

Today’s Declutter Item

More Photos

Eco Tip for the Day

Grazing animals crate a lot of methane adding to our carbon footprint. When it comes to meals try having a meatless day at least once a week.

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 main guiding principal behind 365 less things is to let go slowly, starting with the easy stuff. It can be daunting enough to get started on this journey so why scare yourself off by trying to get rid of the difficult things first. This principal applies even if you’re a long way into your journey. My experience is that the further you go the more things you find that you never considered parting with before. Therefore at every point along the way there are things you are more willing to let go of than others. So the mini missions this week are designed to help you refocus on weeding out the easy stuff to part with so decluttering doesn’t seem so difficult.

Monday – Declutter something that you no longer use and really never needed in the first place. (Gadgets of any kind, tools, Things you have too many of…)

Tuesday – Declutter something that you bought for yourself which no longer suites your style. (An accessory item, a trinket, scatter cushions, clothing item…)

Wednesday – Declutter something that can be recycled or repurposed by someone else. (Newspapers, magazines, old sheets, old pillows, old towels, bicycle parts, pieces of timber or metal…)

Thursday – Declutter something of little value that you think you might have a use for some day. If you haven’t used it for some time the chances are you never will have a need for it and if you do you could either borrow or buy one. Hint ~ Be realistic about the difference between need and want.

Friday – Declutter an object that has a specific purpose that could easily be performed with another more versatile item. Kitchen gadgets are an easy target for this mission.

Saturday – Find 10 minute to go through one hanging file in your filing cabinet. Just One! Shred and recycle the papers that need not be retained. The idea of doing the whole cabinet is likely to be paralysing in nature but one small section isn’t so daunting. Am I right? Perhaps next week you could do another small section ~ “rinse and repeat” ~ and before you know it the whole thing will be clutter free. I am using this method on my vast collection of photos.

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

Today’s Declutter Item

I know what you are all thinking ~ ‘What more baseball stuff!!!!?’. There was a lot of it at the start and I am sure you will be seeing more but there is a lot less now than there used to be. I am satisfied with that.

Yet More Baseball Collectables

Eco Tip for the Day

Why not engage your eco friendly habits in your work place. Scout around to find ways to save water and electricity while at work. Suggest changes to you boss and coworkers. Don’t be deterred if your ideas are met with rejection just do what you can do and hopefully others might follow suit in their own time.

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 at 365 Less Things we are launching a preemptive strike on the Christmas/holiday season. Time to do some pre-holiday decluttering and organising so when you break out those decorations, the guests arrive and the presents are opened, there is enough room to accommodate them. The more organised you are now the smoother the days will run when you are truly in the thick of it.

Monday -Start getting the guest room ready. Declutter any obvious excess stuff in there to make it comfortable for those coming to stay. Make arrangement to borrow extra bedding if necessary for any overflow.

Tuesday -Study my uncluttered gift giving guides here and here to help you find uncluttering gift for your loved ones and to make suggestion of uncluttering gifts for yourself should anyone ask.

Wednesday -Have the, perhaps dreaded, conversation with the grandparents about giving gifts of experiences or at least not so many material gifts to your children so your home isn’t overrun with toys.

Thursday -Declutter the kids toy area to make room for the inevitable influx of new fun things. Regardless of how much you manage to contain the influx you will still need room. Kid will be kids and it is there job to have fun.

Friday - If, like me, you are decluttering your craft supplies now is the time to make your holiday/Christmas cards if you haven’t done so already.

Saturday - Start having a “use it up” declutter of the freezer. Eat through all those double ups and half eaten packages so that there is plenty of space for the holiday food.

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

Today’s Declutter Item

Handmade (by me) Jewellery Piece

Eco Tip for the Day

Using electricity off-peak doesn’t save electricity but it can lessen the strain at peak times which can result in a reduced necessity to  increase infrastructure.

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 I am focusing the mini missions around items that maybe aren’t so easy for you to let go of. These missions are not physically challenging because as usual the effort of collecting and setting the item aside once chosen takes but a matter of minutes. We can usually identify these items easily enough. The challenge of course is the deciding whether or not to let them go but this is something you can be thinking over as you go about your other daily tasks. For each mission I will include a link to a previous post that may be helpful in your decision making process. Good luck and happy decluttering.

Monday – Declutter a sentimental item that, if you are honest with yourself, you never pay any attention to.

Tuesday – Declutter something you are only keeping out of guilt because it cost you much more than it proved useful to you. That is you paid a lot for something and now you feel obliged to keep it even though you hardly if ever use it.

Wednesday – Declutter something you are only keeping because you feel obliged to because it was given to you by someone else.

Thursday – Declutter something that you have aspired to making use of for a long time but never have.

Friday – Declutter something you keep for security reasons. That is simply because you fear you might need it or wish it back someday. Letting go is also about letting go of the falsehood that you ever needed them in the first place.

Saturday – Declutter a part of a set, group or collection of items where you use or enjoy some pieces but not others. Here is a post from Cindy that explains what I mean but it doesn’t give any advice on how to convince yourself to let go. I can assure you though that I have done this several times over the last couple of years and I have never regretted it once.

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.

Today’s Declutter Item

Today’s decluttered items and the solution to Saturday’s “What am I?” quiz is a Tupperware mustard dispenser. Jane, who left the first guess was the closest to the mark I believe. She said “Institutional-size mustard container?”. She had the mustard container part right. Many other said was it a soap dispenser which in a way is also right because it has been used for that purpose at one point.

Tupperware Mustard Dispenser

Eco Tip for the Day

As adults it is our job to teach our children to conserve power and water. If you raise your children with good habits now conservation will come naturally to them when they become the adults themselves.

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.

Today’s Declutter Item
Rubber Stamps

How about getting the men folk on board with this week’s mini missions. Or if you are a man reading this, and I do hope there are at least a few of you out there, then finally you get a set of mini missions tailored just for you. However in this modern age these missions really are somewhat unisex so if you are reading this and have no man about the house I think you will find them easy to follow yourself.

Monday – Declutter a tool that never gets used.

Tuesday – Declutter an electronic gadget or parts there of.

Wednesday – Declutter a book.

Thursday – Declutter a shirt, pair of trousers or jacket that you no longer fit or like to wear.

Friday – Declutter something leisure related. Perhaps some sporting equipment, fishing gear or hobby supply that are no longer used.

Saturday – Declutter something toiletries related. That old aftershave that stings your face, old shaver handles that are excess to your needs or that extra toiletries bag you received on your last long haul business trip.

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

Find ways to reduce cooking time and save energy. When boiling dried pasta, bring to the boil then turn the temperature down to low and once settled put a lid on. It will boil quicker and at a lower temperature this way thus saving electricity. When you think it is almost done turn off the heat and allow the residual heat to complete the cooking process.

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.

After reading today’s title you are probably thinking ~ Isn’t everything we declutter material possessions ~ and you would be right. When I say material here though I mean fabric. So you guessed it this week’s missions are all going to be things made from fabric. Let’s see if I can come up with six things made from fabric that you might have to declutter.

Monday – Declutter some old curtains that haven’t been hung in a while. I don’t have any curtains in my home because to me they are just dust collectors. I prefer blinds than curtains which I can just wipe down quickly with a duster. My vertical blinds must have some sort of dust repelling quality to them as they don’t collect dust at all.  Gotta love that!

Tuesday – Declutter craft fabrics that you haven’t had inspiration to use in a long time.

Wednesday – Declutter a canvas wall art piece that you don’t love.

Thursday – Declutter an item of clothing that you don’t feel good in. Be that because of  fit, visual or comfort reasons.

Friday – Declutter any sad old linen pieces. Old towels, sheets, pillow slips, hand towels, handkerchiefs, cloth diapers, wash clothes etc.

Saturday –   Declutter some old cleaning rags that have been used too many times already. Perhaps you could repurpose some of those linen items mentioned above into new rags. Personally I use microfibre and some of mine are getting very thread bare and therefore ineffective so will be tossed this week.

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

Today’s Declutter Item

I am surprised to be still finding kitchen utensils that I am prepared to declutter. We only need one pizza cutter, I don’t julienne vegetables and I only kept the middle size scone cutter because that is the only one I use.

Kitchen Utensils

Eco Tip for the Day

Drink tap water in preference to carbonated beverages. It doesn’t take a genius to work out how much better that is for the environment. Your waistline and your teeth will thank you for it as well.

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 mini missions should be easy. All you have to do is fine one item per room per day. If you have a small apartment maybe that will be one item per space per day. I will name the room/space and all you have to do is find one item in that area to declutter. It can be anything. How simple is that? If I mention an area you don’t have in your home then choose an alternative of your own.

Monday – Declutter something from a bedroom.

Tuesday - Declutter something from your kitchen.

Wednesday - Declutter something from your bathroom.

Thursday - Declutter something from your living room.

Friday - Declutter something from your dining area.

Saturday - Declutter something from your basement, attic or garage.

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

Today’s Declutter Item

I hadn’t used this muffin pan for a while and was surprised to find it all rusty. The combo of rust and rare use made it an easy decision to let it go. I have another option should I decide to make another batch of choc chip muffins.

Rusty Old Muffin Pan

Eco Tip for the Day

 Watch less television. Find something to do for amusement that doesn’t require electricity in place of at least one session of your weekly television viewing. This of course will only work if the television gets turned off and not watched by someone else in the family. Perhaps you could instigate an old fashioned games night.

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 Monday I think we will work on identifying and removing clutter from our homes that are the result of us falling for marketing hype, branding,  visual appeal  or “upgrading”. Oh how misleading these enticements can be. I watch advertisements on TV these days with a smug look on my face feeling satisfied that I no longer fall for their hype. Sometimes my self-satisfaction is mixed with sheer horror at the rubbish they spin in order to sell people stuff they don’t need. Stuff that doesn’t usually even come close to living up to the promises advertised. Do you still fall for this hype or have you become wise?

Monday – Start a “use it up” challenge on a beauty treatment that really isn’t making any difference to the way you look or feel.

Tuesday – Get rid of one uncomfortable pair of shoes that sure are cute but could be used by the enemy as an effective torture treatment.

Wednesday – Declutter one electronic gadget that really only added to your ways to waste precious time while not really improving or simplifying your life as promised.

Thursday – Remove those silly stick figure decals from the back window of your car or that thing hanging from your rear vision mirror. They serve no purpose except to decrease your bank balance and obstruct your vision potentially causing a safety hazard.

Friday – Declutter a item whose most obvious external feature is self advertising. For example T-shirts with the makers name blazoned across them unless of course the maker is paying you to advertise for them.

Saturday – Declutter something you rarely or never use these days because it has been superseded by the “latest and greatest(for now)” version.

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

Today’s Declutter Item

This Disney lithographs have been hanging about while I procrastinated about them for months. I have decided that if they are in fact worth anything then the some thrift store customer will be very happy when they find them on the shelf next week. They certainly aren’t worth more than my sanity so I am letting them go the easiest way possible. Now I will go back and read my own posts from Tuesday and Thursday last week.

Disney Lithographs

Eco Tip for the Day

Be wary of being enticed into buying anything referred to as “collectable” they are generally kitschy crap that only serve to clutter up your home, collect dust and are a waste of resources which is a blight on the environment. We are fooled into believing that some of these things will appreciate in value over time but the fact is that they are made by the thousands if not millions and there is little chance that they will do anything but become clutter in your home.

Some examples ~ McDonald Restaurant Toys, 99.9% of baseball cards (this is just a form of gambling), popular brand items like Coca Cola, sporting club paraphernalia…

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 weeks mini mission are quite simple to follow. I have formulated them leaving a wide breadth of opportunity to find something from each category to declutter. Sunday however has been changed up a bit and will be kept this way on a trial basis for a while until you, my readers, decide whether you find it useful of not. So good luck with the missions and get your thinking caps ready for Sunday.

Monday – Declutter a leisure item. That could be anything from a piece of sporting equipment to a deck chair.

Tuesday – Declutter a fashion item. That could be a piece of clothing, a pair of shoes, a handbag, a scarf…

Wednesday – Declutter a domestic tool ~ Perhaps an item for working in the kitchen or the garage.

Thursday – Declutter a decor item ~ Perhaps excess cushions on beds or sofas, or one of too many adornments collecting dust.

Friday – Declutter something purely kept for memory’s sake ~ Perhaps a souvenir or some other sentimental item.

Saturday – Declutter a gadget ~ Gadgets are so alluring but once acquired they often fall short of expectations. Get rid of one of those that has fallen short.

Sunday – On a trial basis ~ for now ~ Sunday will be 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

Today’s Declutter Item

My husband in provided with a watch through is work. He has come to the decision that he doesn’t need an extra one “just in case”. This one will be off to the thrift store this week.

One Watch is Enough

Eco Tip for the Day

When shopping for groceries try to choose items that come in the least environmentally offensive packaging or preferably no packaging at all. I have mentioned this before regarding soap, I only buy soap loose or in a cardboard box. Individually packaged snack food such a chips and candy bars are also big offenders when it comes to this kind of excessive packaging.

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